Have been offered some freelance fundraising work - no idea how to handle or what to charge!

[jamtastic]

Hello,

I work part-time, and have been offered a small amount of freelance work by an external contact (out with my paid employment). I need to check my contract first about doing extra work, but what's bothering me more is what on earth to charge? The project is small, one-off and I would tackle around 6 or 7 funding applications, including possibly to the Lottery.

I have childcare issues to think about and want to protect myself from getting involved in something that could take up more time than initially agreed. I guess I would have to draw up some kind of written contract basing my fee on an estimated outlay of time, with a contingency for extra hours?

I honestly have no idea how to tackle this and in fact the whole fee side of the proposal is making me feel so nervous - enough to make me want to decline which would be ridiculous and such a waste of an opportunity to earn some extra money.

Has anyone any similar experiences they can share? Is there a formula that 'consultants' use to work out fees? I am so clueless at all this, and feel really out of my comfort zone. I'm not even a consultant for gods sake, just someone who could help a local project raise funds if I had the guts to say yes and to be confident about setting a fee!

Thanks so much in advance.

i have used, and am currenly using a fundraisng consultant

I have always paid a flat fee, usually for an set number of hours per week or month and have an opt out clause within the contract that if either party is disatisfied then a months notice needs to be given

FWIW £200 per day can be average in London and this can rise sharply

you need to figure out how much your childcare costs, how much your time costs etc

Some bids are sooooo complicated and take hours and hours whereas others can be done very quickly so it will depend on the work done. A lottery bid is likely to be a PITA

Also, have they got things like annual accounts ready, information for the bids or wll you have to spend time getting stuff together?

They say they have a case drawn up, but in my experience that can be woefully inadequate if it doesn't address the issues particular funders are looking for, and of course there may not be a financial/business plan prepared which some funders will also look for. I will need to clarify this, as you're right - that could add days and days of work and chasing. It's the chasing for information that could really hold me back.

Do you think I should meet them first and review what they have before setting a fee? Would you be happy if that were suggested to you?

Reading this briefly, yes, you'd be wise to talk to them about where they're up to before setting a fee. And if you're offering that time free of charge, they'd be mad to turn it down. Apart from anything, are you sure you won't want to walk away from it? They may have a few basics but do they have enough information / enough of a business plan to enable you to do your work? It may be that your consultancy is "right, you've got this, you need this, I'll go away and you work it out then I'll come back".

That might do you out of money and I know some fundraising consultants who would sit and smile nicely whilst you work it out and they take their fee.

Fee also depends on how much you want the job. Do you think it will be good experience / the direction you want to go in? Personally I think the childcare costs aren't their concern, you just need to be charging what the market will bear. Personally if I was starting from scratch working out a fee, I'd look at what I'd reasonably expect to earn (ie my current salary), and look in the Guardian jobs website to work out comparable jobs with what you'd be doing. Then work out your daily rate.

Very exciting though, I'd have loved to take up some consultancy work when I was part time, but ended up deciding there was a reason I was part time, and didn't want to fill the time with more work. Consultants are only fundraisers with more blag, remember.

agree with Peaches - set up a meeting first and review the bids they want you to submit and the supporting information they currently have available

then, after this meeting set a plan and timetable taking into accoung what needs to be done and submit a quote on that basis

i think you should go for it - bid writing is a PITA to most organisations (although i love it )

Thank you for your advice. I have decided to be assertive and meet them to get a better picture of what they have in store for me. And then more than likely, I'll say yes.

Peaches - like you I am torn, because I work part-time for a reason, and don't want to start filling in my days off with freelance work. I think that's what I really meant about 'Childcare Issues'. ie. not the cost of childcare, but do I really want to be away from the children more than usual, even if it is just for a few weeks.

And Ruby, like you, I love grant writing. It can be a hugely anti-social job, but great for a mum, because the hours are so flexible, it's very 'switch off-able'. I like being part of a team, but being entirely self sufficient and apart from meeting deadlines, no-one really needs me at any given time, so it's just me and my pc tap tapping away. So I'm always happy to do other people's donkey work and get paid for it!

Thanks again for your input.

good luck with everything - i hope it all goes well for you

Thanks for your post cbcb. It has really got me thinking about long term possibilities. My 'proper' job is great, I am well paid and have fantastic terms and conditions, but it has its frustrations and it also involves a 40min commute each way. The thought of potentially higher earnings and working from home is very attractive.

How did you start out. Did you have a salaried job that you phased out? Are you now self employed. Is that complicated from a set-up point of view, what about your pension and sick leave - are you just making allowances for all that? Can you actually get down to 7 hours work at home, or is it just too tempting to sort the washing and get tea ready .... ????!!!

Sorry - personal questions, but you've touched a nerve with me and got me thinking!

J

Reference freelance fundraising. I am looking to become a freelance fundraiser. How do I go about it, would you recommend approaching local charities and NFP personally with a proposal and going from there or is that too intrusive.
What type of fees do people charge as a grant writer for example, do you charge a different fee based on which finder it is such as the Big Lottery?

Is it better to charge a percentage commission or pay per day.

Any help greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

I work with freelance fundraisers. For projects I pay by day or by hour. Current going rate for good fundraisers is currently £50 per hour or £350 per day. I have some who charge over £400 per day but can't find any are good who will work for less than £300 per day. By good I mean those who really know how to do big applications such as CIN Reaching Communities, Big Lottery, Esme Fairburn etc.

I run a small charity and am looking for a fundraiser - please get in touch,

Hi there, if anyone is still looking for remote fundraising support (I'm London based) please feel free to contact me. I specialise in small organisations and have extensive success with Lottery, Children in Need, Department for Education etc. Best wishes, Christina

Following!!!

Hello. Just came across this thread.

I'm in the process of setting up a CIC providing support to small health and social care charities particularly around governance and Trusts & Foundations fundraising. I'm an experienced charity CEO and Trustee. If I can help do get in touch.

Hi, I am a Fundraising Consultant and currently working with SME charities, If anyone would like to get in touch my email address is: [email protected] and I may be able to offer some advice. I personally don't charge as high as the ones quoted and have a good success rate.