The 2017 International Grant Professionals Week is here! It is one of my favorite weeks of the year because it is a time to recognize my profession and the work we do all year long.
Did you know? . . .
- This is the 3rd International Grant Professionals Week.
- Grant Professionals Association (GPA) is THE authority on grants.
- GPA members follow a firm code of ethics.
- Grant writing is a skilled craft.
- Grant funding is very competitive.
- Grant professionals are responsible for implementing approximately $700 billion in funding each year.
- There are more than 850,000 charities, more than 500,000 churches, more than 725,000 nonprofit organizations, and more than 23,485 educational institutions that exist in the United States today. Many employ grant professionals.
- “Key Facts on U.S. Foundations” by the Foundation Center states that $54.7 billion was donated to nonprofits by over 86,000 private, corporate, and community foundations in 2013. This is an increase of more than 80% over the past decade.
- While government funding to nonprofits has been slowly declining, the “National Survey on Nonprofit-Government Contracts and Grants” by the Urban Institute states that U.S. nonprofits received $137 billion from local, state, and federal governments in 2012.
- There is a stringent grant professional credential. You hire a tax professional to help you with filing your taxes. Why not hire a Grant Professional Certified to help you prepare your grant application?
I have been a grant professional for over five years now and a GPC for 6 months. I choose a career path in the nonprofit sector because I wanted to help others, and I knew nonprofits did just that. I didn’t set out to be a grant professional, but I love this profession and all the great people I have met because of it.
Happy International Grant Professionals Week and Day! Be sure to celebrate your grant professional this week.
