Ethical Decision in Grant Writing ©
Part I. Grant Writing Fees
By Dr. Vanessa S. O’Neal
One of the biggest issues that a grant writer has concerning the actual service of writing grants is fees. It doesn't matter what side of the spectrum they are on. Whether they are a non-profit organization that contracts services with independent grant writing consultants, the independent consultant, volunteers. It doesn't matter. Fees are always an issue.
The issues, regardless of who you are and where you are located, remain the same. These issues are normally:
1) How much to charge for
writing the grant ?
2) How and when do you pay for the services?
Well, let us look at this realistically. If you are a grant writer that is employed by an organization to write grants, then it is a non-issue because that is what you are paid to do. For the independent grant writer, this is not the case. Understand that writing grants take time. . . a lot of time depending on what type of grant is being written. Therefore, although the fees may sometimes seem astronomical, you have to look at the time that is involved.
Independent grant writers very seldom view the whole spectrum of involvement and can articulate verbally why their fees are “so” high. Let us break down the process involved in calculating a "proper" fee.
Question: How much should you charge or be charged for writing a grant proposal?
There are different levels of grant proposals. There are government grants, foundation grants and corporate grants. Depending on what type grant is being written, it is always suggested to have varying fees. Understand also that there are two types of fees 1) hourly; and, 2) flat fees. The question should be when to use which.
Example: If you are the grant writer and it is requested that you write a foundation grant and you have an hourly rate of $85 and you estimate that writing this particular grant can take anywhere from 13-25 hours of time, your minimum fees should be $1,105. Is this reasonable? Yes.
However, most Federal grant proposals can take anywhere from 45-150 hours. At an hourly rate of $85 your minimum fees should be $3,825 and your maximum fees should be $12, 750. Is this reasonable? Yes, but realistically does the fee of $12,750 work for most non-profits? No. Furthermore, is it ethical? That is entirely up to the individual to decide.
The problem is time. The value of the amount of time a grant writer expends writing their proposals is often not recognized by the requesting person or organization. Therefore, in order to alleviate the issue of value versus time another method of calculation should be implemented. Specifically for this situation, a flat fee rate for the entire proposal.
Question: How and when do you pay for the services?
This has got to be undoubtedly the most asked question and it is also the most confusing for people, but we are going to make it simple. If you go to the dentist to have a tooth pulled, when do you pay for services? After you have received them, correct? If you go to the grocery store, when do you pay for your groceries? After you have finished shopping, correct? How about your lawn? When do you pay for getting your lawn cut or car washed or any other service? After the service is rendered, correct? So, why would you not expect to be paid for your grant writing services once the completed proposal is submitted to the person or organization that you are writing it for?
Understand that it is totally your decision as to how and when you should be paid for services but know that it is, regardless of what anybody else tells you, UNETHICAL to write your services into a grant proposal to be paid at a later date if the grant is awarded.
Grants are awarded based on the assumption that the money will be used for activity that is in the future, NOT IN THE PAST! Therefore, if you are writing your fees for service into the grant as a service you are misleading the funder. Remember, on each grant proposal there is some reference made to when the grant money will be used (ex: 1 June 2002 - 31 December 2002). A grant written prior to this date with your fees is not applicable in this case.
Yes, you can write in your fees for future commitments and the money can be awarded and you are paid under contractual services. That is totally fine. Any other way is UNETHICAL.
Grant writers are faced with challenging issues regarding time and money consistently and because there really isn't a uniform code of conduct regarding these matters. The ethical and moral judgment rests solely within us. My rule of thumb for these issues is "If I have to think twice about it...don't do it".
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Dr. Vanessa S. O’Neal is Founder of the National Society of Grant Writing Professionals, Founder of Families4Life, and the author of Grant Me The Money: The Practical Guide To Successful Grant Writing Practice.
Editors Note: This series on "Ethical Decisions in Grant Writing" will continue with the next three issues of the NGO News. For further information on the topic, readers also are directed to the Code of Ethical Principles and Standards of Professional Practice produced by the Association of Fundraising Professionals(http://www.afpnet.org/ethics/guidelines_code_standards).