Nonprofits eager to break into the grant writing arena can send participants to attend a series of free workshops, sponsored by the Associated Grant Makers of Massachusetts, Northern Essex Community College, and Jericho Road Lawrence. The workshops, made possible by funding from The United Way of Massachusetts Bay & Merrimack Valley, will be held at Northern Essex Community College’s Louise Haffner Fournier Education Center, 78-82 Amesbury Street, Lawrence over March and April.

The first class, Introduction to Grants Research, will be held on Friday, March 23 from 9 am to Noon. This workshop introduces participants to the world of philanthropy. It will cover grants research and how to approach foundations. In addition, participants will learn how to tell an organization’s story for best effect. There will be a demonstration of several databases that are critical to finding the right grant maker for an organization.

The second class, Introduction to Grant Writing for Beginners, will be held Friday, April 13, from 9 AM to Noon. Participants will learn how to create a winning grant proposal. Different types of grant proposals will be examined including the typical components of a proposal and the steps in the process.
The third and final class, Introduction to Grant Writing II for Beginners, will be offered Friday, April 27, from 9 AM to Noon. This is for individuals who already have some experience in grant writing, but would like to take it to the next level. During this two-hour workshop individuals will learn how to plan a grant for maximum funding success; the secret language used by successful grant writers; how to think like a reviewer; simple ways to package a grant for maximum effect; grant writing do’s and don’ts based upon well written sample grants. The workshop will provide time for interaction with concrete examples and lively discussion.

Seats in these courses are filling quickly so those interested are encouraged to register early by sending an email with the subject line “AGM workshops registration.”

Emails should include the name of the person registering, the name of the affiliate organization, the address for the organization or the home address, a phone number where the individual can be reached, email address, and name of workshop(s) you are registering for. Send emails to agmregistrations@necc.mass.edu.

For logistical questions – where to park etc. please see the NECC website https://www.necc.mass.edu/ or contact Dawna Perez at dperez@necc.mass.edu or call (978) 738-7605.