Grant Writing Services vs Doing It Yourself: What’s Right for Your Organization?
- Sarah Murphy
- Mar 30
- 9 min read
Securing funding is a critical step for schools, nonprofits, and public agencies that aim to create lasting impact through new initiatives and program growth. Whether you're applying for your first grant or trying to improve your success rate, how you approach the application process can directly influence the outcome. One of the most important decisions you’ll face is this: should you choose grant writing services vs doing it yourself?
This decision carries real consequences for your time, your team, and your funding potential. In this guide, we break down what to expect when evaluating grant writing services vs doing it yourself. By understanding the trade-offs, you can choose the path that sets your organization up for the greatest success.
At ERI Grants, we’ve supported hundreds of organizations through both paths. In this blog, we break down what each option offers and when it makes the most sense to get expert help.
Grant Writing Services vs Doing It Yourself: The Role of Expert Help
What Grant Writers Actually Do
Grant writing services offer far more than simply writing proposals. At ERI, we provide comprehensive support through every phase of the grant process. Our work starts well before the first word is written and continues beyond the submission date. Here's what we help with:
Opportunity Research: We search for grants that align with your mission, priorities, and eligibility profile. This ensures you're applying to the right funders at the right time.
Strategic Planning: We collaborate with you to develop a clear plan for your project, outlining goals, objectives, activities, and expected outcomes.
Proposal Development: We craft persuasive, customized proposals that clearly demonstrate need, capacity, and impact. This includes narrative writing, budget planning, and data integration.
Compliance Review: We interpret the funder’s guidelines, making sure your submission meets all formatting and content requirements.
Revision and Editing: We revise proposals based on feedback from your team or partners, ensuring clarity, tone, and alignment.
Submission Support: We guide you through application portals and help ensure all documents are submitted correctly and on time.
Post-Award Assistance: We support funded organizations with program evaluation planning, data collection tools, and outcome reporting.
This full-service model helps reduce the workload for your staff and increases your chances of securing funding. When you work with ERI, you're gaining a team of professionals focused on making your project successful from start to finish.
Why Specialized Expertise Matters
Professional grant writers know how to speak the language of funders, and that makes a major difference when applying for competitive funding. At ERI, we understand how to align your proposal with what reviewers expect and prioritize. Here’s what sets our approach apart:
Deep Knowledge of Funder Priorities: We study the goals, values, and language used by grantmakers. This ensures your application reflects what matters most to them.
Clear, Strategic Storytelling: We organize your narrative to highlight impact, readiness, and alignment with the grant’s purpose.
Use of Evidence and Data: We integrate compelling data and relevant research that validates your program model or proposed solution.
Consistency Across Documents: We ensure your budget, narrative, and attachments all tell the same story without inconsistencies.
Persuasive Framing: We use language that inspires funders to support your cause, making a strong emotional and logical case.
These skills are not just helpful—they are often essential to moving your application from the review pile to the funded list. By partnering with ERI, you gain access to decades of expertise in translating your goals into funder-ready proposals that get noticed and funded.
That level of insight only comes from experience. With over 24 years in the field, ERI Grants has secured more than $650 million for clients nationwide. We understand how to position your work in ways that attract funding.
The DIY Approach to Grant Writing
Why Some Organizations Choose to Write In-House
Many organizations attempt to write grants in-house to avoid the perceived cost of hiring a professional service. This decision is often based on a few common assumptions:
Staff Confidence: Some organizations have team members who are strong writers or have previous experience with grant writing.
Mission Familiarity: Internal staff often believe they understand the organization’s programs, goals, and community better than anyone else.
Budget Constraints: For smaller organizations or those with limited funding, it can feel safer to keep the process in-house.
While these reasons may be valid in certain cases, especially for small or recurring grant opportunities, the reality is that the DIY route often becomes more difficult than anticipated.
Writing grant proposals requires not just strong writing skills, but also an understanding of funding priorities, compliance requirements, and strategic framing. Without this expertise, even the best intentions can fall short.
DIY grant writing can lead to time-consuming revisions, missed funding opportunities, and increased pressure on already busy staff. It may save money in the short term but often adds stress, reduces proposal quality, and lowers the chances of success—especially when competing for large or highly selective grants.
