How to Hire a Grant Writer: Questions, Red Flags, and the Contract

In this article, “grant writer” means an outside consultant or firm you pay to research, write, or prepare grant applications. It doesn’t cover your own staff. The rules we cite are the ethics codes of the two main professional groups and, where federal money pays the writer, the federal cost and procurement rules. Your funder’s terms and your state’s law may add more.

Do I need a grant writer?

You may, if you have a funder that fits, a real program, and not enough staff time to meet the deadline. A writer can also help on a large government application, where the narrative is only one piece and the budget, forms, and attachments take as long as the writing.

A writer can’t fix a poor fit. If you don’t yet have a program with results, a budget, and recent financial statements, start there. Our grant readiness checklist covers what funders look for first. For federal grants, your organization also has to be registered in SAM.gov before it can apply, and that takes time; our SAM.gov guide walks through it.

Where do you find a good grant writer?

Start with people who see a lot of proposals. Program officers, community foundation staff, and your state’s nonprofit association often know who writes well. Ask peer organizations who wrote their funded applications.

The Grant Professionals Association (GPA) runs a Find a Consultant directory. The Grant Professionals Certification Institute offers the Grant Professional Certified (GPC) credential. Eligibility is scored on education, experience, professional development, and community involvement, and candidates then have to pass an exam (GPCI). It’s a useful signal, but many good writers don’t hold it, and no law requires it.

What questions should you ask a grant writer?

Ask about their recent work with funders like yours, how they work with your staff, and how they charge. The answers tell you more than a portfolio does.

Pay attention to the questions the writer asks you. A good writer will want to know about your program, your numbers, your past grants, and why this funder fits, before they talk about price.

What is a good success rate for a grant writer?

There is no standard success rate, and the number can mislead you. A writer who only works on renewals with longtime funders can show a very high rate. A writer who takes on competitive federal programs will show a lower one and may still be the better hire.

Ask instead for the counts behind the claim: how many applications they submitted in a set period, how many were funded, for how much, and with which kinds of funders. GPA’s code asks its members to be “forthcoming and truthful” about their professional experience and not to present misleading credentials (GPA Code of Ethics, item 7). A writer who can’t break down their number is a writer to question.

What are the red flags when hiring a grant writer?

• A promise of funding. No one controls a funder’s decision. A writer who guarantees an award is guessing or selling.
• Pay as a percentage of the grant. GPA members “shall not accept or pay a finder’s fee, commission, or percentage compensation based on grants” (GPA Code of Ethics, item 19). The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) bars its members from pay based on a percentage of contributions, and from finder’s fees and contingent fees (AFP Code, Standard 21).
• Writing their fee into the grant without asking the funder. GPA’s code says pay should not be written into grants unless the funder allows it (item 20). Many funders don’t.
• Special access to “free government money.” Grants.gov warns that the government doesn’t contact people about grants they didn’t apply for, and that it doesn’t charge a fee to apply for a federal grant (Grants.gov). Anyone selling a shortcut to federal money is a risk.
• No samples, no references, or no written contract. Any one of these is reason to slow down.

How should you pay a grant writer?

Pay for the work, not the outcome. GPA’s code says members should work for a salary, wage, or fee (item 17). In practice that means a fixed fee per application, an hourly rate with a cap, or a monthly retainer.

Federal rules add two limits. The cost of preparing applications “normally should be treated as indirect costs,” recovered through your indirect rate rather than billed to the award it wins (2 CFR 200.460). And when federal money pays a consultant, the fee can’t depend on winning: consultant costs are allowable only when they are “not contingent upon recovery of the costs from the Federal Government” (2 CFR 200.459(a)). Our posts on what a grant writer costs and whether grant funds can pay for one cover rates and the funder rules.

What should a grant writer contract say?

Put the deal in writing before work starts. At a minimum, the contract should cover these points:

1. Scope. Which applications, which funders, and which deadlines.
2. Deliverables. What you get, such as the narrative, budget narrative, and attachments list, and how many rounds of review.
3. Your part. What you will supply, and by when.
4. Fee and payment. The amount, when it is due, and what happens if the deadline moves or the funder cancels.
5. Submission. Who submits, from whose accounts.
6. No guarantee. A plain statement that the fee is earned for the work and doesn’t depend on an award.
7. Ownership and reuse. Who owns the text, and your right to reuse it in later applications.
8. Confidentiality and conflicts. How your information is protected, and a duty to disclose conflicts.
9. Ending the contract. How either side can end it, and what you pay for work already done.

Ownership needs a closer look. Circular 30 from the U.S. Copyright Office lists nine kinds of commissioned work that can be a “work made for hire,” and only with a signed written agreement (Circular 30). In our reading, a grant proposal usually doesn’t fit those nine. If it doesn’t, and the contract says nothing, the writer may keep the copyright. The answer turns on the facts and the contract, so ask for a written assignment, or at least a license to reuse the text, and have an attorney check the wording.

Sample language, for illustration only and not legal advice: “Consultant’s fees are earned for services performed and are not contingent on any award. Consultant makes no guarantee that any application will be funded. Upon payment in full, Consultant assigns to Client all rights in the application materials prepared under this Agreement.” Have your attorney review any contract before you sign it.

How do public agencies and nonprofits hire a grant writer with federal funds?

If federal award money pays the writer, the federal procurement rules decide how you hire. Nonprofits, cities, counties, and school districts follow the procurement standards in 2 CFR 200.318 through 200.327. States and tribes follow their own procurement policies instead, plus a few of the federal sections (2 CFR 200.317). If no federal money pays the writer, your own purchasing policy and any state or local law apply.

Under the federal standards you must use documented procurement procedures and pick a method based on the size of the purchase (2 CFR 200.320). When you award by competitive proposals, price has to be one of the factors (2 CFR 200.320(b)(2)(iii)). Selecting on qualifications alone, without price, is allowed only for architectural and engineering services (2 CFR 200.320(b)(2)(iv)). You also need written standards on conflicts of interest for anyone involved in choosing the contractor (2 CFR 200.318(c)(1)).

Plan ahead if you want the same firm to write the application and later manage the award. Some agencies bar a contractor who helped write an application from that later work unless one procurement covered both; our post on paying a grant writer from grant funds has the details. Our thresholds post lists the current dollar limits for each procurement method.

Frequently asked questions

References: Grant Professionals Association Code of Ethics (revised June 10, 2023), items 7, 17, 19, and 20; AFP Code of Ethical Standards, Standard 21; Grant Professionals Certification Institute; Grants.gov, Grant-Related Scams; U.S. Copyright Office, Circular 30, Works Made for Hire; 2 CFR 200.317, 200.318(c)(1), 200.320(b)(2), 200.459(a), and 200.460. All checked October 30, 2026.

This article is general information. It is not legal, tax, or accounting advice.