Hiring a grant writer: staff, freelance, or agency, and how to pay

Hiring a grant writer can be one of the best investments a small nonprofit makes, or an expensive disappointment. The difference usually comes down to three decisions: what kind of help you hire, how you pay for it, and how clearly you define the work.

This guide covers each option, how pricing works, the ethics of compensation, what belongs in a contract, the GPC credential, and the red flags that should end a conversation.

First, decide whether you are ready

A grant writer can make a strong organization more competitive. A writer cannot create a track record, a clear program, or financial systems that do not exist. Before you hire anyone, check that you have:

• A clear program with defined goals and some evidence of results
• A current organizational budget and a program budget
• Basic financial statements, and an audit or review if funders will expect one
• IRS determination letter and board list
• Someone on staff who can supply information, review drafts, and manage awards

If several of these are missing, spend your first dollars fixing them. Our readiness assessment will show you where you stand, and new nonprofit grants explains how first grants usually come together.

Staff, freelancer, or agency?

When to hire staff

Hire staff when grants are a major, ongoing revenue source and the work fills a real position: research, writing, reporting, relationships, and coordination with finance and programs. Staff also own post-award work, which freelancers often do not handle.

When to hire a freelancer

A freelancer makes sense when you need a specific proposal written, a federal application assembled, a backlog of reports cleared, or a grant program started before you can justify a position. A good freelancer also brings experience across many funders.

When to hire an agency

Agencies make sense when you need a team, such as a researcher, writer, editor, and budget specialist, or when you have many simultaneous deadlines. Ask who will actually do the work and whether that person will stay on your account.

How grant writers charge

Freelancers and agencies generally use one of three structures. Each is ethical. What matters is that the fee is for work performed, not for the money awarded.

Hourly

You pay for time spent, often with an estimate up front and a cap.

• Pros: You pay only for actual work; good for unclear or changing scope.
• Cons: Harder to budget; requires trust and time tracking.
• Best for: Editing, research, reviews, and smaller tasks.

Project (flat fee)

You pay a set fee for a defined deliverable, such as one foundation proposal or one federal application.

• Pros: Predictable cost; clear deliverable.
• Cons: Scope must be tightly defined; extra work becomes a change order.
• Best for: Single proposals with clear guidelines.

Retainer

You pay a set monthly fee for a defined amount of work or availability, such as a set number of hours or proposals a month.

• Pros: Ongoing capacity; the writer learns your organization deeply.
• Cons: You pay whether or not you use it; scope needs regular review.
• Best for: Organizations with steady volume but no staff position.

About rates

Rates vary widely with experience, region, grant type, and how much research and coordination the work requires. A federal application with multiple forms, a detailed budget, and an evaluation plan takes far more time than a short foundation proposal, and costs accordingly. Rather than trusting a published average, get two or three quotes for the same scope. Ask each candidate for an estimate of hours and a list of what is and is not included.

Why you should never pay a percentage

The most important ethics rule in this field is about compensation. Professional codes are explicit.

The Grant Professionals Association (GPA) Code of Ethics states:

• "Members shall work for a salary/wage or fee. Pro bono work is also allowable."
• "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."
• "Members shall not accept or pay a finder's fee, commission, or percentage compensation based on grants and shall take care to discourage organizations from making such payments."
• "Compensation should not be written into grants unless allowed by the funder."

The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) Code of Ethical Standards, as amended in December 2023, says members:

• "Support fair and equitable compensation, which may include bonuses or merit pay in line with organizational practices but may never be based on a percentage of funds raised." (Standard 23)
• "Decline receiving or paying finder's fees, commissions, or compensation based on a percentage of funds raised." (Standard 24)

Why the rule exists

Candid's guidance on this question summarizes the practical reasons:

1. Funders object. Many funders do not want their grants paying contingent fees, and they may decline a proposal if they learn of such an arrangement.
2. It is unfair to the writer. Proposals are declined for reasons beyond the writer's control, such as funder priorities, competition, and the organization's capacity.
3. There is no clean way to pay it. If the fee comes out of the grant, it diverts restricted funds; if it does not, the organization owes a large, unbudgeted payment.
4. It distorts incentives. A writer paid on commission has reason to chase large grants that do not fit, or to overpromise results.

What about bonuses?

Both codes allow bonuses for staff when they follow normal organizational practice and are not calculated as a percentage of money raised. A year-end performance bonus based on a staff member's overall work, consistent with how other employees are treated, is different from a payment of 5 percent of each grant won.

