The latest #acwri live chat was all about writing grant applications for research funding. Jeremy has done the storify summary of this chat and you can view it at his webpage as well.
LEARN GRANTSMANSHIP. It is a skill like any other. If necessary, attend special workshops. Educate yourself about who funds your type of research. Don’t be snobbish! You may feel deep down that you did not train yourself for a life of the mind in order to become a peddler of slick prose to federal and foundation bureaucrats. But an ability to raise money can have a seismic effect on your career. Simply imagine yourself as one of two finalists for the plum academic position you always dreamed about. Your competitor has a six-hundred-thousand-dollar grant and you don’t. What are the odds in your favor?