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Grant Writer vs In-house ROI Calculator

Compare the net expected return of writing grants in-house with hiring a grant writer, based on time, fees, success rates and award size.

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The tool

Enter your numbers below. Results update as you type, and nothing leaves your browser.

Everything you enter stays on your own machine. Nothing is sent to us or to anyone else, which you can confirm in your browser network tab.

What people use it for

  • Deciding whether to hire a grant writer
  • Development budget planning
  • Board proposals
  • Freelance grant writer pricing pitches

About this tool

What the Grant Writer vs In-house ROI Calculator does

Grant writing takes time that staff could spend elsewhere. An experienced grant writer costs money but may raise success rates and free staff. Comparing expected funding minus cost for each option, per year, shows which is the better use of resources.

It also works as a grant writing time roi calculator.

Formula

  • Expected funding = proposals × success rate × average award
  • In-house cost = proposals × hours × staff rate
  • Writer cost = proposals × (fee + support hours × staff rate)

Worked example

Using the starting values in the calculator above:

Input Value
Proposals per year 12
Average award $40,000
In-house hours per proposal 40
Staff cost per hour (incl. benefits) $42.00
In-house success rate 20%
Grant writer fee per proposal $2,500
Staff hours to support the writer 8
Success rate with the writer 30%
Result Value
Higher expected net return Grant writer
Difference per year (writer − in-house) $34,128
In-house expected net $75,840
Grant writer expected net $109,968
In-house ROI 376.2%
Grant writer ROI 323.1%
Staff hours freed per year 384

How to read the result

Professional ethics codes discourage paying grant writers a percentage of awards; flat or hourly fees are standard.

Value freed staff hours too; they can go into donor relationships or programmes.

Related calculators

  • Grant Budget Calculator: Build a grant budget from staff effort, fringe benefits, other direct costs and equipment, with indirect costs on modified total direct costs.
  • Programme Cost per Beneficiary Calculator: Calculate the full cost per person served and per successful outcome, including a fair share of overhead.
  • Fundraising ROI Calculator: Measure fundraising campaign return: net revenue, ROI, cost to raise a dollar and the projected value of retained donors.
  • Volunteer Hour Value Calculator: Calculate the dollar value of volunteer time and its full-time staff equivalent for annual reports, grant match and in-kind reporting.

Browse every calculator in Nonprofit and Fundraising Calculators, or talk to us about websites and donation platforms for nonprofits.

Questions

Questions about this tool

The things clients actually want to know — costs, timelines, ownership and what happens after launch.

It can be if their success rate and the staff time freed outweigh their fees.

Typically a flat fee per proposal or an hourly rate, depending on complexity.

Major professional associations consider commission-based pay unethical, and many funders do not allow it.

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Free strategy session

Let’s build something worth finding.

Tell us where you want the business to be in twelve months. We will come back with a costed plan, a realistic timeline, and the numbers we expect to move — no obligation, no jargon.

  • 30-minute call, no pitch deck
  • Fixed-price proposal in 48 hours
  • You own everything we build

Talk to a developer

Not a sales team

Response time
Within 1 business hour
Where we work
UK, USA & the Gulf
Contracts
No lock-in, monthly rolling
Working since
2023
infobestwebdeveloper.org
Free consultation