Choose a grant writer who tells you honestly whether to apply, puts the fee in writing before work starts, knows your type of grant, and leaves you in control of the final application. Be wary of anyone who guarantees funding.
We’re a grant writer ourselves, so use this as a checklist for any provider you’re considering, including us.
1. Will they tell you honestly whether to apply?
This matters more than anything else. A good grant writer looks at the program, your eligibility and your project, and tells you where you stand before you spend money. Sometimes the right advice is “don’t apply”, or “write this one yourself”.
If a provider says yes to every enquiry, ask why. Applications take real time, and a fee is wasted if the odds were never there.
2. Is the fee clear and in writing?
You should know the price before work starts, what it includes, and whether any part of it depends on the result. Our guides on how much a grant writer costs and on fixed fees and success fees explain the options and the trade-offs in detail.
Ask for the fee and the scope in writing, and check whether the program you’re applying to allows the fee to be claimed from the grant.
3. Do they know your type of grant?
Grants for a regional festival, a manufacturer buying equipment and a council building a facility are very different. Each program has its own criteria, exclusions and timing. Ask which programs they’ve worked with, and how they keep up with what’s open and what has changed.
You don’t need a writer who lives near you. Grant programs are run by state and federal governments and other funders, and most of the work happens by email. What matters is whether they know the programs that suit you, in your state or territory.
4. Do you stay in control?
Your organisation is the applicant. You should check the figures and approve the final application before it goes anywhere, and you should know who lodges it with the funder.
The biggest mistake we see is not covering the requirements properly, and not understanding what the funder is truly looking for. Ask a prospective writer how they work out what a funder wants, and how they check that every requirement has been answered.
5. Will they protect your confidentiality, and are they independent?
Your project, your finances and your plans are sensitive. Ask whether the writer will name you to a funder, or to anyone else, without asking you first. Our rule is that we don’t.
Ask, too, who they are independent of. We’re an independent grant writer, not part of any government or funding body. Anyone who suggests they have inside access to funders, or can influence a decision, is a red flag, not a selling point.
6. Is the process clear, including what you need to provide?
A good writer tells you early what they need from you: your figures, quotes, evidence and any documents from other people.
Some grants require support letters, or proof of acceptance from suppliers or participants. This is where many applicants start too late and lose out. Ask any writer how early they’ll tell you what has to be gathered from other people, and how they’ll keep you on track.
7. Can you check who they are?
Ask for their ABN, which you can look up for free on ABN Lookup. Check that the business name, the entity and the status match what you’ve been told.
Ask, too, whether they follow a code of ethics, and what it says about fees.
Red flags
Walk away or ask more questions if a provider...
- Guarantees funding or quotes a "success rate" they can't explain. Funders decide, and eligible applications still miss out in competitive rounds.
- Claims inside connections with a funder.
- Won't put the fee, what's included and any success fee in writing.
- Pushes you to apply for everything, or to decide quickly.
- Can't say who will write your application, or what you'll need to provide.
- Is vague about what they will and won't do. We only write grant applications and acquittals, and we send you to your accountant or a licensed adviser for tax, GST, loans or investors.
Questions to ask first
- Is there an open program that suits my project, and where can I read the funder’s own page?
- Do you think I should apply? What would make an application stronger?
- What’s the fee, is it fixed, and what does it include?
- Who writes the application, and what do you need from me, and by when?
- Will you tell me early about support letters, quotes and confirmations I need to gather?
- Who approves the final application, and who lodges it?
- Will you name me to a funder or anyone else without asking me first?
How we work
At Better Funded, we start with a free check: a short written brief with the grants your project 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.
If you go ahead, we agree a fixed fee in writing before any work starts. There’s no success fee. We write every answer from your information and your figures. You approve the final application, and you lodge it unless you ask us to. We don’t name you to a funder, or anyone else, without asking you first. You can read more on how we work, or 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