ACADEMIC RESEARCH ASSOCIATES
FEE STRUCTURE
Grantwriting, Program Development & Related Services
The following is a general outline of Academic Research Associates' fee structure for grantwriting, program development and related services.
The initial consultation and meetings with any nonprofit organization or agency or for-profit business are at no cost. In this initial stage of engagement with all clients, a specific fee structure is negotiated and a contract is developed that reflects that structure, including all elements relating to the scope of work, deliverables and payment provisions mutually agreeable to all parties. No fees are charged until ARA and its clients have reached and signed a binding contract.
Please note that ARA does not ever work on a contingent basis or for a percentage of the funds raised through its grantwriting or program development efforts.
Typically the contract between ARA and its clients is based on one of three approaches to payment for services rendered: Retainer Agreements, Not-to-Exceed Agreements or Hourly Rate Fee-for Service Agreements. These are explained below.
Retainer Agreements
How do retainers work in the fund development arena?
With retainer agreements in fund development, a monthly retainer amount is established in advance and detailed completely in the engagement contract between ARA and the organization. This monthly retainer is usually in the range of $1,000 to $5,000, depending on the fund raising goal, the amount of time within which this goal is expected to be reached, and, of course, an organization's fund development budget.
For example, the monthly retainer for a fund development effort to raise $250,000 over a 6-month period might be $4,000; the monthly retainer to raise the same amount over a 12-month period might be $2,000.
In both scenarios, an organization will pay $24,000 for the efforts of ARA to raise $250,000 by identifying funders and preparing and submitting proposals to them on the organization's behalf.
At our customary fee of $100 per hour, this translates into some 240 hours of effort on behalf of a project or program. However, many clients who have engaged ARA on a retainer receive a discount of $10 per hour paying $90 an hour for all services rendered. This translates into more than 265 hours of effort. Thus, organizations that work with ARA on a retainer basis receive a premium of about 10% more fundraising hours devoted to their cause for their fee.
For its retainer clients, ARA tracks all hours worked on the organization's behalf and provides a monthly invoice detailing how much of the retainer was used during the month. ARA is open to negotiating the treatment of unused hours.
Retainer fees are due at the start of each month, with a four-month minimum retainer contract required at the commencement of an engagement.
What services do organizations receive under a retainer agreement?
For the established monthly fee paid in advance (the retainer) , ARA conducts comprehensive grant source research; alerts the organization to potential funding opportunities that fit the organization or project need; consults with the organization's staff to determine whether the source is a good "fit" for the project or program; contacts potential funders (if advisable) to clarify their interest in receipt of a proposal from the organization; prepares all required approaches; letters of intent or preliminary proposals; submits all information requested by a funder pursuant to a preliminary proposal; creates and submits final proposals (according to funders' guidelines); and provides ongoing advice and consultation to your organization during the process via face-to-face meetings, telephone and/or email.
Not-to-Exceed Agreements
A not-to exceed contract is a mutually agreed upon arrangement between ARA and a nonprofit, where the organization specifies an amount that represents its total budget for completing a specific fund development task, such as preparing and submitting a federal grant application. There is a $3,500 minimum for do-not-exceed agreements.
A 25% deposit is required in advance, with fees billed on a time and materials basis at ARA principal's customary rate of $100 per hour. After the deposit is expended, the remainder of the agreed-upon fee is billed to the organization at the conclusion of each month until the agreed upon amount is reached. Typically as a part of such a contract, ARA notifies an organization when one half and three-quarters of the not-to-exceed amount is reached.
For example, ARA might enter into a not-to-exceed contract agreement with a $10,000 limit to raise $250,000 in funds over a 6-month engagement. The organization would pay a $2,500 deposit and ARA would begin to work at $100 an hour to achieve the organization's fund-raising goal.
This $10,000 provides for 100 hours of ARA effort. The $2,500 deposit is expended when ARA provides 25 hours of service. The organization will receive regular invoices detailing how those and all other hours were used by ARA in grantwriting activities. After the deposit is expended, ARA will continue providing the remaining hours, billing on a regular basis as hours are used, and providing the organization with an invoice no less often than when 50 hours have elapsed ($5,000 of the fee expended) and when 75 hours have elapsed ($7,500 of the fee expended).
Flat Fee Agreements
Flat-fee grantwriting contracts operate in a similar fashion to do-not-exceed and retainer contracts, except the organization does not establish a limit on the total amount of grantwriting fees and the fees are typically paid monthly, upon receipt of a detailed invoice describing the grantwriting services that have been rendered over the previous month. The flat rate hourly fee for services is $100, unless a higher or lower rate is negotiated between the principals involved based on specific circumstances. These fees cover the services of ARA staff members engaged in the following activities on behalf of the organization, usually including:
A private funder scan is based on a comprehensive search of private sources (usually foundations and corporations) in ARA's databases from which the organization is eligible to receive funds and that have funding initiatives or programs consistent with the organization's proposed project or program. For a fee of $3,000 (representing 30 hours of effort) ARA will identify these sources and draft approach letters and other required documents, and/or prepare a preliminary application to the five most promising sources identified and mutually agreed upon. For a fee of $5,000, ARA will double the number of sources, contacts initiated and applications completed to ten.
