Nonprofits: Should You Hire a Professional Writer for Your Fundraising?
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You may wonder if he or she can be paid from funds received. The answer is, in a word, no. This practice is unethical and, in many places, illegal. Grant writers should be paid for their time and effort by the hour or by the project, whether or not the funding is received. The grant writer’s fees usually must be paid from your organization’s other resources, such as donations, reserves, etc.

How much will hiring a grant writer cost? Fees for an individual grant writing assignment typically range from about $2,500 to $7,500, based on the complexity of the proposal and the amount of time needed to complete it (usually several weeks), not on the amount being requested. “Rush jobs” will generally demand a higher fee, as in any industry.

Consider it money well spent. It may well make the difference between funds received and funds not received.

Other considerations: besides being a good investment, hiring a writer can help you avoid legal trouble. (And that, ultimately, is a very good investment.) For example, charities sometimes “borrow” copyrighted material from print sources and websites without permission; even changing some of the content can constitute copyright infringement. A professional writer will be unlikely to have a problem with this because he or she will, first, be more familiar with copyright law, and second, be disinclined to do so because writing is what a writer does!

Maybe you could do the writing yourself. But why would you want to? If you’re not a writer, you should be spending your time on your primary job function, and leave the writing to a writer.

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.

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

category - Grants for Nonprofits

National Science Foundation announces the Cyberlearning: Transforming Education Program
The Cyberlearning: Transforming Education is a program wherein the NSF will provide funding for research proposals that aim to explore opportunities associated with the promotion and assessment of learning techniques through the help of new technologies, taking advantage of the application of those technologies, and the utilization of those technologies in the process of promoting deep and lasting learning of content, practices, skills, attitudes, and dispositions that are essential in becoming an engaged and productive citizen.

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United States Department of Housing and Urban Development: Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program
The Sustainable Communities Regional Planning Grant Program aims to improve regional planning efforts that integrate housing, transportation, economic development, and environmental infrastructure investment decisions, in order to increase the country's capacity to incorporate livability, sustainability and social equity into land use plans and zoning.

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National Institutes of Health: Expanding the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements in Human and Model Organisms
The National Institutes of Health, in cooperation with the National Human Genome Research Institute, has established a funding opportunity to support the Expanding the Encyclopedia of DNA Elements in Human and Model Organisms project.

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Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program
The Laura Bush 21st Century Librarian Program revolves around improving then country's information infrastructure through the utilization of funding projects that are designed to address the education and training needs of certain professionals who help build, maintain and provide the public with immediate access to some of the world's vast and wide-ranging information systems and resources.

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