This is a fully loaded question.
No, I am not trying to be cheeky. It’s true.
So, really the question underneath this one is:
“How much money can I make as a freelance grant writer?”
Which brings us to another layer of a question…
“How much can I charge as a freelance grant writer?”
You can see that these questions are all related, right?
The thing is the answers to these questions are not cookie-cutter or set in stone.
It depends.
Here are some things to consider when wanting to know how much you can make as a freelance grant writer.
Grant Writing Experience
If you have been a grant writer for several years and are
comfortable with grant writing, you will be able to charge more than someone starting from scratch. That is true for anything.
When you have more experience, you can showcase:
This is huge!
But even if you have taken
one grant writing course and are just getting experience, you can also charge for your services too. You just won’t be charging as much until you develop more of a portfolio (like anything else!).
Ways to overcome the newbie grant writing position is to partner with more seasoned grant writers to review your work and give you feedback.
In that case, feel free to charge more as you will get those seasoned eyes on your grant awards. This is a great opportunity to have a mentor and develop your grant writing skills while also increasing your grant writing credibility.
Geography
If you are working with local nonprofit organizations, then it is important to know what market rates are for consultants. You can usually find out this information by checking out local department of labor wages or reaching out to other consultants and asking them what their rates are.
Some consultants may want to keep their pricing private, but it’s worth
developing relationships with other consultants (not just grant writers, but service-industry consultants) and find out what the going rates are. These are also just great relationships to develop.
But many of you work online and have national and international clients so you can also see what other folks are charging online.
The problem with just googling other grant writer rates is that you will see prices all over the map.
I’m talking anywhere from $25 per hour to $150+ per hour. This does give you a baseline, but pricing is more nuanced then just pointing out a number.
Types of Services You Deliver
Writing foundation grants and federal grants are two different ball games.
A foundation grant of two-pages will not be the same price as writing a 50-page federal grant application.
Therefore, it is important to know what type of grant writing you will be doing.
You can still make the same amount of money, but you will have a different number of clients.
For example, if you charge $2,000 to write a 2-page foundation application and $12,000 to write a
federal grant application, then you would need to write six foundation grants to make the same as writing one federal grant.
So that is something to take into consideration. Your specific tailored services should vary in pricing based on the level of expertise, time, and capacity it takes for each service.
Value Issues around Pricing
Here is my favorite one. We all have different emotions and values around money and especially around making money.
This comes down to a slew of different reasons with most based on being born into a
patriarchal system. This manifests itself with the following:
- Not feeling confident enough to price what we are worth (will people really pay it?)
- Giving way too many discounts (yes, I was there once too)
- Giving away the kitchen sink of all the deliverables you will do (it’s like we are convincing ourselves we are good enough before we even show our price!)
The other thing is that a lot of times you will see grant writing prices up to $150 per hour. As if that is the holy grail of pricing.
That does NOT need to be your glass ceiling. Raise your rates appropriately.
Expenses (overhead)
Here’s the thing. To know what your rates are, you also need to understand what your goals are.
Do you want this to be a side-hustle or full-time job?
It’s not always about working harder to make more money, but if you are a service-based consultant (versus having products and passive income – more on that later), then having more of the right clients does improve your overall bottom line.
If you are doing this as a full-time business, then additional expenses will come into play that include:
- Taxes
- Retirement
- Health Insurance
- All your personal bills! i.e., salary for YOU!
- Profit
- Office space (even in your home)
- Internet, phone, communications
- Gas mileage, travel, etc.
- Online software and apps (this is where you might spend a large percentage)
- Computer, printer, office supplies
- Training and association fees
- Consultants, virtual assistants, or employees
- Bookkeeper, professional services
- And anything else for business success
Your old hourly rate from a J-O-B just will not be the same as your consultancy hourly rate. There is so much more that goes into this.
So how much can you make as a Freelance Grant Writer?
Well, it really depends on:
- What goals do you have?
- Are you geographical based?
- What type of grant writing experience do you have (or can leverage)?
- What types grant writing services you offer?
- How much confidence do you have in pricing your rates?
- How much do you want to work (and then associated expenses to integrate into your pricing)?
Freelance grant writers make anywhere from a side-hustle income to save up for a trip all the way to a 7-figure+ business and anywhere in between.
As a grant writing coach and mentor, I’ve seen all the different income levels. What holds most freelance grant writers back from making more money is their confidence in pricing.