Paying for the grant writer

Budget grant writing as an operating or fundraising expense. Do not plan to pay a writer out of the grant they help win unless the funder explicitly allows it.

For federal awards, proposal costs are addressed in 2 CFR 200.460: costs of preparing proposals in the current accounting period "normally should be treated as indirect costs and allocated to all current activities." In practice, that means proposal writing is recovered, if at all, through your indirect cost rate, not as a direct line in the award budget. See our indirect costs guide.

How to find and evaluate candidates

Where to look

• The Grant Professionals Association's consultant directory and local GPA chapters
• Your local nonprofit association, community foundation, or peer organizations
• Program officers, who often know which writers produce clear proposals (ask, but do not expect endorsements)
• Referrals from executive directors of similar organizations

What to ask

1. What types of funders and grants have you worked on? Which are closest to our work?
2. Can you share two or three writing samples, with permission from the clients?
3. Can we speak with two or three references, including one where a proposal was declined?
4. What is your process, from kickoff to submission? What do you need from us, and when?
5. How do you charge, what is included, and how do you handle extra work?
6. Who will do the work? Will anyone else be involved?
7. Do you use AI tools in drafting? How do you handle confidentiality and funder policies on AI? (See AI and grant writing.)
8. Do you subscribe to a professional code of ethics?
9. How do you handle conflicts, such as writing for two organizations applying to the same funder?

The GPC credential

The Grant Professional Certified (GPC) credential is administered by the Grant Professionals Certification Institute (GPCI). To qualify, candidates submit an application documenting experience, education, and professional development, then pass an exam with a writing section and a multiple-choice section. The credential must be renewed every three years. O*NET's credential listing notes that GPCI describes the GPC as demonstrating mastery and not intended for entry-level grant professionals.

A GPC tells you a writer has substantial experience and has passed a rigorous exam. It is not required to do excellent work, and many skilled writers do not hold it. Treat it as one positive signal alongside samples and references.

Contracts: what to put in writing

Always use a written agreement, even for small projects. Our grant writer contract template includes these elements:

• Scope of work: exactly which proposals, reports, or tasks; the funders and deadlines
• Deliverables and timeline: draft dates, review rounds, final delivery
• Client responsibilities: information, data, budget, and review the organization must provide, and by when
• Fees and payment: hourly rate, flat fee, or retainer; invoicing schedule; expenses
• No contingent compensation: an explicit statement that fees are not tied to funding outcomes
• No guarantee of funding
• Revisions and change orders: how many rounds are included and how extra work is priced
• Submission responsibility: who submits and who holds portal logins (the organization should own all accounts)
• Ownership of work product: typically, the organization owns the final proposals
• Confidentiality: handling of organizational and participant information
• Use of AI tools: whether and how they may be used, consistent with funder policies
• Independent contractor status
• Termination: notice period and payment for work completed

Red flags

End the conversation, or proceed with great caution, if a candidate:

• Asks to be paid a percentage or commission of grants won
• Guarantees funding or cites a "success rate" without context
• Has no samples or references they can share
• Offers to submit the same generic proposal to many funders
• Says they have "insider" relationships that will win you grants
• Wants to hold your portal accounts or submit under their own login
• Proposes to write their fee into the grant budget without the funder's permission
• Pressures you to apply for grants that don't fit your mission
• Charges up front for access to a "list of grants available to you" (see grant scams)

Worked example: scoping a freelance engagement

Three candidates responded. One proposed 10 percent of funds raised; Riverside declined. Of the other two, Riverside chose the consultant whose references included a client whose proposal was declined. The reference explained how the consultant helped them understand the feedback and win the funder the next cycle.

Setting the relationship up to succeed

1. Name one internal point of contact who can answer questions and make decisions.
2. Hold a real kickoff. Share your strategic plan, budgets, past proposals, reports, and data.
3. Meet your own deadlines. Most late proposals are late because the organization's inputs arrived late.
4. Review promptly and specifically. "Make it stronger" is not useful feedback. "The need section should focus on third-grade reading scores in our two target schools" is.
5. Keep everything. Store all drafts, final submissions, and research in your own shared drive.
6. Track results over time. Look at award rates and funder feedback over a year or more, not one proposal.

Whoever you hire, put their deadlines and your input dates on a shared grant calendar. The writer is accountable for the writing; your organization is accountable for the program, the numbers, and the relationship.