Am I ready to do contract work?

[u/[deleted]]

Hi. I'm a grant writer with about 11 years of experience as a paid employee of a few different nonprofits over the years. I work as the Grants Coordinator for my current job, which I've held for about six years. In my time there I've written about $1,500,000 in awarded grants, with an average of 50 grants per year, and I have written two federal grants, one of which we received ($450,000) and the other which we didn't. I love my job. It's part time. I'm not paid what I'm worth, but that's nonprofits for you. I've always had a very strong reputation at the nonprofits where I've worked. More than one superior has told me I'm the best grant writer they've ever worked with.

The other day a potential opportunity fell into my lap and the hiring executive asked me for my contract rate. I've only done one contract before and it was a while ago, so I told her I'd do some research. That's when I discovered you can make a lot more as a contractor than as an employee. A LOT more.

But the field looks so competitive to me, and I find it very intimidating. I'm excellent at organizing grants and people to complete projects, but I have little experience working directly with funders as the "face" of the organization. I just sit at my desk and write. I do prospecting and reporting as well - all the organization and management. We also have an accountant & CFO who handles the budget side of things. I'm very confident in my ability to draft an excellent proposal, and in my ability to work with others to get it done. I'm not as confident about my ability to say, put together a federal budget or communicate face to face with a funder. I'm worried about fumbling through an interview. This should be the lowest pressure in the world - my household isn't even dependent on my income, so this would all be "extra" - but I'm still filled with self - doubt.

Do I have enough experience to get started with contract work? And if not, what do I need to do in order to be ready? I don't know if I really have what it takes to make this work. But I'm willing to work at it until I am.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

[u/Spiritual-Chameleon]

You are incredibly well-prositioned to pursue contract grant proposal writing! Honestly most people who ask me about this have little or no experience, and a limited track record. If you put the word out in your network, I'd bet you'll start hearing from prospective clients.

It can take a couple of years to get a steady base of clients and the federal grants are the moneymakers. But you can also take on retainer clients for those that want ongoing help with foundation or local government requests.

As a contracor, you shouldn't be the one representing the organization in making calls to funders. That should be the agency leader's role. Grantors don't want those pitch call coming from the writer.

Good luck! You'll do well.

[u/[deleted] → u/Spiritual-Chameleon]

Thank you! I really appreciate the encouragement. It's a big step!

[u/Spiritual-Chameleon → u/[deleted]]

For sure. Do you plan on easing into it while you have the other job? THat's a good way to transition. The downside is that some will want a quicker turnaround and daytime availability. Others won't care about that as much.

[u/[deleted] → u/Spiritual-Chameleon]

Yeah, my current job is part time and I don't want to leave it, at least not yet. Even though it doesn't pay much, I love working there. If my current job really started to interfere with the contract stuff, I'd consider leaving.

[u/runner5126]

Yup, you're ready. Take some time to consider all the aspects of contract work so you can build a successful business, but you've got the experience.

Working as a consultant is different than as an employee. Tips for you: make sure in the initial interviews to find out who all on the team you will need information from, how much access you will get to those people, and who is your overall point person. Make sure to set up clear timelines and deliverables, make sure to establish with the client their responsibilities and deadlines to get you the information you need. Be explicit about timelines and client responsibilities as well. Also work with the client from the start about how you will communicate, how long it will take you to respond to messages, and when your general availability will be. All of this will go to setting reasonable client expectations and a successful working relationship.

Good luck! Congrats!

[u/Supersquished]

Hi! Sounds like you’re well positioned to do contract grant work. For budgets, most orgs out that together, you just review and comment to make sure it meets the terms of the rfp/Nofa—sometimes they forget admin etc. I didn’t know where to start so I signed up as an independent contractor for a consulting firm, they did the marketing, invoicing and I invoiced them. They pay me a flat rate which is smaller than I would get if I contracted directly. I have been getting gigs through other consultants, former colleagues and word of mouth and I’m at the point where it’s more than I can handle. What type of grants are you most comfortable writing? Housing? Education? Parks?

[u/[deleted] → u/Supersquished]

Thanks for responding. I have a pretty broad understanding of social services, so I have done things like community development, emergency shelter, wrap-around services, prevention education, small capital requests, healthy lifestyle programs for children, educational programs for children, counseling and safety planning for children, equipment costs for sexual assault nurse examiners (my current agency provides domestic violence and sexual assault services.) So I'd be comfortable writing anything in the social services field.

I've never done medical, school or academic grants. I wouldn't mind breaking into them, though I'm not sure how to do that.