If you’re a nonprofit organization, one of the most common questions you have for grant writers is “how long will it take to write a grant proposal?”

And the answer is, it depends. 

In general, the timeframe can range between 10 to 300 hours. Now obviously, you don’t want the process to last that long.

But you also don’t want to rush the process and hand in a weak proposal.

So how can you find the sweet spot? How can you give yourself time to write a winning proposal without drawing out the process? Let’s find out. 

Lack of Organizational Readiness

Some factors – like the complexity of a grant – are outside of your organization’s control.

However, one of the factors that can delay the grant writing process is the lack of organizational readiness.

When it comes to writing, there’s one common truth: the more prepared you are about your subject, the less time it will take you to write your content. 

And drafting a grant proposal is no different. It’s not the actual writing that will take up most of your time.

What’s going to drain your time is gathering documents, collecting data, evaluating program details, and collecting financial statements. 

Missing the Deadline

Let’s be honest. When it comes to huge projects like drafting grant proposals, nothing goes according to plan.

Generally, there are only five sections required in a grant proposal to write. But to write those sections requires information like:

• Your organization’s history
• Financial statements
• Program data
• Community statistics
• Budget information
• Evaluation plans, and
• Community success stories.

In addition to this information, your application may require you to submit information from other stakeholders like executive directors or program managers. 

When you spend time gathering this information during the writing process, it can cause you to either slow the process down or miss the deadline altogether. 

Or let’s say you want to make the deadline and submit your proposal with missing information. Congratulations. You played yourself. 

Now your proposal is guaranteed to not get reviewed. 

How a Grant Writer Can Help You Plan Ahead

To prevent your organization from experiencing these problems, you can work proactively with a grant writer. 

One of the common mistakes nonprofits make with grant writers is only seeking their help to draft grant proposals. Even before writing, there are steps that grant writers can take to assist with your proposal. 

Here are three proactive steps that grant writers can take to help your organization reduce the amount of time on your grant proposals. 

Creating a Grant Readiness File

This one step can help save your organization so much time. 

A grant writer can help your organization collect the most critical  documents for your application. In fact, they would be the best person to help you with this step. 

An experienced grant writer knows what types of documents must be included in your application and how to collect that information. 

Some of the most common documents include:

• Your organization’s history
• Mission statement
• Financial statements
• Board list
• Program descriptions. 

Instead of searching for this information over and over again, a grant writer can create a grant readiness file that you can refer back to for each application. This helps ensure you’re prepared before any writing has taken place. 

Create Repurposed Proposal Content

In addition to a grant readiness file, grant writers can draft content that you can repurpose for multiple applications. 

Just like the documents mentioned above, there’s sections of the grant proposal that are guaranteed to be included, from leadership profiles to program descriptions. 

Grant writers can cut down proposal writing time by creating written templates of these sections that you can use over and over again. Now the time you would have spent writing this type of material can be used to properly align this content to the funders’ mission. 

This allows you and the grant writer more time to make each section of the grant proposal more effective. 

Assisting with Research

Last but not least, grant writers can help you with conducting research.

There are other factors – like determining how well your project fits with the funders’ mission – that can go overlooked when you’re focused on meeting deadlines. 

Once again, this is an area where grant writers shine. Because grant writers are used to using data to support their claims, they can help you assess which data is relevant. The last thing you want to do is include outdated facts or statistics in your application. 

Another benefit that this step brings to your organization is making sure that the little things are addressed. Some of the best grant proposals are denied because the organization forgot to review the funders’ guidelines or assess whether they were even eligible to apply for the grant. 

A grant writer can provide a second pair of eyes and make sure that your blind spots are covered before the process begins. 

How Far in Advance Should You Start? 

In general, you should start preparing for your grant proposal 4 to 8 weeks in advance.

If you’re applying for a smaller grant, you should seek a grant writer within a month of the deadline. If you’re applying for a larger grant or a federal grant, starting several months in advance is recommended.

Final Thoughts

Just like any project, you want to give your organization the best chance to submit the strongest grant proposal. You can do that by working with a grant writer who can help you plan ahead and eliminate the amount of writing time it will take. 

By gathering information, creating a grant readiness file, developing repurposed content and analyzing research, grant writers can be a great asset when it comes to grant application assistance. 

Need a Grant Writer for Hire? 

Ready to win more grants and secure funding for your organization? I help nonprofits, schools, and mission-driven organizations create compelling grant proposals that attract funders and support long-term growth. 

Contact me today to discuss your funding goals and discover how professional grant writing can help turn opportunities into awarded grants.