Many small NGOs do not know how to apply for a grant. Even if they find a grant opportunity, they do not have skilled human resources to write a grant application. Doing research and writing grants takes time for the fine research and writing skills. The only option left is to hire a professional grant writer, at least for a couple of times, before you are able to hire a skilled staff or train one of your own.
Grant writers or Consultants can be defined as the expert in the grant application writing also known as proposal writing. A grant writer’s job consists of researching grant funding opportunities, analyzing and developing proposals, writing project descriptions, compiling budgetary and other information required by donors and submitting grant applications. The grant writer is also responsible to write evaluation reports required by the donor.
Money Matter
You can hire a grant writer as a full-time staff or on a contract basis. And they come with additional expenses. You need to pay them so, consider it in your internal budget. If you are already struggling financially; ask yourself if you can afford to add an expense. Mind you, a job of a grant writer is to write a proposal. Hiring one may increase the chances of getting a grant but does not guarantee anything. No false promises. If you are a volunteering based NGO, you may also call an invitation for a volunteer or intern, keen to use their proposal writing knowledge for a good cause for low cost or pro bono.
Grant Amount
Think about the amount for which you are applying. You do not want to spend $ 5000 on a Grant writer for a grant application of $ 10000. Best would be to consider hiring professional for a larger grant application and write small grants in-house and then hire a grant writer to review and evaluate the final proposal.
Expertise
A good grant writer is someone who is not only good at writing but someone who can actually get the grant for your organization. Hire a grant getter. A grant writer should know the fundraising scenario. S/he should have the skill to find a matching donor for your NGO. Learn about his accomplishments and what kind of organizations he has worked with. Try to find if the person has worked in an organization similar to yours. Experience wins over qualification.
Involvement
Ideally, you want your grant writer to be involved as much as possible during the grant process. A professional grant writer might be working for several clients at a given time. Ask them how much time they are willing to give you just to learn about your organization. It could be participation in a staff meeting, monitoring project design and budgeting, visiting the field, interviewing beneficiaries etc. But never give your grant writer the responsibility of building a relationship with potential donors. The foundation should build a relationship with you, not with someone hired temporarily.
Personality
You grant writer may be working under a contract but he does represent your organization. A donor gets to know you and your work through his words. During the hiring process, ask personality based questions to learn about creativity skill, teamwork, and passion towards a social cause. As an NGO, you do not want your proposal to just show the facts and figures. They should relate to humanity and have an emotional experience of supporting a cause.
For most NGOs, hiring consultants to write proposals do not amount to good use of resources. For one, it will not guarantee funding and consultants typically have a fee which they charge regardless of the success or failure of the proposal. More importantly, writing proposals is something organizations must do repeatedly and so is an essential skill every NGO relying on grants to fund projects must possess. The resources put into hiring a consultant might be better spent developing internal capacity in proposal writing.
Priti is a Development Professional with years of experience as a Director of Operations for an American humanitarian organization in Nepal. She is a published writer and researcher focusing on international development funding and grassroots NGOs. She holds a master’s degree in Business. She oversees the team that provides support to NGOs and site users.
Great tips we neee to train ourself. Grant writers are very exoensive here
Thank you proto thapa for this insight. I would love to have your contact ,email to have you help me out with NGO,budgeting. I have not had a grant,I just registered this NGO,but I have a passion for service. Thank you Nnena
Dear Nnena,
Unfortunately, we do not offer these services. We hope our content will help your organization to learn enough to develop a proposal and budget.
The first rule of Proposal Writing- is NEVER GIVE UP and Keep on trying.
Do subscribe, we will be posting in-depth articles on budgets soon.
Agree on most everything except the last line: “The resources put into hiring a consultant might be better spent developing internal capacity in proposal writing.”
If you are the internal capacity, you’re paying yourself. Maybe as “unpaid” labor to support the NGO, but the work still needs doing. Framing this as a new skill hides the reality of overburden, burnout, and horrific work culture of nonprofits.
Hello Max, Thank you for sharing your perspective on the issue. We completely agree that addressing burnout and ensuring a healthy work-life balance is crucial in the nonprofit sector. It is indeed essential to acknowledge the overburden and stress that many individuals working for nonprofits experience. In our suggestion to focus on developing internal capacity in proposal writing, we did not mean to dismiss or undermine the challenges faced by nonprofit employees. Rather, our intention was to emphasize the potential benefit of investing in skill development within the organization. By allocating resources towards enhancing internal capabilities, nonprofits can empower their… Read more »