Once a freelance grant writer starts to improve their confidence (
especially in our Mentorship!) they really start charging more and they start getting clients that pay more.
For example, a side hustle consultant might make way more than a full-time grant writer if the side hustler is more confident in their pricing and has more experience writing grants.
One of the best things I’ve seen is a
freelance grant writer mentee double or triple their rates and then secure a nonprofit client that happily pays that rate!
My favorite thing to hear is, “I was so nervous showing them my new rate, but they didn’t even ask any questions and just paid the rate! Now I have more confidence and am getting ideal clients!”
This just lights me up!
So, remember, you can make whatever you set your mind to in being a freelance grant writer!
ABOUT HOLLY RUSTICK
Grant Writing & Funding (GWF) has a Global Movement to Secure $1 Billion in Grant Funding for Good and $30 Million in Grant Writing Businesses by 2030. Holly Rustick, CEO of GWF, is leading the movement; a world-renowned grant writer with 20+ years of experience, bestselling author, and business coach for new and seasoned grant writers to replace their full-time income writing grants part-time from home through her signature programs: the
Freelance Grant Writer Academy and the
Grant Professional Mentorship.
Rustick is the host of the top grant writing podcast “Grant Writing & Funding” and the author of the Bestselling book, The Beginner’s Guide to Grant Writing. With an MA in International Political Economy, past-president of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce, serving on numerous boards of directors, Holly is also an unapologetic feminist. She lives on the island of Guam with her beautiful daughter, Isabella.
CONNECT WITH HOLLY RUSTICK
RESOURCES:
RATE, REVIEW, & FOLLOW THE PODCAST
Favor, please? If you love this podcast, would you please do me a favor and leave a review on iTunes or your podcast listener?
This helps others find the podcast and I read each and every review!
“Every time I listen to Holly’s show, I learn something” <– If that sounds like you, please consider rating and reviewing my show!
Also, if you haven’t done so already, follow the Grant Writing & Funding podcast to get grant and freelance grant writing proven strategies and conversations in your podcast player every single week.
Thanks for listening!
Warmly,
Holly Rustick
Leading the $1 Billion for Good Movement: By 2030, aspiring and seasoned grant writers inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy & Grant Professional Mentorship will 1) WIN $1 Billion in Grants, and 2) MAKE $30 Million in their Grant Writing Businesses. We are on our way already.
What is Grant Writing & Funding?
Quit your toxic nonprofit job and replace your full-time income while writing grants part-time, from home! Join our students in the Freelance Grant Writer Academy to create Financial Stability and Flexibility through writing grants for causes you are passionate about: https://grantwritingandfunding.com/freelance-grant-writer-academy
World-renowned grant writing expert and Amazon bestselling author Holly Rustick provides coaching that helps new and experienced grant writers replace their full-time income while writing grants part-time from home (or anywhere they want to live or travel in the world).
She coaches changemakers to master grant writing and start to grow 6-figure+ grant writing businesses on part-time hours via her signature group program, “Freelance Grant Writer Academy."
As an unapologetic feminist, Holly’s work in coaching female grant writers to master grant writing, find their cause-area niche, and navigate value-based pricing and nonprofit sales is breaking glass ceilings for women all over the world.
Every week, she coaches thousands of people through the top-ranking podcast, Grant Writing & Funding, books on grant writing, and inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy.
Holly has 20 years of experience in grant writing, and began her freelance grant writing journey back in 2005. While teaching in Kuwait and Indonesia, and then earning a Master’s Degree in International Political Economy in Belgium, Holly saw the light of setting up a virtual-based business in grant writing back in the mid-2000s. Having secured more than $45 million of dollars for nonprofit organizations, and then setting up a multi 6-figure freelance business, Holly has a mission to help female grant writers break out of toxic nonprofit J-O-B-S and create high-level income while freelance grant writing.
Inside the Freelance Grant Writer Academy, students have secured more than $225+ million in grant funding and $4+ million in revenue in their grant writing businesses within two years.
To amplify this work, she is past-president of the Guam Women’s Chamber of Commerce and was appointed to the Guam Business Advisory Task Force as an advisor to the first female governor of Guam. Holly lives on the island of Guam with her beautiful daughter, Isabella.
If you are interested in replacing your full-time income while writing grants part-time from home (or from anywhere in the world!) join the Freelance Grant Writer Academy!
www.grantwritingandfunding.com.