Frequently Asked Questions


Do you hold grantwriting certification?

Yes. We hold certification from the Freelance Grant Writer Academy, led by Holly Rustick (a 20+ year veteran of the grantwriting world with millions of dollars secured for nonprofits worldwide). Holly and her team also provide support on our projects.

Can you guarantee funding?

We never guarantee funding because that is out of our control.  Funding can be denied for many reasons: changes in a funder's priorities, limited funds, or because they are targeting specific nonprofits. Certain foundations may also not award grant applications the first few times that a nonprofit submits a grant application. This is because they want to feel confident that the nonprofit will be around for a while. Many nonprofit organizations don't make it past their first couple of years!

Also, it's important to note that a grant application is much more than submitting a document. It's the first step in developing a relationship. And relationships take time! What we can do is help you create a sustainable grant plan and create momentum - even when your application does not result in an awarded grant.

What’s your ROI?

You will absolutely get a return on your investment, whether your grant application is successful or not. If your application is denied, you will have in your hands an extremely valuable blueprint for program implementation, a solid budget, and a program plan -- all of which you can repurpose for further applications. 

And, of course, if the grant IS awarded, your funding is secured. 

So what's our ROI? 100%. 

What if my grant application is denied?

Most first-time grant applications are declined. In fact, many funders don’t award grant funds until the FOURTH application from the nonprofit! Yes, you read that correctly.  That’s why it’s important to understand the big picture.

With this is mind, here are three ways you can benefit from declined grants. 

  • We can ask for feedback from the funding source to learn why the grant was not awarded. Federal grants often provide comments from the grant reviewers, in addition to the application score. Foundations may also give feedback on why the grant was not awarded. This process helps us understand why the application was declined and know what we need to do to rework it for the next cycle. 

  • The grant can be used as a master template, which forms the basis for other grant applications. Grants need recent statistics, implementation outlines, and budgets. Having all of this information at your fingertips saves you from having to reinvent the grantwriting wheel with each application. 

  • The language and budget of the grant can be repurposed in fundraisers, sponsorship forms, crowdfunding campaigns, excerpts, infographics, and statistics, as well as on your website and social media accounts.

Do you work pro bono?

We are not able to provide grantwriting or grant readiness services for free at this time. For useful information about writing your own grants, please follow The Grant Muse blog.

Can you work on commission?

Grant writing on commission is specifically prohibited by IRS rules. Foundations and Federal agencies expect that the grant monies they award will be used for programs, not for grantwriting services. If a funder discovers that a portion of a grant award was used to pay a grantwriter, the nonprofit may have to return the funds, and will be barred from applying to that funding source in the future. This will seriously compromise the organization's ability to raise money through grant applications. In other words, don't do this.

Also, if we provide grantwriting services on commission but the grant is not awarded, then we don't get paid for our work. This is too much of a risk to our business. 

What is your success rate?

Nonprofits often ask this in order to establish the skills and credibility of a grantwriter. However, in several respects, it is the wrong question to ask.

From a mathematical perspective, grant writing success is how many grants have been awarded out of the total number of grants submitted. So if – for example – a grant writer submits one grant for $1K and it gets awarded, that grant writer has a 100% success rate.

What you really need to know, though, is whether the grant writer has the ability to deliver the services you need, to set up a long-term strategy, to stay on top of deadlines, their experience and background, their networks, and their knowledge and dedication in that sector.

In addition, a grant success rate is not necessarily a direct reflection on a grant writer’s abilities. There are so many factors that determine whether a grant will be awarded (see https://www.thegrantmuse.com/blog/grant-application-rejection), ALL of which are beyond the grant writer’s control.

Here is a sampling of factors affecting grant success.  

  • How organized and credible the nonprofit organization is 

  • If the nonprofit has secured grants in the past 

  • What types of grants the nonprofit has secured 

  • The experience of the nonprofit in a certain program. (Expanding and new programs are more likely to get funded than previously funded programs.)

  • If the program is a priority for the funding source 

  • The number of partners and amount of community support the nonprofit has

  • How competitive the grant is

And so on.

You may want to flip the question and ask yourself, “what is MY nonprofit’s success rate (i.e. your impact in your community)?” You should also look at your organization’s readiness for the grant application process — i.e. board structure, bylaws, financial policies and procedures, budget, 501 c3 status, strategic plan, and so forth. Your responses to these questions may reveal more about your chances for securing funding than a grant writer's raw percentage of awarded grants.