Grant Writing Course
Overview
Straightforward Grant Writing
A Beginner Grant Writing Course Offered by the Cheshire County Grants Department
Straightforward Grant Writing is a beginner-level grant writing course offered by the Cheshire County Grants Department for individuals who work or volunteer for a Cheshire County nonprofit organization or municipality. The course is designed to introduce participants to the fundamentals of grant writing while building practical, real-world skills that can be applied immediately to support local organizations and communities.
The course is managed and taught by Suzanne Bansley, Grants Manager for Cheshire County, and is grounded in the grant development practices used by local governments and nonprofit organizations throughout the region.
About the Course
Straightforward Grant Writing is intentionally structured to mirror the full lifecycle of a grant. The course functions much like a grant itself and includes an application process, an agreement, and post-award reporting. This approach helps participants understand not only how to write a competitive grant application, but also how to manage grant responsibilities once funding is awarded.
Cheshire County Grants Department presents this grant writing course to help increase the number of grants written and awarded to agencies that serve Cheshire County residents. It is for this reason that the course is exclusively for persons who write grants as part of their current or future role for a Cheshire County serving nonprofit or municipality.
Topics include: Overview, complexity, and expectations; Goals, objectives, and activities; Logic model and work plan; Outputs, outcomes, and impacts; Evaluation; Problem statement; Sustainability; Organizational capability; Budget inclusion items; Budget calculations and justifications; Readiness & searching; and Application types & alignment.
Cheshire County Grants Manager Suzanne Bansley presents this course. She has been working in the grants field for over 14 years and is a certified grant professional with an MBA in Managing for Sustainability and a bachelor’s degree specializing in finance. Suzanne has a flare for government grants and quirky enjoyment of budgets. She has written about 126 awarded grants to date (as of July 2026) totaling more than $33 million dollars.
This course will help guide you through the very basics of grant writing and expand your ability to write a competitive grant for a Cheshire County nonprofit. By the end of this course, you should be able to search for a grant, identify if it is feasible, determine if the project is competitive, write a narrative proposal, and assemble a budget. With very limited grant funding being available, the more skilled Cheshire County potential grantees are, the more funds will flow into the county to benefit everyone.
Course Participation and Selection
Eligibility
- Work for a Cheshire County serving nonprofit or municipality organization (whether an employee or volunteer);
- One person per nonprofit or two per municipality, more if seats are available 1 week prior;
- Be tasked with (or volunteer for) writing a grant for your organization;
- Be of novice or beginner level;
- Be able to attend all classes;
- Write a grant within six months of taking the course.
Selection Criteria/Priorities
- Municipalities are preferred and will be given priority over applicants representing other organizations.
- Applicants must demonstrate high certainty for perfect attendance.
- Applicants must demonstrate high probability for being able to complete an entire grant writing process with priority for students more likely to have a result of an application submission.
- Applicants with lowest levels of experience and training in grant writing will be given priority over Applicants with more experience and/or training.
- Applicants who have never taken the course will be given priority over former students.
Admissions & Registration
ADMISSION APPLICATION & CONFIRMATION OF ACCEPTANCE IS REQUIRED
When an application is posted, it will be accessible here.
