Grant writers fee reimbursement

[mach158]

We used a grant writer to write us a grant and we won the grant. Now can we simply just request the money that was budgeted in the grant for grant writer fees or do we go about it a special way? Also can we only request 95% of the grant writers fee or can we request 100%?

[BC79er]

All costs are subject to the matching, so their fee is the same 95/5 split as the rest of the project. You can request it at any point after the award was announced. You may have to send copies of the canceled check to them for it to get approved but that's about the extent of it.

[davepa]

not sure what you paid, but the max allowable grant writer's reimbursement is $1,500

We used a grant writer to write us a grant and we won the grant. Now can we simply just request the money that was budgeted in the grant for grant writer fees or do we go about it a special way? Also can we only request 95% of the grant writers fee or can we request 100%?

[mach158]

They already have a copy of the check as they requested that shortly after I received my 1199. Sounds like I will get that requested when I request for some more funds.

Thanks.

[lfdmichael]

Sorry for the late reply but isn't that a question for the person you paid for professional services?

[jjchief1]

Someone told me that now you have to get 3 bids from grant writers for the grants. Is this true?

[BC79er]

Unless your local laws or department SOPs say you have to get multiple bids for any work over a certain dollar amount, that there's nothing official from DHS on it. There's a limit to what they'll reimburse but that's about the extent of it. Other than no contingency fees or percentage based fees are allowed. If you pay a writer it has to be flat rate and paid within 30 days of submission. Or close to it, I know sometimes we run late on invoices going out and there's a delay in voting on payment of bills in many VFDs, only one business meeting a month, etc.

Contingency meaning you only pay if it's awarded, or pay some up front and a percentage later if awarded. In most programs that's illegal, and in all cases most national grant writing organizations find that unethical. Same with overall percentage based fees. I render no opinion not for fear of being seen as biased, but it's a free market society so I say if someone wants to run their business that way and people are willing to hire them, so be it. I've run into departments in the past that turned down awards because of the high percentage they'd owe the writer if they accepted the award. In said case I say shame on them for not reading the contract they signed and realizing they couldn't pay that much since it was more than their annual budget. But I know most around these parts that do it for hire don't operate their businesses that way either.

Probably the message whoever told you that was to shop around and see who charges what and who performs what services for that fee.

[jjchief1]

Thats what I thought but figured I'd ask the experts.... Thanks!!

[WJVaughn]

If I had known I was going to locally sit the grant out this year I would have hired myself out. New boss is taking a crack at it himself.