How to Tell if a Grant Writer is Legit

The struggle to combat all of the shysters and scam artists out there and prove that we are in fact a legitimate, professional grant writing firm frustrates me to no end. How many other professionals, besides bankers and insurance peddlers*, have to put so much time and effort into proving that they really are who they say they are?

Nonetheless, the grant world is what it is. There are way too many fake grant writers out there and it seems a new scam is born every day. So, without further ado...

How to tell if a grant writer is legit.

First and foremost, ask to see a portfolio. A legitimate grant writer will have more than a few successful proposals under their belt. And don't let them try to tell you that their proposals are confidential or proprietary to their clients. Most funded grant proposals, at least those for government money, fall under the Freedom of Information Act and are public record. They can and should show them to you.

Second, if you really want to dig deep, ask for and check references. Start with the portfolio. Check with an agency or two that supposedly funded the proposals in the portfolio and verify A) that they were in fact funded and B) to whom the grant was awarded. (This information is usually readily available on the funder's website.) Then, check with the grantee and verify that your grant writer did in fact write the funded proposal.

I save my clients all this trouble by offering not only a proposal portfolio but also a media portfolio of news coverage verifying our connection to the funded projects.

Last, closely inspect the grant writer's website and blog to see if they know what they are talking about. When I first began to consider consulting work, I set out on the world wide web to shop my competition and get an idea of what to charge. I was astounded by how difficult it was to sift through all of the phonies out there and find the real grant writers, let alone their prices. One thing I found to be almost universal, most legitimate grant writers had a blog and, by reading their blog, I was able to ascertain whether or not they knew what they were talking about and thus determine that they were legit. And thus, I blog too.

* The reference to insurance peddlers is a bit of an inside joke for me. My father was an insurance peddler extraordinaire. As a wee child, I used to tell people, "Know how to tell when my daddy's lying? His mouth's open." In truth, my dad was one of the most incredibly honest and forthright peddlers in the business. He taught me two of the most important lessons I never learned in college: 1) Don't lie; your reputation tomorrow is worth more dollars than a few bucks today; and 2) Always be good to your secretaries; they can make or break you. Sage advice indeed.