Grant Writing

Good Afternoon,

I contacted a grant writing company that is offering to write grants on my behalf for a period of one year, as well as form my non-profit 501 company. They will do so for an up front fee of $6,400. I am reviewing the service agreement now, but am wary as I've read about quite a lot of scams on the internet. This company has not guaranteed anything, nor are they charging me for access to grant opportunities (which seems to the subject of most fraud complaints I've read), rather they are charging for actually writing the grant proposals for me.

I am new to the grant world, and am just looking for advice. Does this sound legit?

Thank you in advance for your time and consideration.

This isn't a legal question.

I recommend you find someone else who has used this company and ask them what they think. I'm a big proponent of REFERENCES for any service company.

You can get quotes from accountants and lawyers on setting up 501(c) companies that you can use as a yardstick.

THe big question: are their grants available for the things you intend to do? Is this guy going to find them or do you have to hunt them down yourself and if so, what service is he going to provide in writing them over what you might do yourself?

Thanks very much for the reply.

This company purportedly has relationships with numerous grant foundations, and yes, they will identify and apply for the grants on my behalf. Their services include tweaking my business plan to make it more grant friendly, identifying/applying for grants on my behalf.

As of now I'm leaning toward a no-go vote. The BBB shows them as only being in business for a month. His explanation is that the company recently moved from Las Vegas to Henderson, and since they switched addresses, the BBB resets their time as a company. I'm not buying it. Seems to me that the BBB would be a bit more sophisticated than that.

Thanks again FlyingRon - I do appreciate your input.