What kind of grant professional should you hire?
So you’re thinking about hiring someone to help you find, write, and submit grants for your 501c3.
But should you hire in house or contract out? Do you need a freelancer or a consultant?
You’ll want to weigh your budget and available resources against the experience and skill you can obtain with each route, the time you’ll need to spend training or managing someone in each route, and how this person might fit into your existing efforts.
First, decide: Will I hire in-house or contract out?
Option 1: In-house hire
Benefits:
You get to design the specific role and assign tasks based on your needs
Full-time availability and dedicated 100% to your mission
Can be trained to adapt to your organization's specific processes
Has more ability to take on “other duties as assigned”
Can help with a steady, high volume of proposals or steady grant writing needs
Consider that…
You’ll need to factor in payroll taxes, benefits, and other workplace expenses in addition to salary to get the full picture of cost
To get someone with significant experience, you'll pay a higher salary (for a lower salary, you’ll need to dedicate significant time to onboarding and training)
As this person’s boss or supervisor, a big part of your role will be management
If you have inconsistent or fluctuating grant needs, it may not make financial sense to have someone on salary
This person could quit at any time, leaving you with hanging deadlines or gaps in your activities
Option 2: Freelance grant writer
Benefits:
A freelancer can be more affordable than a full-service agency or consultant
Through sites like Upwork, you can find a range of rates based on experience
Can be very adaptable to your specific needs
May be able to help you with faster turnarounds if they have fewer clients
Best if you’re looking for someone you can delegate specific tasks and projects to
Consider that…
Their capacity may be limited or fill up quickly, as they are just one person
It can be difficult and time-consuming to navigate the complex landscape of freelancers
They may have very inconsistent or unpredictable availability to meet your deadlines due to juggling multiple clients
You likely won’t get high-level guidance or clear processes and systems
Due to lower pricing and high workloads, freelancers can get burnt out, affecting the quality of your grant proposals
Option 3: Grant consultant or consultancy (also sometimes called an agency or full-service grants business)
Benefits:
You’ll get the support of an experienced professional (usually with a team)
You won’t have to manage or train anyone - they come in as an expert with lots of experience and results
You’ll be able to hand more aspect of your grant seeking over to a trusted partner, creating efficiency and reducing touch points needed to complete projects
You’ll get a higher level of consultation and strategy, not just task execution
They can help guide you through your entire grant seeking process in a cohesive way, from beginning to end, rather than only filling in specific pieces
Consider that…
It will be more of a financial investment, which might not be feasible if you’re still a startup or have a very small budget
They might be booked out farther in advance or have a waitlist
They might have a more robust vetting process for potential clients to ensure you’re a good match for one another
They might not be as flexible as the other two options, as their services will likely be more defined
You’ll have to work more with their business systems and processes (like contracts, payments, policies and procedures)
Bottom line – ask yourself:
Am I looking for an “expert?” (Someone to guide me and/or manage things for me?)
Or am I looking for an “executor?” (Someone I can manage/delegate to?)
There’s no right answer. It just depends on your needs.
It won’t always be black and white. An expert can certainly execute, and an executor can lend guidance. But in general, which one is more in line with your needs, goals, working style, and preferences?
If you want someone fully dedicated to your team (and you’re ok with paying a salary, training, and management), hiring in-house might make the most sense. Depending on their experience, an in-house hire could be more of an entry-level “executor” (grant writer, grant associate) or more of a higher-level “expert” (director of grants, development director).
If you’re looking for more of a “plug and play” situation where someone helps you with various tasks as needed and as assigned (and you’re ok with some unpredictability), a freelancer might be a better choice. Some will charge per project and some will charge hourly, which could give you more flexibility if you aren’t sure exactly what you need yet or how someone will fit into your organization.
If you’re looking for cohesive strategy, expertise, and guidance (and can pay the higher price tag and you’re ok with someone guiding you through their systems), then a consultant oragency is probably best. They likely won’t charge hourly, but rather on a project basis, monthly retainer, or package rate.
Grant Writer vs. Grant Consultant vs. Other Grants Professional: What’s the Difference?
If you hire in-house, you have more flexibility to design the role you need. If you decide to contract out, you have another question to consider:
What kind of professional do you need?
The line between grant writer, grant consultant, grant manager, and other professionals isn’t always clear. Just as no two nonprofits are exactly alike, no two professionals will have the exact same experience or skills.
Generally speaking, a grant writer is more of a specialist. They focus mostly on crafting a compelling written proposal. Some also assist with prospect research and other tasks, but they typically won’t be looking at your entire grant strategy or giving high-level strategic advice (though this isn’t a hard-and-fast rule).
A grant consultant is usually more of a generalist and may focus on other areas like your grant strategy, identifying grant opportunities, optimizing your processes, and more. They might assist with the writing itself, but will be more interested in working with your leadership team to develop capacity and skills and lend strategic advice.
A grant consulting agency/business/organization usually has a broader range of capabilities and can provide a more “full-service” approach that includes developing your strategy and grant calendar; finding, writing, and submitting proposals; grant reporting; as well as consulting and strategic advice. The distinction here is usually you’re getting a team instead of just one professional.
How do you decide which one you need?
First, get clear on your fundraising goals:
How much grant funding are you looking to raise?
Where do you have existing capacity? (Try not to just default to, “We can do that in-house, no problem.” Honestly assess your capacity: Does it make sense for your Executive Director to be writing grants? Does it make sense for your Development Director to be under a pile of deadlines instead of building relationships and cultivating big donors?)
Where could a professional make the biggest impact or difference in your efforts?
What level of involvement do I (or my team) want or need to have in the grant seeking process?
Answering these questions will help both you and your prospective grant professional assess whether you’re good matches for one another.
Second, identify where in your grants pipeline you need support:
Designing your grant strategy? (setting goals, identifying areas of need, developing funding concepts, etc.)
Researching and identifying where to apply?
Building relationships with funders?
Crafting general language for your programs and organization?
Writing specific proposals?
Creating or assisting with grant budgets?
Submitting proposal packages?
Managing deadlines?
Reporting grant outcomes to funders?
Keeping track of and organizing files and grant-related correspondence?
All of the above?
If you’re still not sure, ask your professional if they can assess your organization and advise you on what you need.
