How to Become a Grant Writing Consultant
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Contents:
Besides, foundations want to meet the people who operate and are committed to an organization — not an outsider on a temporary hire.
How to Become a Grant Writing Consultant [Beverly A. Browning] on Amazon. com. *FREE* shipping on qualifying offers. What's changed from the first edition of. For the right person, working as an independent consultant can have many advantages, including setting one's own schedule and priorities, working with a.
Prepare well before you engage a grant writing consultant and you will save money while putting your organization in a better position to attain the grants for which you apply. Everything from paying and evaluating grant writers to using consultants. But by no means have we exhausted the topic of grant writers and grant writing.
Grant Writing Jobs
Neither I nor anyone else has all the answers on this subject. My goal here is to encourage you to look at grant writers, how you use them, and how you pay them within the context of:.
From time to time, consultant grant writers and organizations, seeking to engage a grant writer on a temporary or project basis, want to know what amount of fee is fair and reasonable. And non-profits want to know where they might find such accomplished professional grant writers.
Here are my personal observations on both those inquiries. Fees charged by grant writers will range far and wide. Naturally, the hourly rate and the resultant total fee will be significantly impacted by the relative efficiency of each grant writer. As well, grant writers could charge by the project once they assess the full range and scope of the job, but the flat fee for time expended would probably closely factor out to the hourly rate I cited.
That is, do not enter into a contract which would have a grant writer paid a commission, bonus, or percentage of a grant award—or from any other available funds. And especially do not arrange payment upon award of the grant in the first place. When you are ready to start your own grant writing consulting career, or you want to increase your client base, you might be able to secure freelance grant writing opportunities in some, or all, of the following ways:.
Use the following outline as a guide to your proposal narrative. Most grantmakers prefer up to five pages, excluding attachments, but be sure to ask each individual funder if they have page limitations or any additional requirements. Also, include a cover letter with your application that introduces your organization and proposal and makes the link between your proposal and the mission of the grantmaker to whom you are applying.
Brief summary of organization history including the date your organization was established. Highlight new or different activities, if any, for your organization. Number of board members, full time paid staff, part-time paid staff, and volunteers. The opportunity, challenges, issues or need currently facing your organization. Additional information regarding general operating proposals required by each individual funder.
The opportunity, challenges, issue or need and the community that your proposal addresses. How that focus was determined and who was involved in that decision- making process. Overall goal s regarding the situation described above. Objectives or ways in which you will meet the goal s. Specific activities for which you are seeking funding. Who will carry out those activities. Time frame in which this will take place. How the proposed activities will benefit the community in which they will occur, being as clear as you can about the impact you expect to have.
Long-term strategies if applicable for sustaining this effort.
Describe your criteria for success. What do you want to happen as a result of your activities? Who will be involved in evaluating this work staff, board, constituents, community, consultants? A letter of inquiry is just what its name implies — a letter asking if the foundation is interested in receiving a full proposal in order to consider the project for funding. Sending a brief letter try to keep it under two pages or less can save both you and the foundation valuable time.
This rally to bash a segment of our profession is abysmal.
Tony Poderis on February 15, at pm. I have previously written grants as a volunteer but am starting my own business and need some advice. I think this is completely acceptable for a smaill startup organization. Monthly course start dates can be found by clicking on the register online button below. You may want to expand your services in that way with such an opportunity, or otherwise on your own. By the way, remember that your good writing skills can be employed in the for-profit sector as well.
Writers accepting contingent fees that are NOT percentage based are often the premier workers in the business, who deserve the rates they request. Funds to support their costs are not being taken from grant funds by any means. If a strong writer with a significant fundraising background navigates the non-profit system appropriately, the payment can be derived through donor campaign specific dollars to support development.
Grant Writer Salary
My experience ranges from data input, to business development, economic strategist, grant writer, manager, and finally previous director of a national grant sponsorship program. I have hired, fired, and negotiated top federal grant writers and their compensation. Strong contracts support me throughout this entire process, and many of my clients are first time federal applicants.
This two way relationship establishes trust and a mutual goal for success—primarily the drive from contractors, which was not always experienced during hourly pay. To call out your example —if a writer is only writing and failing to strategize in the partnership development and overall program design, those are the individuals doing a poor job.
