You’ve now written three or four grants as a volunteer for one or more groups, some of which were successful, and you have a couple of other writing samples in your portfolio. Now you need a nonprofit-friendly resumé.

How do you present your experience to potential clients? You start listing your most recent work first (including freelance, volunteer, and staff positions). Put your education at the end. Be sure to include any experience you’ve had working with nonprofit organizations, even if your job or volunteer position was not in grant writing. All nonprofit experience shows your interest in and dedication to a cause, and nonprofits like to see that.

In addition to the grants you’ve written, include a list of articles you’ve published. You might include a Master’s thesis if the subject relates to the grant work you’re seeking, but don’t include term papers. For example, if your thesis was on literacy education in immigrant communities and you’re seeking work to write grants about literacy or education, this would be a good addition. (A thesis on the use of adverbs in the works of John Donne would not support your application for the job, unless, of course, you’re creating a proposal related to English literature.)

Be sure to list any other professional writing you’ve done, whether for a newspaper, professional journal, press releases, or position papers for a politician. Any writing that demonstrates the story-telling and organizing abilities critical to writing successful grants shows that you can do well as a grant writer.

Do not apply for grant-writing jobs with only journalistic or public relations writing samples. These kinds of writing reinforce your writing ability, but someone who wants to hire a grant writer wants to see a grant sample.