Digital Products for Your Grant Writing Business
Digital products let you scale your grant writing expertise beyond hourly billing. Once created, they generate revenue while you sleep, attract new clients to your service business, and establish you as an authority in your niche. For grant writers, digital products work especially well because they address the repetitive questions and common pain points your clients face repeatedly.
The key to success is creating products that complement—not cannibalize—your core service. Position them as self-service tools for prospects not yet ready to hire you, or as add-ons for existing clients who want additional resources.
Grant Writing Template Library
What it is: A collection of pre-written grant proposals, cover letters, budget narratives, and appendix templates organized by funder type (foundations, government agencies, corporate sponsors). Each template includes explanatory notes and fill-in sections.
Who buys it: Nonprofit executive directors and grant coordinators who want starting points without hiring a professional writer, or small organizations with limited budgets.
How to create it: Compile 8-12 of your best anonymized client proposals (with identifying details removed) and adapt them into customizable templates. Use Google Docs or Word with clear placeholder text like [ORGANIZATION NAME], [SPECIFIC NEED], and [MEASURABLE OUTCOME]. Add a one-page guide for each template explaining what each section should accomplish.
Where to sell it: Sell through Gumroad, your own website, or Etsy. You can also offer it as a lead magnet on your website to build your email list, then upsell professional writing services to interested buyers.
Realistic income: $15–45 per purchase. With steady marketing, expect 10–30 sales per month, generating $150–$1,350 monthly.
Nonprofit Grant Funding Roadmap Workbook
What it is: A downloadable PDF workbook that walks nonprofits through identifying grant opportunities, assessing their organizational readiness, researching funders, and creating a 12-month funding strategy. Includes worksheets, checklists, and a funding source database template.
Who buys it: Nonprofit leaders, board members, and development staff who are new to grant writing and want structured guidance before investing in professional help.
How to create it: Design a 25–35 page PDF using Canva or Adobe InDesign. Structure it as a step-by-step process your clients go through, then convert that into educational content. Include your proprietary assessment tool or funding research framework. Add real examples (anonymized) and decision trees to make it actionable.
Where to sell it: Sell on your website, Gumroad, or through nonprofit-focused marketplaces. Promote it in nonprofit Facebook groups, LinkedIn, and to your past clients as a gift for referrals.
Realistic income: $27–67 per purchase. Expect 8–25 sales monthly with consistent promotion, generating $216–$1,675 monthly.
Grant Writing Video Course
What it is: A self-paced online course (6–10 modules) teaching the fundamentals of grant writing: researching funders, writing compelling needs statements, demonstrating impact, creating realistic budgets, and submitting strong applications. Each module includes 10–15 minute videos, downloadable templates, and a quiz.
Who buys it: Nonprofit staff who want to write grants in-house, consultants who want to add grant writing to their service offerings, and volunteer grant committee members.
How to create it: Script and record yourself teaching each component of your grant writing process. Use screen recordings to walk through actual examples. Host on a platform like Teachable, Kajabi, or Thinkific, which handle student management, payment processing, and course delivery. Plan 40–60 hours of creation time for a solid course.
Where to sell it: Sell through your course platform, your website, or through marketplaces like Udemy (though Udemy takes a larger cut). Promote through email, LinkedIn, and partnerships with nonprofit associations.
Realistic income: $97–297 per enrollment. Expect 5–20 students per month with marketing effort, generating $485–$5,940 monthly.
Funder Research Database and Prospect List Tool
What it is: A searchable spreadsheet or simple database tool that helps organizations identify grant opportunities by location, funding amount, funder type, deadlines, and cause area. Include instructions on how to use it and where to update information regularly.
Who buys it: Nonprofit fundraisers who spend hours researching foundations and want a pre-built starting point for their specific mission area.
How to create it: Use your own funder research files and combine them with public data from Foundation Center, Grants.gov, and nonprofit databases. Create a clean Google Sheet or Excel file with filters and formulas that let users sort and customize for their needs. Add a guide sheet with instructions and tips for keeping it current.
Where to sell it: Sell on Gumroad or your website. Offer it by mission area (health, education, environment, etc.) so buyers see multiple product options.
Realistic income: $29–79 per purchase. Monthly sales of 5–15 generate $145–$1,185 in revenue.
