Grant writing is a well-paying writing niche that you should consider as a good way to make money.
Go to any classified or online job site and make a search for “grant writing” and you’ll see what I mean.
A lot of people, and especially the 1.5 million non-profit organizations in the USA, are looking for all kinds of grants to support their programs. In 2007, almost $300 billion was raised that way. And that requires the services of a technical and copy writer who can put together a good Grant Proposal.
One clear advantage of this niche is the low barrier to entry. You do not need any degrees or licenses to write grant proposals. And you can pretty much do it from any corner of the earth if you have a good Internet connection and a phone line. Some of these assignments will require you to call the grant officer in question for a follow up.
The reason why there is always a shortage of grant writers is obvious – it’s not as glamorous and exciting a writing specialty as (let’s say) screenplay writing or direct mail copy. But the jobs are there, begging for new writers to pick up the slack, and the pay is pretty good as well, especially for those who are paid a percentage of the grant money secured.
In terms of hourly pay, the fees range anywhere between $50 and $125 an hour, for a total of $1,000 to $5,000 per project. The exact payment will largely depend on your past track record.
If no upfront cash is offered, I’d definitely go for 10% of the GROSS receipts. Most non-profits would accept such a deal gladly since they’ve got nothing to lose and much to gain.
Here are some grant writing productivity tips:
Learn how to recycle the components of one grant proposal for another.
- Learn how to do your online and offline research as efficiently as possible since in this business, like in any other, time is money.
- Learn how you can get official certification in charitable fundraising from CFRE, the accrediting organization of the industry.
- Learn how to write a dynamite Executive Summary that would help differentiate your proposal from all the others heading for the slush pile.
- Learn how to keep track of contacts, funding cycle tasks, resources, and follow-up schedule.
If you do it properly you would not need to do anything else to earn a solid living as a writer. It’s definitely a career choice that you should consider seriously.
RESOURCE:
You can check out this affiliate offer by Bob Bly and Michele Boyer: How to Break Into Grant Writing. The book comes not only with a 90-day unconditional money-back guarantee but also a bonus 59-page report: Take Your Copywriting to the Next Level.
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