Questions to Ask a Grant Writer Before You Hire

The most useful questions to ask a grant writer test four things: whether they have written for your type of funder, how they charge and what that includes, how their process runs from kickoff to submission, and whether their ethics hold up. Ask for samples rather than win rates, ask who handles the budget and submission, and treat any fee based on a percentage of the award, or any guarantee of funding, as disqualifying.

The questions below are for hiring a contract writer or firm. If you are interviewing for a staff position, there is a separate set further down.

Experience and fit

"Which funders like ours have you written for in the last two years?" A good answer names funder types and programs specifically: "three Department of Education programs and several regional foundations." A weak answer is "all kinds of grants." Federal, foundation, corporate and research applications demand different skills.

"Can I read two proposals you have written?" Redacted, with client permission. Read them for structure: does the need statement connect to the outcomes, does the budget narrative explain the math, does every section answer the funder's question. This tells you far more than any claimed success rate.

"Tell me about a recent application that was declined. What did you learn?" Every working writer has recent rejections. One who can describe what they changed afterwards examines their own work. One who claims they never lose is not being straight with you.

"What would make you turn this opportunity down?" You want a writer who will tell you when the fit is poor. A writer who takes every job is a writer who will take your money for applications you were never going to win.

"Do you hold any credentials?" No license is required. The Grant Professional Certified credential, awarded by the Grant Professionals Certification Institute, requires documented experience and an exam, so it signals tested knowledge. Plenty of strong writers do not hold it; treat it as one input alongside samples and references.

Pricing and scope

"How do you charge, and what exactly does that price include?" Hourly, flat fee and retainer are all legitimate. The second half matters more: confirm whether revisions, the budget, letters of support and submission are inside the price. How to read a grant writing quote lists what is commonly included and excluded.

"Do you ever charge a percentage of the award or a success fee?" The only acceptable answer is no. The Grant Professionals Association code of ethics bars commission and percentage compensation, and the reasons are set out in why grant writers do not work on commission.

"What is the payment schedule?" A deposit with the balance on delivery, or milestones tied to drafts, is normal. Full payment before any work begins is a question worth asking.

To check whether the number itself is reasonable, compare it with market costs by grant type.

Process and timeline

"Walk me through your process from kickoff to submission." Expect a real sequence: discovery call, outline mapped to the scoring criteria, first draft, revision, final compliance check, submission. Improvisation here predicts missed details later.

"What do you need from us, and by when?" A good writer will ask for program data, outcomes, budget figures, financial statements and organizational documents early. If they ask for nothing, they plan to fill gaps with assumptions.

"Who builds the budget?" Many disputes start here. Confirm whether they build it from your figures, review one you supply, or leave it to you. Strong budgets are part of the score; see the grant budget guide for why.

"How many revision rounds are included, and what counts as one?" Two rounds is common. Agree in writing whether a round means one consolidated set of comments from your team or any edit at any time.

"Who submits, and how much margin do you leave before the deadline?" For federal applications, confirm they know Grants.gov or the agency portal and that your SAM.gov registration is active well before the deadline; a lapsed registration can block submission entirely. Our guide to registering in SAM.gov and Grants.gov explains the steps.

Extra questions for firms and freelancers

For a firm: "Who specifically will write our proposal, and can we speak with them?" The firm's record matters less than the person assigned. Also ask how they handle a staff change mid-project. If they cannot name a writer, you may be talking to a lead broker; how to tell a real grant writing company from a broker covers the signs.

For a freelancer: "How many proposals are you carrying in the same weeks as ours?" and "What happens if you are ill the week of submission?" A single writer has no backstop, so capacity questions matter more than they do with a team.

Answers that should end the conversation

• A guarantee of funding.
• Any fee tied to the size of the award.
• No samples and no references.
• No experience with your funder type, and no plan for learning it on their own time.
• A vague or improvised process.
• A request that you hand over logins to your SAM.gov or Grants.gov accounts without a clear reason and a defined role. Grants.gov lets organizations assign roles to authorized users, so shared passwords should never be necessary.

Interviewing a staff grant writer

If you are hiring an employee rather than a contractor, the questions shift toward judgment and how they will build your system over time:

• "Walk me through a proposal you led from start to finish. What did you do yourself, and what did others contribute?"
• "How do you decide whether an opportunity is worth applying for?"
• "Show me a budget you built alongside a narrative. How did you keep them consistent?"
• "How do you track deadlines and reporting across many grants at once?"
• "Tell me about a time a program director gave you weak information close to a deadline. What did you do?"
• "What would you set up in your first ninety days?" Good candidates mention a funder calendar, a reusable boilerplate library and a review of past applications.

A short writing exercise, such as drafting a one-page need statement from data you provide, shows more than any answer.

For context on what the role involves before you interview, see what a grant writer does. When you are ready to compare options, you can ask us these questions directly.