Nonprofits: Should You Hire a Professional Writer for Your Fundraising?

 by: Lisa J. Lehr

If you’re a nonprofit—especially one with a small budget—you may be wondering if you can justify the expense of hiring a professional writer for your grant proposals and fundraising letters. The answer is…

Yes.

And I’m going to tell you why…and how.

Unless a staff member or volunteer in your organization is an accomplished writer, it’s not the best use of your limited resources (read: time and money) for you (or him or her) to be trying to wear a hat that doesn’t fit. Grant proposals and fundraising letters are highly specialized forms of writing that require special skill.

There are two main types of funding for nonprofits—donations from individuals and groups, and grants from foundations.

First, work on developing a donor base by appealing to those in your community and the wider world who share a passion for your organization’s cause.

A professional writer with a marketing background is the ideal person for this job. After all, a really effective fundraising letter is nothing more than a persuasive sales tool—one that sells a financial and often deeply personal investment in your cause. Strive to find a writer who has a marketing background and a passion for your mission, whether it be animals, children, education, the environment—whatever your worthy cause.

Then, explore grants available to your organization. Your staff member or volunteer can begin by identifying those foundations that fund your type of organization. The next step is to prepare well-written, technically correct proposals enabling you to be considered; this is where you can benefit from an independent grant writer.

Many nonprofits hire a full-time grant writer, an investment that is usually profitable, and therefore easily justifiable. A full-time grant writer has not only the writing skill but the ability to work under deadline pressure, the time, and the inclination—because that’s what a grant writer does.

Again, look for a writer who is passionate about your cause.

How will you pay the grant writer?
  (continued...)

Nonprofits: Should You Hire a Professional Writer for Your Fundraising?
  Page 2

About The Author Lisa J. Lehr is a freelance writer with a specialty in business and marketing communications. She holds a biology degree and has worked in a variety of fields, including the pharmaceutical industry and teaching. She is also a graduate of American Writers and Artists Institute (AWAI), America’s leading course on copywriting. Contact Lisa J. Lehr Copywriting www.ljlcopywriting.com, Lisa@ljlcopywriting.com for help with your business writing needs. This article © Lisa J. Lehr 2005.

Additional Resources

category - Grants for Nonprofits

Department of Agriculture: Value Added Producer Grants
The Value-Added Producer Grants program is geared towards helping the Independent Producers of Agricultural Commodities, Agriculture Producer Groups, Farmer and Rancher Cooperatives, and Majority-Controlled Producer-Based Business Ventures in developing techniques that would create marketing opportunities and establish business plans involving viable marketing opportunities that involve the production of bio-based products from agricultural commodities.

---

Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program High Priority Grant Opportunity
The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration has recently announced the Motor Carrier Safety Assistance Program (MCSAP) High Priority grant, which enables the agency to provide funds to State agencies, local governments and organizations representing government agencies as they as train and educate qualified officers and employees in strict coordination with State motor vehicle safety agencies.

---

Grants from the US State Department for Media Training Workshops in Tunisia
The office of the US Mission to Tunisia, which is under the DoS, is seeking applications for the Media Training Workshops program for the Tunisian people through the The US Embassy in Tunis, Tunisia.

---

Department of the Interior: Community History of Former Village Sites in the Nabesna District Project
The National Park Services has recently announced its intent to award the Mount Sanford Tribal Consortium with an estimated amount of $29,961 to be used in the development of cultural resource projects

---