Should you hire a freelance grantwriter? Five time-, money-, and hassle-saving reasons you should
As a nonprofit leader, you have a lot of things competing for your time. Running programs. Managing staff and volunteers. Building community presence. Developing donor relationships.
Writing grants adds a substantial chunk of work to your already-full plate.
And if you’re doing it yourself, you’re investing time that your organization needs you to devote to other things.
Perhaps you’re worried about the financial investment of hiring a grantwriter. Understood. Hiring an expert definitely costs money. And it should. Professionals bring much-needed expertise to the exacting work of writing grants. But you can mitigate that cost by working with a freelancer – and not sacrificing one bit of quality.
And there’s the headache and hassle of allocating mental space to such a huge task. There are so many things to know about writing winning grant applications. But if this isn’t your fulltime job, you most likely aren’t aware of them all. As a result, you are probably working harder, rather than smarter, without the essential inside knowledge that comes with being immersed in the field as a professional grantwriter.
Thinking about hiring a freelancer? Here are the top 5 benefits of doing just that.
Benefit #1. You save time. Grantwriting is a time suck. Foundation grants can take 3 - 4 weeks to write, and Federal grants are usually a 6 - 8 week time commitment (or more in some cases). That is time that you are not focusing on your nonprofit’s mission and serving your community.
Benefit #2. You automatically gain access to a variety of databases and tools that would cost a lot of money for you to purchase on your own and wouldn’t be worth the payoff, especially if you’re a small to medium-sized organization. These include specialized software that
Helps find best-fit funders quickly, rather than through weeks of research.
Combines all the information about deadlines, documents, statuses and awards in one place
Help you apply for more grants.
Benefit #3. You get help building a strong grant strategy. This is something you NEED to do if grantwriting is a significant part of your funding plan. Applying for a couple of grants here and there isn’t going to cut it in the long term. A freelancer can build out a grant calendar that guides your nonprofit’s funding process and maps out your grant applications for the coming year. The grant calendar keeps things on track and keeps you moving forward in the face of distractions and setbacks. And a freelancer who doesn’t get caught up in the day-to-day issues of running your nonprofit and brings a fresh set of eyes (and brain cells) can help you keep your eye on the funding ball.
Benefit #4. You save money. Working with a freelancer means you save on the ancillary costs of hiring employees. Freelancers are business owners who cover their own benefits, including health insurance, social security contributions, sick time, vacation pay, etc. You only pay for the time they actually work, versus paying a full-time team member 40 hours per week regardless of their workload. Having a freelancer on your team is very cost-effective in the long run.
Another way a freelance grantwriter can help you save money (and time) is with a Master Grant Template. A comprehensive outline that provides the basis for every grant application you write, a Master Grant Template (MGT) is a streamlined system for grant writing that enables you to produce your own high-quality grant applications. The MGT is an elegant streamlined solution for nonprofits that prefer to work inhouse as well as those who are ready to commit to building a powerful grant strategy.
Benefit #5. You protect yourself and your team from burnout. Those frantic weeks and days before a grant deadline when it’s all hands on deck to get the application in on time? That may be time you need to put out fires in your organization, or just keep up with the daily task of keeping everything running smoothly. When you have a freelancer in your corner, they keep application timelines under control so you and your team don’t have to worry about them. And knowing your grant application process is under control can even free up your time for other important things (like taking a much-needed vacation)!
Ready to make your job (and your life) easier? The Grant Muse is ready to help. Book a call today and let’s explore the possibilities.