Grant Writing Newsletter Volume 1 Issue 2. How Much Do Grant Writers Really Make? SALARY

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2 The most practical, beautiful, workable philosophy in the world won't work - if you won't. ~Zig Ziglar How Much Do Grant Writers Really Make? Four common questions I am asked around grant writing are: Can I pay a grant writer a percentage of the grant? Can compensation for grant writers be written into the grant? How much does a grant writer really make? How does a grant writer get paid? Let s start with how much and how grant writers get paid. We ll conclude with 5 payment issues. The two most common ways grant writers get paid are salary and fee. SALARY Grant seeking involves researching and finding prospect funders. Grant writing is the process from start-to- PAGE 2

3 finish, resulting in a written proposal delivered to a specific funder. Both grant seeking and grant writing may fall on the shoulders of salaried employees. Some of the typical positions that might write grants are grant writers, grant analysts, development directors and hybrid combinations (i.e., in which grant writing is part of one s administrative duties). (i.e., valued higher) than grant writers in many cases. According to PayScale.com, the pay range for grant writers is $35,000 to $65,000. However, when you add benefits, this rises to $72,785. Indeed.com claims that grant writers make an average of $49,000. In Reno (where I live) the average is $42,000. According to Salary.com, the range for grant writers (as determined by surveys of Human Resource offices) is $46,500 to $65,000 per year. The average salaries are: Grant Writer = $50,000 Grant Analyst = $58,000* Development Director = $78,000 The second common way to pay a grant writer is fee-based. *It is interesting to note that grant managers (or analysts) are paid more PAGE 3

4 FEE One can be paid an hourly or a set fee. Hourly - When I was hired to write my first grant proposal in 1988, I was paid $20 an hour. If I remember correctly, that first contract was capped at $1,250 or 62.5 hours. I put in over 100 hours. After 14 successful grants, my hourly rate doubled to $40 per hour. By 2001, fees had more than tripled. Agencies were paying me $75 per hour. In 2003, this rose again to $100/hour. As a result of greater experience and discovering short cuts, I needed fewer hours to complete a grant. In essence, it actually cost the agency less in the long run. In other words, when you are successful, you can charge more. But, you need less time to complete the process. Go figure! Today, agencies hire me for $250/hour. For that price, you would think that agencies couldn t afford me. In reality, they can t afford not to hire me. More on that later. I ve seen ads for grant writers that range from $25/hour on the low end to $96/hour for self-employed freelancers. This varies region to region. Also, keep in mind that no benefits are paid to freelance grant writers. Set Fee Take a moment and search on the Internet. What I found was that many grant writers and businesses charge an agreed upon amount for the grant. For example, they might charge a certain fee for funder research like $500 and a fee range for proposal writing such as $500-3,500. Normal rates require 1-2 months advanced notice. Shorter timelines and more complicated grants warrant higher charges. PAGE 4

5 PAID INTERNSHIPS A cost-effective, alternative model is paid grant professional internships. Agencies hire interns from a formalized grant writing school or mentoring program for a set fee usually in a range of $100-1,000 (based on experience). 12-Month Mentoring Program Paid Internships Or On-The-Job Training What can interns do? Well, interns can create grant readiness binders, research funders, and/or write actual proposals. Paid interns are great because agencies get highly motivated interns at a tiny fraction of the price of a high cost expert. Plus they get a mentor an experienced grant writer as a supervisor and consultant for free. What are agencies saying? Click on the links below to hear two agency supervisors speak of their interns PAGE 5

6 5 PAYMENT ISSUES Here are 5 issues related to paying grant writers to keep in mind: Bonuses This may surprise you. The Grant Professionals Association (GPA) is a professional association for grant writers. The GPA code of ethics states that its members may accept performance-based compensation, such as bonuses, provided such bonuses are in accordance with prevailing practices within the members own organizations and are not based on a percentage of grant monies. Finder s Fee According to AAGP, a finder s fee is a payment made for introducing a nonprofit to a funder and/or contingent upon the nonprofit receiving a grant from that funder. Not only is this unethical for its members, but AAGP states that its members shall take care to discourage their organizations from making such payments. Commission A commission is a flatrate fee or percentage paid for services rendered when a grant is awarded, says GPA. GAP s ethics unequivocally say no to commissions or any form of percentage compensation. In other words, stay away from commissions or anyone who writes grants for a commission or even encourages it. When to Be Paid One online service provider s website says that it requires 50% up front, 25% at the first draft and 25% on the final proposal submitted. For my interns, I require the full fee up front. The reason is because one small business owner once hired an intern to write a grant for one of his inventions. The intern did all the research and wrote a draft. The inventor took the intern s draft and submitted it pretty much as is. He got funded, but never paid her a dime. Ouch! Lesson learned! PAGE 6

7 Fees Written Into the Grant GPA says, Compensation should not be written into grants unless allowed by the funder. SALARY SURVEYS Other than searching the Internet and salary-based sites, you may be interested in checking out the most recent salary survey of grant professionals conducted by the Grant Professionals Association (GPA). For the most recent GPA salary survey, visit Also, for more information about GPA, visit PAGE 7

8 Ultimately, whether or not to pay a grant writer a percentage of the grant or from the grant itself lies with the funder. If a funder allows this, then it is allowable. If a funder does not, then it's a moot point. You won't get the money anyway. If you are a member of a professional association like GPA that has ethical statements that you agree to as a member (that state that you will not do something like this), then you put yourself at risk of being expelled if you do this yourself. Keep in mind that how others within the grant profession - locally and nationally - perceive your choice can affect current and future projects, too. Warmest regards, Phil Johncock Editor PAGE 8

9 Keep Your Questions Coming - Next Issue: YES, We Want To Hear From You! Since this is our second issue, we need your feedback in order for us to continue to improve our publication for you. We want to know how you liked it. We want to know your most important grant writing questions so the experts can address them in future issues. We want to know what you want to know more about. Send us an with what you liked, your most important questions, and what you want to know more about. Send all s to: feedback@grantwritingnewsletter.com PAGE 9

10 12-Month Mentoring Program PAGE 10