Freelance Grant Writers' Fees: 5 Things To Take Into Account

Being a freelance grant writer is an exciting and lucrative career. Since the global financial crisis of 2007, colleges and non-profits, your biggest markets, have preferred to outsource writing to offset the cost of retaining full-time staff. Your skills are in high demand but using the following tips will guarantee you get paid what you deserve.

1. Learn to Calculate Your Rate: Don't guess. Without an hourly rate you're shooting in the dark when negotiating prices (and shooting yourself in the foot). It's easy to do, just follow the step below:
• Choose a target annual income.
• Add up your fixed expenses (taxes, rent, insurance, etc).
• Take the sum of A and B and divide by 1000 hours (21 hours weekly). This is your hourly rate.

Imagine This: With a rate of $45, you complete a $2,500 grant job in 30 hours. Your rate almost doubled to $83!

2. Try a Different Payment Method:

Freelance grant writers are paid in one of four ways.

• Hourly: Already discussed. The faster your write, the more you make.
• By Project: This works because sometimes clients get nervous when they hear high hourly rates.
• Per Diem: Charging a flat rate per day.
• Commission: Your pay is a percentage of the grant, only if awarded. More on this later.
3. For Newbies Only:

As a new grant writer, you've probably got a skimpy portfolio of mock-ups or pro bono work. While controversial, you should take these two steps:

• Bid low and,
• charge a flat fee for the project.

Why? A novice needs more time to write which leads to bigger fees when bidding hourly or per diem. Commission work is too risky starting out.

4. Commission Pay: Avoid It Like the Plague and Why:
• If the proposal's rejected, you don't get compensated for your writing time.
• Every grant proposal ends with a budget. Some benefactors see the your commission, smell a rat, think, "Why can't the organization pay their own writers?” and insta-reject the grant on ethical grounds.
5. Preparation: Did client give you all the documents you needed quickly? Was the data accurate? The more holes you're filling in the organization's project design the more you should charge.

As a freelance grant writer, you should use the tips above to help you bid with confidence on every project and maximize your income.