Well, after my post a few weeks back about people sending me grant proposals, I began thinking about what resources are out there to help artists write grants and learn more professional skills to further develop their careers. A couple grant writers also sent me the links to their sites and I will post those soon. I can't attest to how good these people are so if you hire them down the line and have either a great or a not-so-great experience, please let me know. Anyway, I thought that today I'd just take a minute to talk about hiring grant writers and also let you know about a couple resources that you might find helpful.
People have asked me how much consultants charge to help an artist write or edit her/his individual grant (not for non-profit organizations). Readers have also asked if I would do that for them in the future. I'm on the fence about doing that fee-for-service right now but it is possible in the future I will. I certainly will let you know if I do. In the meantime, here are just a couple things you should know:
* You should be paying the consultant per hour, NOT paying a percentage of the 'possible' grant award. That is considered unethical in the biz. What I mean is: if you are applying for a $20,000 grant and the consultant says his fee will be 10% of that award up front (which you may or may not get!), you are being scammed.
* People who do this for a living tell me they charge around $50 an hour on average, although some grant consultants do a sliding scale price and go as low as $20. Some people charge by the page to just edit your grant. It really varies.
I can't tell you if it's worth the money or not. All I can say is that having someone look over your proposal and application IS a good thing, if they know what they are doing. One way to get help, if you don't have any brilliant and experienced grant writing friends around or extra cash to pay a consultant is to check out your local arts council (and not just in the US but I know England and other countries have some great regional arts councils too) and see if they offer free or low-cost professional development workshops for artists. A great example of this is the Artists' Toolbox Program in Boston, sponsered by the Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts of Massachusetts, Inc. Other cities have such programs too. In Seattle, Washington, Artist Trust offers lots of great professional development programs.
There are also individuals who teach workshops and classes on grant writing, etc. Gigi Rosenberg gives regional (in Oregon) and National workshops for artists and writers. You can find her at: http://www.gigirosenberg.com. I met Gigi recently when she interviewed me for her book on grantwriting, due out from Random House in 2011 and although I have never taken a workshop from her, I have a feeling she is the real deal and that you would learn a lot.
Also, visual artists should really check out GYST (Get Your S**T Together), an artist-run site for artists. They offer software, professional development workshops and other services. They also have a blog so check them out.
Oh, I've also seen free grant-writing workshops at local libraries so check those out too. Many of them offer these kinds of classes or one-day intensives so drag yourself down to the library, check out a book or two and ask if they offer any professional development programs for artists. If they don't, suggest it. If you build it, they will come.
That's all the ranting and raving for today. I'm going to also post something right after this---an event coming up in Boston for artists. And coming soon....interviews! I'm lining them up---the response has been fantastic. A nice variety of peeps coming your way.
Your Faithful Servant,
Mirabee
3 comments:
Hi, Mira,
Just found your blog through your Aspiring Writer blog interview (good interview, btw). Just a few comments about this post and then a question for you and your readers.
Comments: It is not only unethical, but illegal in most states for a grant writer to take a percentage of an awarded grant as payment for writing the proposal. Your readers should know that $50/hr is an average price, but that preparing a grant proposal can take as little as 10 hours or as many as 40 or more hours to prepare. It really depends on the proposal guidelines.
How do I know this? I've been a professional grant writer for more than 12 years (writing for large institutions like the University of Pennsylvania, but also for small arts organizations and music ensembles).
This leads me to the question for you and your readers. I want to help artists get grants and fellowships, but I think, to be absolutely frank, a majority of artists eligible for funding can't afford to pay a grant writer or even a proposal editor - or at least not one with a lot of experience and contacts in the nonprofit world. And my colleagues and I cannot afford to work pro bono.
So this is my question: would the creative contingent be willing to pay for training? Or would they be interested in a how-to articles on how to network for funding, write proposals, etc, etc. And if a very detailed and well-written series of articles were to be written, what publications would they expect to see it in? And most importantly, what questions and details would be most helpful to them in said articles?
I currently earn a living as a freelance magazine writer and have been thinking for a long time about a series of articles for artists, musicians, and writers to help then research, write, and win grant money. I would be very interested in your input.
I can be contacted directly via writer -at- susannahfisher.com.
Thanks for any help, and just allowing me to post this comment. I hope to hear from you.
Susannah
Hi Susannah,
All great comments, and yes to everything. We need more workshops, classes, books et al. I wrote you at your email address by the way. Thanks for your input as a grantwriter. It was greatly appreciated!
Best,
Mirabee
Despite your enthusiasm for Gigi Rosenberg's workshops (Portland, Oregon), I have not found them to be that helpful.
Kim Klein is one of the best around, though she trains people mostly for non-profit orgs. she REALLY knows how to get grants.
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