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We are moving through a new era in federal grant writing.
For access to federal grant funds during this new Trump Administration in 2025, nonprofits need to be more aware of what types of words you are using, and are not using, in your grant applications.
We have always said that grant writing is a word game, and the types of words you use play a big part in how you construct a grant.
With the Trump Administration in 2025, though, we have not experienced the sheer elimination of word usage in federal grant guidance before.
Regular Changes in Words in Grants
To put it into context, we’ve been writing grants for more than 20 years, and we have learned to play the wordsmith game of grant writing.
What is normal in federal grant word usage changes is that words are often added to the federal grant cycles when:
A new administration starts
Societal movements and norms enter into the federal mainstream
Priorities of the federal government are identified
Even for foundation grants, we have been training grant writers to connect words with the funding source priority areas, Request for Proposals (RFPs), and website information so that grant writers mimic funding source language.
Then we teach grant writers how to integrate these words into their programs in a way that aligns with what they do.
This ensures that everyone is on the same page with language and what that language means AND helps with consistent language in grant applications.
This approach also helps nonprofits so they aren’t mission drifting or scope creeping, but are aligning with funding sources for their specific cause areas.
While we still entirely support this approach, the new wrench in the bucket in February 2025 is the potential sheer number of words to NOT use for the new recommendations from certain federal agencies (as of 2/10/2025)
Replace Potential Trigger Words Using ChatGPT
I ran all the words listed in ChatGPT to find alternative words. While this was helpful to get ideas, it was not entirely efficient.
At the end of the day, words are important.
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Quit your toxic nonprofit job and replace your full-time income while writing grants part-time, from home! Join our students in the Freelance Grant Writer Academy to create Financial Stability and Flexibility through writing grants for causes you are passionate about: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy
World-renowned grant writing expert and Amazon bestselling author Holly Rustick provides coaching that helps new and experienced grant writers replace their full-time income while writing grants part-time from home (or anywhere they want to live or travel in the world).
She coaches changemakers to master grant writing and start to grow 6-figure+ grant writing businesses on part-time hours via her signature group program, “Freelance Grant Writer Academy."
As an unapologetic feminist, Holly’s work in coaching female grant writers to master grant writing, find their cause-area niche, and navigate value-based pricing and nonprofit sales is breaking glass ceilings for women all over the world.
Every week, she coaches thousands of people through the top-ranking podcast, Grant Writing & Funding, books on grant writing, and inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy.
Holly has 20 years of experience in grant writing, and began her freelance grant writing journey back in 2005. While teaching in Kuwait and Indonesia, and then earning a Master’s Degree in International Political Economy in Belgium, Holly saw the light of setting up a virtual-based business in grant writing back in the mid-2000s. Having secured more than $45 million of dollars for nonprofit organizations, and then setting up a multi 6-figure freelance business, Holly has a mission to help female grant writers break out of toxic nonprofit J-O-B-S and create high-level income while freelance grant writing.
Inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy, students have secured more than $225+ million in grant funding and $4+ million in revenue in their grant writing businesses within two years.
To amplify this work, she is past-president of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce and was appointed to the Guam Business Advisory Task Force as an advisor to the first female governor of Guam. Holly lives on the island of Guam with her beautiful daughter, Isabella.
If you are interested in replacing your full-time income while writing grants part-time from home (or from anywhere in the world!) join the Freelance Grant Writer Academy!