New Page 3

Klariti Home Page

Download Templates Online

Buy in Euros Buy in Pound Sterling Buy in Australian Dollars Buy in Chinese Renminbi

About Us Free Tools Tips Templates Affiliates Site Map

MS Word template

Get Your Template
Get this Proposal Template - Instant Download
Buy this template - Instant Download


How Do You Pay A Grant Writer?

I recognize the difficulties that cash-strapped non-profit organizations have in providing upfront, fair compensation to consultant grant writers for the legitimate and important work they perform.

In many instances, it has become a common practice to make compensation contingent of the award of a grant. Nevertheless, there are concerns this practice raises which need to be addressed.

Often, the professional ethics of those seeking contingent-pay for grant writing are brought into question. While I see problems with giving grant writers a percentage of the take, I do not think that the willingness, or even the preference, to write grants on a commission basis automatically indicates a lack of ethics.

Rather than preach against contingent pay as unethical behavior, I prefer to share with contingent- pay seekers and providers some real-life consequences of such arrangements.

Say an organization wants someone to write a grant proposal for a project costing $118,000 and that the grant writer was to be paid a 5% commission if the grant is approved.

It is almost always a requirement by funders that every dollar to be raised for and spent on projects be accounted for on a line-item basis.

For many funders, the line showing $5,900 for grant-acquisition services, would be reason enough to deny the grant. It would make no difference what the commission size or even if the contingency-pay were a flat fee.

Grant-writing expenses are seen as part of an organization?s operating budget. Few if any foundations, corporations, or governmental organizations are willing to make a grant when a portion of the money granted is to be used to pay a grant-writing fee. Remember the grant is being requested for a specific project, not to offset operating expenses. A nonprofit that fails to take the possibility of such a caveat into consideration may be facing a rude awakening.

There is another reason why I believe grant writers should never agree to contingency pay. It is simply not fair for hard working grant writers to receive no pay for their efforts when a grant proposal is turned down because of a bad presentation on the part of the organization, an ill timed request, or for some other reason beyond their control.

And what if the grant was to be paid out over a number of months -- or even years? Would the organization be willing to pay for the services rendered in full at the moment of grant approval? Should the grant writer be willing to accept a payment schedule in sync with that of the grant?

In the end, grant writers should be paid for their time and efforts by the hour or project, whether or not the grant is received. I question whether an organization unable to pay a fair fee for work done is likely to survive. Few non-profits forced to operate in ways not fully in accord with accepted professional standards flourish and grow.

About Tony Poderis

Tony Poderis (Tony@raise-funds.com)

Read more about Tony at his Raise Funds website www.raise-funds.com


Biz Templates: Proposal Template  RFP Template  Project Management  Proposal Manager Toolkit  SOPs

IT Templates: Software Development Templates  Testing (QA) Templates  Training Plan Template

Sales Templates: White Paper Templates   Case Study Templates

Special Offers: White Paper + Proposal  Proposal + Mgr Toolkit  Proposal + Case Study

$ 9.99: Acceptance Test Plan  Design Document  Functional Rqmnts Spec  Test Plan   User Guide   More >>>.


Ads
Template Shop

Bestsellers / Special Offers

Software Development PackDownload our new template

Software Testing Templates

Case Study Templates

Design Document

Documentation Plan

Policy ManualDownload our new template

Project Management

Proposal Template

Proposal Manager Toolkit

RFP (ITT) Template

SOPs / ProcedureDownload our new template

Test Plan

Training Plan

User Guide TemplateDownload our new template

White Paper Templates
Most Popular
Blog / MS Word Templates

Books / Software

Tech Writing / RFPs and Proposals

Business Writing
Tech Writing
Technical Writing
Business Writing
Business Writing
Proposal Writing
RFPs, ITTs, Proposals
Project Management
Project Management
White Papers
White Papers
Grant Writing
Grant Writing
Adobe Framemaker
FrameMaker to Word Conversion
Free PDF Conversion Service
A-Z Framemaker
Framemaker Training
Writers Resources
Education
Writing for the Web
Content Development
Information Architecture
Mailing Lists
Text Mining
Writing Organizations
Others
Writer's Guidelines
Copyright Free Articles
Technical Writing Ireland
10 Years As A Tech Writer