Nonprofit organizations that use freelance grant writers are making a smart investment in their fund development, especially when they use their freelancers’ time effectively.
Here are ten tips (plus a bonus one) to make the most out of your grant writer’s time.
1. Get Organized
Make sure that your grant writer has everything she needs to be as self-sufficient as possible. This will take a substantial amount of your administrative time initially, but it will save significant time in the end. Ask your grant writer for a checklist of things needed and a wish list. The basics include audited financial statements and organizational budgets. Take a step further and produce project budgets for every program or capacity-building initiative that may have potential for grants. Also, provide jpegs of logos, letterhead, and photographs that help tell your story.
2. Single Point of Contact
When working with a contractor, it’s always best to have a single point of contact. Make sure the person assigned is a decision-maker who can delegate effectively to all areas within the organization. Development Directors of small organizations may be too busy around special events to give grants the attention they need regularly. Having the grant writer report directly to the Executive Director is optimal. They will have better access to the big picture and can ensure that information is produced more quickly for deadlines.
3. Put it in Writing
Dictating instructions or narratives to a grant writer over the phone can be a poor use of time and add to the chance of miscommunication or error. Rather, take the time to write bullet points for the main ideas that the grant writer can elaborate on and polish. Use an informative subject line in emails (such as the name of the foundation being applied to or the name of the organizational attachment) so that the grant writer can quickly find the information in deadline crunches. It’s also a good idea to break email threads by changing the subject line if the important information is now a new subject. If there is an attachment included, make sure to reference it in the body of the email.
4. Back Off the Deadline
Too often, busy organizations wait until days before the deadline to get information to the grant writer. Grant writers need time to do final edits, analyze the grant from the fifty-foot view, and package the proposal aesthetically. Organizations will lose that opportunity when the grant gets down to the wire. If there is going to be more than one reviewer, make a calendar of reviews and stick to it. Or better yet, use Google Docs so that everyone can edit together and leave time for the grant writer to finish it up. Note whether grants must be delivered or postmarked by the due date, and note the time of day and the time zone for online applications. Some foundations still require eight copies of grants, double-sided and hole-punched. Allow the grant writer a chance to make one final edit before the grant is submitted.
5. Provide the Budget First
One of the most frustrating experiences for a grant writer is to have the grant proposal ready and then receive a project budget that doesn’t remotely resemble the narrative. Work on the budget first so that the narrative only serves to describe the financial request. Organizations do well that have a solid understanding of what it costs them to provide the service, including staff time, overhead, and program-specific expenses. Follow the money.
6. Use your Grant Writer to Write Grants
Be careful not to let your team put the grant writer to work doing administrative tasks. Keep in mind that the grant writer is being paid $40-$160 per hour, and while they’ll probably do a great job at gently nagging the team for past due information, crunching numbers for a budget, or creating board rosters, you might want to save their time for grant writing.
7. Take their Advice, Seriously
Freelance grantwriters have seen the underbelly of nearly every kind of nonprofit organization in a range of fields, sizes, and styles. They have seen the best, and they have seen the worst. The grant writer is one of the best consultants a nonprofit organization will ever have because they know what foundations want to hear in terms of how the organization operates and they can help the organization move in that direction. The grantwriter is also at the forefront of research and technology and can suggest ways that the organization can be more efficient and effective – but only if you ask.
8. Keep Them in the Know
Make sure that your grant writer is receiving the organization’s newsletters and the minutes of the board and staff meetings. The more information your grantwriter knows about the organization’s happenings and things being developed, the more they can keep an eye out for appropriate grant opportunities. For example, one organization had a serious plumbing problem and later mentioned it to the grantwriter in passing. The grant writer saw a missed opportunity for an emergency grant, but it was too late at that point. There is also the chance that a grant opportunity might present itself for an initiative that the organization is undertaking that might have been missed if the grant writer had not been informed.
9. Try a Retainer
Working with your grant writer on a retainer basis provides the grant writer an opportunity to respond to urgent needs or back off when things are slow. The way the retainer works is that the organization pays the grant writer based on an average number of hours per month. If an urgent opportunity comes up, the grantwriter can spend extra hours on it and then use fewer hours the next month so that it balances out over time. The financial team appreciates having a consistent budget to work with, and the grant writer can use the time allotted most effectively.
10. Project Wisely
Encourage the grant writer to write several grants at a time for one particular project. Developing a completely new grant proposal takes more time, as does having the grant writer switch topics from project to project. One way to do this is to focus one month on general operating grants and then the next month on program support for a particular proposal, and so on.
11. Leave Time for Follow-Up Calls
One of the best ways to ensure a grant proposal is funded is to build a relationship with funders. Time allotted for follow-up calls, even following up on a grant that was declined, is one of the best investments of time and money. Relationships and personal contact matter and help get the grant to the top of the pile. Organizations might want to give the grant writer an organizational email address to use for initial inquiries and follow-ups.
This article was also published on May 3, 2013 on Candid.org Philanthropy News Digest’s blog the Sustainable Nonprofit. https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/features/the-sustainable-nonprofit/ten-ways-to-make-your-grantwriter-s-time-count