This effort includes completing increasingly common on-line pre-proposals, letters of intent or other first contact communications required by private funders. When a pre-proposal is required, the fee may cover preparation of both the pre-proposal or letter of inquiry and the full proposal, if the private funder ultimately invites such a submission, depending on proposal requirements.
No proposal is ever submitted to a foundation or corporation without the consent of a proposing organization.
Most proposals to government funders-whether local government, state or federal-are submitted by nonprofits or businesses in response to RFPs (requests for proposal), RFQs (requests for quotation) or similar governmental solicitation instruments. Typically there is a deadline stated and a specific and often lengthy application format prescribed.
For such proposals, ARA typically takes responsibility for writing the Program Narrative section, which may range from 10 to 100 or more pages, and providing the organization with assistance and support for completing all other required application forms, schedules and attachments. Bibliographies or reference sections, biographies of principals who will perform the work of the project, and other materials are often required, but not counted in the narrative page limit of government proposals, however, ARA often creates these materials as a part of its scope of work. ARA typically does not create the budget or budget narrative for proposals, but will work closely with an organization's leadership to insure that the narrative and budget are well-coordinated and support one another to earn the maximum consideration and points by review panel members.
The flat rate fee for writing a proposal to a governmental grantor typically is $2,500 or more, depending upon a number of factors, including the complexity of the proposal and the length of time available before the submission deadline. ARA can usually provide an estimate of how much the narrative and supporting documents of a specific government proposal will cost to prepare after a thorough reading of the RFP or other solicitation instrument.
Fees for writing a governmental proposal with a submission deadline less than 14 days away typically start at $150 an hour for clients on a flat rate fee agreement. Clients who have secured ARA's services on a retainer and for whom ARA is constantly seeking funding sources are not charged additional fees for opportunities ARA identifies within two weeks prior to a submission deadline. ARA conducts thorough, ongoing searches of federal, state and local government funding databases daily for its retainer clients to identify opportunities as soon as they are announced in the Federal Register to avoid stressful last-minute proposal writing and increased fees.
Funder Research Only
Customized grant source research is available for any project concept, whether or not ARA is engaged to develop the grant proposal. Such searches include keyword queries of databases of federal, state and local programs and private, public foundation/corporate giving sources. The fee for such research typically ranges from $1,000 to $3,500, based on the project concept and scope of the search.
Program Development Services
Grantwriting typically does not include program development services. The role of the grantwriter is to take a program concept that an organization has already developed and prepare a proposal to a potential funder who is believed to have a reasonable interest in providing financial support for that effort.
For clients who have a program or project "idea" but have not developed it into a coherent plan that includes a suitable name, needs and/or capacities assessments, consistent goals, specific objectives, and program activities, including a rigorous evaluation component to track processes and outcomes (including anticipated impacts), ARA is available to provide program development services prior to undertaking the development of one or more grant proposals for the idea.
ARA has extensive program development experience across a range of sectors, including but not limited to: health and mental health, early and family literacy, primary and secondary education, gender empowerment, cultural competence and ethnic/racial disparities, physical fitness, community development, economic development, housing development, child and family services, substance abuse and child maltreatment prevention, diagnosis and treatment, arts and the environment.
Program development fees are billed at $100 per hour. A typical program structure competitive at the federal level typically requires no less than 40 hours of program development effort from the "idea" stage to the "fundable" program development stage. Typically the program development phase required close collaboration between ARA staff and organizational staff to complete a workable, coherent and fundable program plan.
Services for Businesses
ARA provides a range of services to for-profit businesses, including business plan development and writing, creation of presentation packages, public relations or marketing materials, and preparation of Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) applications to federal agencies. These services are available one a retainer or fee-for-service basis, at rates starting at $100 per hour.
Editing/Technical Assistance
Editing and revision of client-prepared proposals, as well as technical assistance, is available on an hourly basis at a rate of $100 per hour for nonprofit and for-profit clients. Firm estimates can typically be provided after an initial consultation.
Expenses
Expenses associated with all engagements are typically billed at cost, plus 15%, including overnight delivery services, copying, and production of submission forms and other documents. A clause specifying the services for which additional fees will be charged is incorporated into each contract. ARA does not charge its clients any "hidden" charges.
Although ARA usually works via the telephone and Internet with clients outside of Central Texas, we are available for on-site meetings elsewhere at a rate of $1,500 per day plus travel and lodging expenses.
Payment Expectations
ARA makes every effort to provide its clients with a bill for services rendered by the 5th day of each month. Clients typically have 30 days from receipt of this bill to render their payment in full.
For clients on retainer, the retainer for each month is billed one month in advance and payment is expected no later than the fifth day of the month for which services are being paid. An invoice for a retainer client includes details of how the retainer was used in the previous month. When funds are "rolled over" into a subsequent month, this will be reflected on a client's invoice.
Clients unable to meet the financial obligations of their contracts during the contract period are encouraged to notify ARA of their difficulties, so that the contract can be amended and deliverables renegotiated in a timely fashion.
A contract sample can be found here.
