I recently read a great post by Tony Poderis on the Schoolhouse Partners Blog titled What Should You Do Before Engaging An Outside Grant Writer? In this post, Tony outlines the important questions to consider before hiring a consultant to write a grant proposal for your nonprofit. He emphasizes the need to do some prep work beforehand to ensure that the grant writer will have all the information needed to create an effective proposal. After all, no one knows more about your programs and your organization than you do!
This also raises the question -- is it a good idea to hire someone from outside to do your grant writing, or would it be done better by your own staff? Either way, you and your staff will need to be involved in the grant seeking process. You shouldn't -- and probably wouldn't want to -- leave all grant-related work to a hired gun. The prep work recommended in Tony's post already represents an important time investment on your part, and you will want to stay involved throughout the process.
So how do you decide if and when you should hire a grant writing consultant?
- First, you need to consider if someone on your staff has the skills to write an effective grant proposal. Some people don't feel confident enough in their writing abilities to present a strong case for support.
- Does your staff have the time to dedicate to proposal writing? Most nonprofit employees are spread pretty thin already.
- Nonprofit finances are spread pretty thin right now too. Does your organization have the money to hire a grant writer? And do you feel that is the most productive way to spend the funds?
- Is this the first time your nonprofit is applying for grants? If so, it might help to have an experienced professional providing guidance.
Whether you hire a consultant or have someone on your staff do the proposal writing, this still will be a team effort. Particularly in this tough economic climate, everyone from the
executive director to the board -- and everyone in between -- needs to
play an active role in your fundraising efforts.
So it would be a good idea to know something about the proposal writing process yourself. If this is a new topic for you or if you could use a refresher, you may want to attend the Foundation Center's free classes, Proposal Writing Basics and Proposal Budgeting Basics, which are offered in person or as webinars. For more in-depth training, check out our full-day courses, Proposal Writing Seminar and Proposal Budgeting Workshop -- both will be offered in DC this fall. You can also review our FAQs on proposal writing to learn more.
If you are interested in putting your experience to work as a freelance grant writer, you may want to review a recent blog post from our colleagues at the Foundation Center-Atlanta, Becoming a Nonprofit Consultant.
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