The Grant Professionals Association builds and supports a community of grant professionals committed to serving the greater public good. In order to be a member of the Heart of America chapter, one must be a member of the Grant Professionals Association national organization. To register for or renew both your national and local chapter membership, click here. Some of the many benefits of membership include:
Professional Development and Training
- National Conference: GPA’s annual fall conference has become the PREMIER grants event of the year, offering more than 70 workshops featuring the nation’s top experts, round-table discussions, funder presentations, exhibitors and the popular individual proposal review sessions. GPA’s annual gathering brings together grants professionals eager to share best practices, stay abreast of trends in our field, and network with peers from across America and abroad. Members receive a cheaper rate than non-members on conference registrations.
- Webinars: GPA’s entire catalogue of live and on-demand (recorded) webinars are offered to GPA members for free! This represents nearly $4,200 in annual savings for members. Access more than 80 live and recorded webinars!
- Journal/Monograph: The GPA Journal (published annually) provides a forum for book and article reviews, discussions on best practices, and scholarly examination of the state of the profession, all written by top professionals from around the country and peer-reviewed by the Journal committee and GPA Board. Only GPA members receive free copies of the most current Journal. Members may receive their Journal by mail or electronically. The general public is able to view the past journals and articles for free.
- Credentialing: GPA is proud to have established the nation’s first valid credentialing process for grant professionals. Firm in its belief that certification should be done only within the most rigorous standards, GPA has formed an affiliated organization, the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI). Members that are eligible to sit for the GPC exam, receive a discount on the registration fees.
Professional Networking Opportunities, Both Local and National
- Chapters: As new chapters continue to form in every region of the country, members have the opportunity to be a part of GPA at the local level. Chapters offer the membership a local venue in which to network and to exchange ideas, methodologies and resources. National membership is a prerequisite for membership in a chapter.
- Regional Conferences: Regional conferences offer the same great professional development opportunities as the GPA National Conference but provide focused networking opportunities with grant administrators and grant writers in your geographical area.
- Member Discussion Forums: GPA members have the opportunity to participate in a nationwide members-only discussion list. GrantZone provide another venue for the exchange of ideas, issues, methodologies, and other relative discourse on a member-to-member basis. Many members tell us that the opportunity to communicate this way with hundreds of colleagues in all fields and from all over the country is worth the cost of membership alone.