Better Funded’s fees for writing a grant application start from $1,250 plus GST. The fee is fixed, agreed in writing before any work starts, and doesn’t depend on whether you win. There’s no success fee.
What you pay depends on the application: how much it asks for, and how much work it takes to answer it properly. We give you the fee in your free check, before you commit to anything.
How grant writers charge
There are a few common ways to price grant writing. Each has trade-offs, so it pays to know which one you’re being offered.
- A fixed fee for the application. You know the cost before work starts, and it doesn’t change if the application takes longer than expected. This is how we work.
- An hourly rate. You pay for the time spent. It can suit small, well-defined jobs, but the final cost is harder to predict.
- A monthly retainer. Ongoing support across several grants, usually for organisations that apply regularly.
- A percentage of the grant, or a fee only if you win. The cost depends on the result, which can sound attractive. The writer is then paid only on success, so check how they decide which grants to put forward, and what you’d owe if a grant is awarded.
We use a fixed fee because it keeps the advice honest. We aren’t paid more for telling you to apply, so we can tell you when we think you shouldn’t. We compare the two approaches in fixed fee or success fee.
What changes the price of an application
Two grants with the same dollar value can need very different amounts of work. These are the things that move the fee:
- Length. A short form is quick. A long, multi-section application is not.
- The assessment criteria. More criteria, and more detailed ones, mean more answers to write and more evidence to link to each.
- How ready you are. If you already have your figures, quotes and project plan, there’s less to build. If the project still needs defining, that’s extra work.
- Evidence and budget. Detailed costings, financial cases and supporting evidence take time to assemble and check.
- Attachments and other people. Some grants need support letters, or proof of acceptance from suppliers or participants. Chasing these takes time, and the more people involved, the more there is to coordinate.
- The deadline. A tight deadline can add to the fee, because it pushes other work aside. Starting early is cheaper.
The time an application takes varies greatly. Some take a few hours, but most take many hours to complete properly. That’s why we quote for the specific application and don’t use a flat rate for every grant.
What we charge
Our fees for writing a grant application start from $1,250 plus GST. Straightforward applications sit towards that starting point. Applications with more criteria, evidence and attachments cost more.
Here is what you can count on:
- The fee is fixed. It’s agreed in writing, in an engagement letter, before any work starts.
- We price the work, not the grant. We don’t charge a percentage of the funding you apply for.
- There’s no success fee. What you pay doesn’t depend on the outcome.
- You see the fee early. Your free check includes our fee, so you can decide with the numbers in front of you.
- You approve and you lodge. You approve the final application, and you submit it to the funder unless you ask us to do it.
Is it worth the fee?
Weigh the fee against what’s at stake and your chances. Two things are easy to forget.
First, the cost of doing it yourself. For a committee or community group, writing an application can use up a lot of volunteer hours, and most applications ask for a lot of information. Those hours have a cost too, even when no money changes hands.
Second, whether the program lets you claim the fee. Some don’t: the South Australian Export Diversification Program, for example, doesn’t cover the cost of preparing the application, including our fee. See the program page.
If the grant is small and the application is simple, writing it yourself may be the better choice. We’ll say so. For more on that decision, see do you need a grant writer?
Questions to ask any grant writer about price
- Is the fee fixed, and is it agreed in writing before work starts?
- Does it depend on whether the grant is awarded? If so, what do I owe if it is?
- What’s included: research, writing, checking figures, support letters, revisions?
- Who approves the final application, and who lodges it?
- What happens if the funder asks for more information, or the round changes?
- Is there anything the fee doesn’t cover, such as reporting back to the funder if the grant is awarded?
Get the fee for your project
Tell us about your event or project and, if you know it, the grant. We’ll send you a short written brief with the grants it could apply for, how strong an application would be, what would make it stronger, and our fee. If we don’t think it’s worth your time and money to apply, we’ll tell you. Ask for a free check.
Andrew is an events organiser and events producer who spent years on the applicant side of grant funding before founding Better Funded. More about Andrew