When an organization decides it needs more grant capacity, the first question is usually "who do we hire?" The better first question is "what problem are we solving?" A staff writer, a consultant and a software tool each fix a different problem, and choosing the wrong one costs months.
This article is for executive directors and development leaders. It compares the three options, covers the pay rules to know before you sign anything, and shows how to write a scope that protects both sides.
Name the problem first
Write one sentence describing what is going wrong. A few common versions:
- "We miss good opportunities because nobody has time to look." This is a capacity and pipeline problem.
- "Our applications are late or thin." This is a drafting and process problem.
- "We have one big federal application and no experience with the forms." This is a short-term expertise problem.
- "Everything depends on one person." This is a continuity problem.
Each points toward a different answer. Without the sentence, you risk hiring a full-time writer to fix a one-time gap, or paying a consultant to do work your staff could do with a better process.
In-house writers: knowledge and steady capacity
A staff writer learns your programs, your data and your voice, and stays long enough for that knowledge to compound. The cost is a fixed salary whether the pipeline is full or empty.
In-house staff fit best when you have a steady volume of applications, ongoing reporting and a need to build relationships with funders over years. They fit poorly if your workload comes in a few large bursts. Grant writing alone covers what a one-person team needs in order to last.
Consultants: expertise when you need it
A consultant brings experience across many funders and can start quickly. That makes consultants a good fit for a specific project, an unfamiliar funder or a stretch when staff are stretched thin.
What they do not bring is your institutional memory. Plan time to brief them, give them access to your documents and name one person who answers their questions quickly. A consultant waiting on data is a consultant running over budget.
Know the pay rules before you sign
Two sets of rules matter here.
Professional ethics. The Grant Professionals Association Code of Ethics (revised June 25, 2021) says in its compensation section that members shall work for a salary, wage or fee, and that they shall not accept or pay a finder's fee, commission or percentage compensation based on grants. It also says compensation should not be written into grants unless the funder allows it. Pay a flat fee, an hourly rate or a salary, not a share of the award.
Federal cost rules. Under 2 CFR 200.459, the cost of professional and consultant services is allowable when reasonable in relation to the services rendered and not contingent upon recovery of the costs from the federal government. The same section lists factors that matter, including the qualifications of the provider, the customary fees charged and the adequacy of the contractual agreement, such as a description of the service, an estimate of the time required, the rate of compensation and termination provisions. And 2 CFR 200.460 says the costs of preparing proposals normally should be treated as indirect costs. Ask your finance team or grants officer how to charge a consultant's fees.
Employee or contractor?
How you classify the person matters. The IRS looks at three categories of evidence: behavioral control, financial control and the type of relationship, including whether there are written contracts or employee-type benefits. If you direct how and when someone works, that points toward an employee. Check with your accountant or counsel before you classify.
Tools: faster drafts, same responsibility
Software can help you read a notice, draft from your own materials and check a draft against the funder's requirements. It can't decide which opportunities fit your strategy, build funder relationships or take responsibility for what you submit. Use a tool where the problem is time spent on first drafts and checking, and keep people for judgment and relationships.
Scope the work in writing
Whichever option you choose, a short written scope prevents many disputes. For a consultant, include:
- Deliverables: which applications or sections, and what a finished version looks like
- Your responsibilities: who supplies data, budget figures, letters and approvals, and by when
- Timeline: drafts, review rounds and the submission date
- Fee and payment schedule: flat or hourly, with milestones
- Ownership: who owns the work product, and whether you can reuse the text
- Confidentiality: how your data is handled
- Termination: how either side can end the agreement
Who owns the proposal? goes deeper on the ownership question.
Say a small youth organization needs one federal application drafted over eight weeks. A hypothetical scope might be a flat fee paid in three milestones: the outline accepted, the full draft delivered and the final version submitted. The organization commits to supply budget figures by week two and feedback within three working days. The milestones give both sides a clear definition of progress.
Check that the choice is working
Whatever you choose, review it after the first two or three applications. Did the work arrive on time? Did it need heavy rewriting? Did it free staff for other work? Tracking these results matches the approach in metrics that matter, and it tells you whether to continue, change or combine options. Many organizations end up combining them, such as a staff lead supported by a consultant for large federal applications.
Your next step
Write down the problem you are trying to solve before you choose staff, a consultant or a tool. Use one sentence, then list who would do what to fix it. If a consultant is in the picture, draft the scope using the list above before you request any proposals.
SoliContraX can help with the stretch between "we should apply" and "submitted". Upload the notice, approve a concept and work from a draft built from your own materials, then review and finish it yourself. Get started with SoliContraX.