Bookkeeping
How Much Should You Spend on Hiring a Grant Writer?
There are a few different avenues you can explore to level up your grant writing skills. Grant writing is a set of specific skills and processes, so it can be taught and learned like any other subject. There is no such thing as free money, and grant writing is a lot of hard work. Unlock the secrets to becoming a game-changing grants professional with insights from industry experts who have secured millions in funding. Learn how to write compelling Letters of Inquiry (LOIs) with practical advice from grant experts.
What if we told you that we write the same 10 grants every year? What if 5 grants are to Wal-Mart Community Giving Programs or family foundations that fund the same organization every year? Because of these downsides, many experienced grant writers prefer to charge by project or by retainer. Not-to-Exceed Agreements
In this approach, a mutually agreed upon not-to-exceed amount is set to complete an assignment or provide ongoing assistance. A 50% deposit is required and hours used are tracked at our hourly rate, discounted by 20% ($240 per hour).
- However, the total overall average cost for a grant proposal of 5 to 8 pages of narrative text is about $1,500.
- On the high end, experienced grant writers in larger markets may charge upwards of $150 an hour.
- It’s generally recommended that grant funding should provide 10-20% of a nonprofit’s total annual budget.
- Look for agencies with online payment portals, instead of making all payments directly to the grant writer.
This will help assure proper consideration when you submit your grant for funding. When hiring a grant writer, who you hire and how much you can spend are key to how you approach the prospects of winning the grants you seek. Just remember that you cannot spend any grant money you earn on to pay the grant writer. You must pay for a writer in advance before you turn in the proposal. Some organizations may be hoping to hire a grant writer on commission.
This post highlights the
top mistakes grant writers make and how to avoid them. Grant funders are like investors, but instead of wanting to earn the most money possible, they want to get the
most good out of their investment in your organization. This means that any fundraising expenses, including grant
writing, are rarely an allowable grant expense.
What percentage does a grant writer get paid?
And you can compare apples to apples if you’re collecting price estimates from other grant writers. Project-based grant writing can be especially valuable for organizations that have some internal fundraising capacity but lack specialized grant writing expertise. It can also be helpful for newer nonprofits that are pursuing their first grant funding. It’s important for nonprofits to understand what set of services they need and for grant consultants to be clear about which services they offer. Because yes, the scope and type of services provided will affect how much a grant writer gets paid. Ask the grant writer to provide a list of agencies that have used his or her services and were awarded a grant as a result.
You’ve vetted them for mission alignment, and your project meets their goals for impact. The
relationship between you and the funder is more formalized (though there is room for personal relationships over
time). Grant writing is the process of crafting a written proposal to receive grant funding from a grant making
institution in order to fund a program or project. While this certification is not specific to grant writing, it still provides key insights into fundraising strategies and best practices in the nonprofit sector. One of the most prominent certifications available to grant writers and consultants is the Certified Grant Writer series from the American Grant Writers’ Association (AGWA).
“How do grant writers get paid?”
How much does grant writing cost and what are the fees to write a single grant? That depends on a lot of factors, like the complexity of the grant and the past experience of the applicant grant writing fees organization. A short grant that’s a repeat submission may cost as low as $200. A new applicant undertaking a large, complex grant may incur a fee of thousands of dollars.
Wrapping Up: Grant Writing Fees
Hiring grant writers means a higher chance of submitting successful proposals and winning grants. Particularly complex proposals that require a high level of expertise, like those required for funding from the federal government, are often managed by expert grant writers. Successfully landing a grant requires more than simply writing a proposal. That’s why, in determining grant writing costs, you’ll want to start by understanding the full scope of what the grant writer will be doing. Additionally, your location will pre-determine ‘going rates’ for grant writers, if you are looking to hire locally. Most new or start up nonprofits do not have the financial capacity to hire a full-time grant writer for the organization.
On the low end, new grant writers in smaller markets may charge around $40 an hour. On the high end, experienced grant writers in larger markets may charge upwards of $150 an hour. But the hourly rate doesn’t tell you what you will end up paying for a grant, because you don’t know how many hours it will take to complete the project. Sometimes it can be challenging for organizations looking for grant funding to hire a professional grant writer. After all, if you’re pursuing funding, then spending your resources on a grant writer almost feels
counterproductive. Because of this catch-22, many organizations understandably ask if they can build grant writing
fees into the grant proposal.
Visit Instrumentl’s website to learn more about how it can help you grow your nonprofit and facilitate efficient, successful grant research. Fortunately, there are many tools available to help grant writers with their research responsibilities. Prospect research is another key responsibility for grant writers. Expert-level contractors with advanced skill sets can earn about $125/hour or sometimes more depending on the grant writing work.
Grant Writing 101: What is it & how do you get started?
Donors can also require that their money be used in a specific (or restricted) way. Grants usually come with very specific guidelines for what the money can and can’t be used for, as well as rules
for how the “winner” of the grant (or the grantee) will report on its progress. When a grant has specific
guidelines, we call these funds restricted. Restricted funding means they can only be used for the
purposes laid out in the proposal and specified by the funder. The course focuses on the “finer points” of grant writing to teach grants professionals how to submit competitive proposals.
You may also want to consider whether a beginner grant writer is appropriate for the project you are working on. If you need specific expertise for a complex proposal, you may be better off hiring someone with https://simple-accounting.org/ more experience. Most beginner grant writers who take on projects as a contractor receive a salary range between $29 at the low end and $36 at the high end, according to trends reported by Salary.com.
In short, it’s considered unethical to pay a grant writer a commission rather than their regular grant writer fees. And it’s also principally unfair to the grant writer, whose work is only one part of the equation of why a funder does or does not award a grant. You can learn more about why grant writers do not work on commission. But you may feel better about the fees once you know how much time a particular project will take. Don’t be afraid to ask a grant writer for a price estimate before they get started on the work. Then, you’ll have a better sense of what you may be spending on grant writer fees.