Consultants roles are to bring out the best for the company. I have led longterm clients to partner with the best options for high objective scores to secure a win. As far as evaluation, this is done through comparative scores on each narrative section, weighted with customer interaction surveys, organization, and communication.
Please feel free to reach out should you have further questions regarding our tried and true recruitment process and writer evaluation. Long live bonuses, long live hard work, and long live success. To establish long term client buy-in this trust needs to be proven over time. Drive it home, go for gold or stay at home. Thank you for the clear explanation in support of my flat fee preference. Whenever negotiating contract expectations, that has been the single contentious point separating potential genuine clients from the hand-out seekers.
I scanned this because I just came off a two-week grant writing marathon. Its a killer submitting for federal grants and trying to find out what they are asking for. What I may have missed here is that grant writers have to know various elements of project management. Hi Tony!
Your First Freelance Grant Writing Assignment
Great article. I do have a question. They feeling is that this is MY job and I should be able to deal with the bulk of this work. However, I oversee a department of 3 that is responsible for marketing and volunteers and my all things fundraising. All things fundraising includes literally ALLL things fundraising from events, to major giving, to annual giving, to planned giving, to membership giving circle, to corporate giving to online giving etc.
There is no way to work in a solid and effective grants program without the support of a consultant especially for an org whose grant program has been dormant for nearly a decade until my hire. Can you offer anything to these points?
Kay, To my way of thinking, you have made an excellent case for the hire of a skilled full time writer — your Manager of Communications. Someone to handle all grant writing opportunities as they develop, write all other solicitation communications, compose brochures, fliers, press releases, etc. Think of what you and your two colleagues could do, directly and personally, working with your constituents and the general public, with your activities relieved of sitting at a desk writing such material. The part-time grant writer, not necessarily being the same person, is brought in sporadically, as needed, and as such would not be close to the core values and the general operation of the organization enough to bring full value, as would a full-time staff person.
Easy for me to say, but the blinders must come off from those of your leaders who simply do not know know better. You must develop an effective communications strategy of your own in general, with the specifics of the value added to the organization with the hiring of a Manager of Communications. Then, you and your colleagues would be able to be more out and about to meet with, organize and guide fund-raising and volunteer committees, and work up close and personal with the media to better get the word out about your organization.
I know my suggestion is a quantum leap, especially considering how your leaders are balking with the engagement of a grant writing consultant. Listing as many of those skills, and the resources and tools necessary for you to provide, should present a compelling case for the need, since those leaders are obviously not fully apprised of what it takes to prepare even the most basic and simple grant proposal.
I totally believe with Tony below. The only way people with good ideas and empathy can get their ideas funded is through the professional community, i. Where they get to talk to other trained professionals who can evaluate their programs. You may not like it because it makes them a tough competitor for your job.
If anything, paying only for grants as opposed to grant writers speaks well of their business sense. Tony, this is a great article. However, you did not mention the ethical matter of the Non-Profits who seek to pay on a contingency basis to begin with. It seems to me that the actions of the NPs in this regard is more relevant to the discussion of ethics than is the discussion of the writers. Your point is well taken, but note that I am not so much concerned with the ethics aspect of contingent-pay as much as are the for-the-profession associations and most grant writers themselves.
I believe that very few of those who work for contingent-pay are truly unethical, rather they are guilty of bad judgment. I believe the same holds true for the hiring organizations. It is more ignorance of consequences and being cash-strapped that has those new and smaller organizations looking for grant writers to, in effect, earn their own fee with payment-upon-grant awards.
Of course, they do not work exactly in that contingent-pay way, but most work to what I think are even more unfair and unrealistic requirements. See what I mean from an article written by colleague, Joyce Braun:. Love the article and appreciate all the information! The only thing that got my attention and bothered me, however, is the constant links to the AFP. The Grant Professionals Association GPA seems like it should've at least been mentioned as a place to search for grant writers, and a place for grant writers to gather and network, too.
I hope people will search there as well, and not just at the AFP and no, I'm not affiliated with the GPA in any other way than being a member.