“It all depends.”

That can be a frustrating answer, but in the case of grant writing, the amount of time it takes to prepare a finished proposal can vary wildly.

Grant applications come in all shapes and sizes. Some are extremely complex, while others are only a few questions long. Here are some of the questions I consider when I’m attempting to estimate how long a proposal will take:

How many pages is the grant application?

How complex are the questions and required research? What are the character and word limits that each answer must be crafted to fit?

How much previously written material there is to draw from?

Is the organization well-established? (Will I need to project manage the process or have they applied for many grants before?)

Does the organization already have a mission statement and boilerplate answers to some of the questions?

How closely will I be working with the program team (or whoever will be answering all of my questions)? How accessible will they be when I require clarification or program data? How quickly will that person be able to review my drafts and sign off on content?

The bottom line is, grant writing does takes time. I’ve worked on applications that took two hours and ones that took 30 hours.

When you hire an outside grant writer like me, I dedicate my expertise and time so that you don’t have to. I provide your organization with a stellar proposal—one that’s concise, complete, and compelling. And you’re investing in quality content that your organization is free to use whenever and however you’d like.

So get in touch. We can have a chat about the specific grant you need help with and then I can offer an estimate of time and cost.

Read more Grant Writing Tips.