Grant Proposal Writing Checklist and Submission Guide
What it is: A detailed, funder-agnostic checklist covering all elements of a professional grant proposal, plus guidance on final review, formatting, and submission best practices. Organized by proposal section with quality benchmarks for each.
Who buys it: Nonprofit staff and volunteer grant writers who want a quality control tool to catch common mistakes before submitting.
How to create it: Distill your grant writing process into a simple one or two-page checklist. Include sections on narrative, budget, evaluation, organizational capacity, and submission logistics. Create an accompanying short guide (3–5 pages) explaining why each checklist item matters and what funders look for.
Where to sell it: Price this low and sell through Gumroad, your website, or Amazon KDP if you publish it as a short PDF book. It also works well as a free lead magnet paired with an upsell to your paid services.
Realistic income: $7–17 per purchase. High volume potential (50–150 sales monthly) generates $350–$2,550 monthly at scale.
Grant Writing Email Sequence Template
What it is: A pre-written email series (8–12 emails) that nonprofit leaders can send to their board, donors, and community to engage them in the grant-seeking process, build excitement about funded projects, and gather impact stories.
Who buys it: Nonprofit executive directors and development managers who want communication templates but lack copywriting skills.
How to create it: Write a logical sequence starting with awareness and moving toward action and celebration. Include subject lines, body copy, and adaptation tips for different audiences. Format as a document or Google Doc and provide instructions for using it with email platforms like Mailchimp or ConvertKit.
Where to sell it: Sell on your website or Gumroad. Promote alongside your other nonprofit-focused products.
Realistic income: $17–39 per purchase. Expect 10–30 sales monthly, generating $170–$1,170 monthly.
Grant Budget Narrative Template and Worksheet
What it is: A customizable template for writing compelling budget narratives that explain how grant funds will be spent, why costs are reasonable, and how the budget supports program outcomes. Includes a companion Excel workbook for calculating costs and demonstrating cost-effectiveness.
Who buys it: Nonprofit finance staff and grant writers who struggle with the budget section, which is often the weakest part of proposals.
How to create it: Create a Word document template with guidance for each budget category (personnel, equipment, contracts, etc.). Develop an accompanying Excel file with formulas that help organizations calculate per-participant costs and compare their budget to similar programs. Add a short guide on budget narrative best practices.
Where to sell it: Sell through your website or Gumroad, optionally alongside your template library.
Realistic income: $19–49 per purchase. Expect 8–20 sales monthly, generating $152–$980 monthly.
Getting Started With Digital Products
- Create your Funder Research Database first. It takes 15–20 hours and you can price it at $29–79. Start with one mission area or geographic region you know well. This product generates immediate income while requiring minimal updates.
- Next, build your Grant Writing Template Library. Pull 8–12 anonymized proposals from past clients, adapt them, and package them. This typically takes 25–30 hours and appeals to the largest audience of budget-conscious nonprofits.
- Create your Checklist and Submission Guide. This is fastest to produce (6–8 hours), cheapest to price ($7–17), and works well as a lead magnet to build your email list while still generating some revenue.
- Develop your Grant Writing Video Course if you have an audience. Only invest 40+ hours in course creation once you have email subscribers or social media followers interested enough to buy. Test demand with a cheaper product first.
- Expand your template library by funder type or mission area. Once your first library sells, create specialized versions (foundation proposals, government grants, corporate sponsorships) to capture different segments.
- Build an email list simultaneously. Offer one free product (your checklist or a short guide) in exchange for email addresses. Use this list to promote your paid digital products and service offerings.
Pricing Your Digital Products
Nonprofits are budget-conscious, but they respect quality and expertise. Price your products based on the value they create, not the time to produce them. A template library that saves an organization 30 hours of work is worth $45–67 even if it took you three hours to compile. A course that teaches skills worth $5,000+ in professional fees can command $197–397 enrollment fees.
Start conservatively with templates and checklists ($7–49), then test higher prices on courses and comprehensive tools ($97–297). Bundle products to increase average order value: sell your template library and checklist together for $59, or your course plus templates for $397. Track which products sell most frequently and adjust pricing upward incrementally—most digital product creators underprice initially and leave money on the table.