Common Challenges with Doing It Yourself
Writing a successful grant proposal takes significant time, attention to detail, and specialized skills. Many opportunities come with strict and often complex requirements that include:
Formatting Rules: Applications must follow specific layouts, margin sizes, font types, and section headings.
Word or Character Limits: Every section must stay within strict word or character counts, requiring concise and impactful writing.
Budget Justification and Accuracy: Financial narratives must align with funder expectations and be free of inconsistencies.
Supporting Documents: Proposals often require attachments such as letters of support, organizational charts, resumes, or proof of nonprofit status.
Compliance and Eligibility Checks: Missing a deadline or including outdated information can disqualify your application.
If your team is already juggling daily responsibilities, adding these tasks can lead to rushed or incomplete submissions. Staff may feel overwhelmed, especially when they're unfamiliar with grant language or reporting expectations.
In many cases, organizations invest dozens of hours writing a proposal only to discover they misunderstood the funder's goals or failed to meet a critical eligibility requirement. These missteps can result in missed funding and reduced confidence. Without focused expertise and adequate time, it becomes difficult to produce strong, fundable applications.
Comparing Time, Results, and Risk
Time Commitment
Writing a full grant proposal can take anywhere from 20 to 100 hours or more, depending on the size and complexity of the grant. This includes research, outreach, writing, revisions, and collecting attachments. For a busy school administrator or nonprofit leader, that’s a heavy lift on top of day-to-day responsibilities.
Professional grant writers can take on that time burden so your team can focus on program delivery and planning.
Contingency vs Cost
At ERI Grants, we offer contingency-based grant writing. That means we only charge our clients if they win the grant. This model removes the risk of spending money without a return.
In contrast, DIY writing may seem “free,” but the cost often shows up in missed deadlines, lower-quality submissions, and lost funding opportunities. When you factor in staff hours and the value of potential awards, the risk becomes clear.
Quality and Competitiveness
Professional writers bring a level of clarity, detail, and persuasive writing that’s difficult to match without training. Our team also stays updated on funder trends, federal language, and equity requirements—ensuring every proposal is both compliant and compelling.
Strong writing doesn’t just sound good. It gets noticed by reviewers. And that can make all the difference in securing funding.
When Grant Writing Services Make the Most Sense
When Resources Are Limited
Many of the clients we serve at ERI work in underfunded or high-need settings. That includes K–12 schools, charter networks, community colleges, city departments, hospitals, and grassroots nonprofits. Often, their teams wear multiple hats and have limited time to focus on complex applications.
That’s where we step in. Our contingency-based model makes it possible for these organizations to get expert help without upfront costs. We’ve designed our services with equity in mind—to support those doing the hardest work with the fewest resources.
For Large or Competitive Grants
In these cases, hiring a grant writing service can increase your chances of success. Our team works closely with clients to structure proposals, provide supporting research, and ensure everything is submitted on time.
We also help evaluate previously unsuccessful applications to improve future outcomes.
Why ERI Grants is a Trusted Partner
Contingency-Based Model Built for Accessibility
We believe that quality grant writing support should be accessible to every organization—not just those with large budgets. Our contingency model means that clients only pay us when they win the grant. This keeps the risk low and the value high.
It also creates a true partnership. We’re just as invested in your success as you are.
High Success Rate with Proven Results
ERI Grants has an award rate between 78 and 80 percent—far above industry norms. Our team has secured over $650 million in funding across 20 states, with plans to expand even further.
Behind those numbers are real stories. Schools adding after-school programs. Nonprofits launching mental health services. Cities improving safety and technology in their communities.
These results don’t come from luck. They come from experience, collaboration, and careful strategy.
Aligned With Your Mission
Our founder, Linda V. Alaniz, built ERI on the belief that underserved communities deserve strong, sustainable support. That’s why we focus on organizations that serve at-risk youth, low-income families, veterans, and homeless populations.
We bring not just skill, but purpose, to every proposal. Your mission becomes our mission. And that’s how real change begins.
Making the Right Choice for Your Organization
Weighing Your Team’s Capacity
Every organization is different. Some have in-house expertise or capacity to manage grant writing in select situations. Others are growing fast and need outside support to meet demand.
The key is to evaluate your team’s time, writing skills, and track record. If past efforts haven’t brought the results you hoped for—or if the process felt overwhelming—it might be time to try a new approach.
Matching Services to Your Needs
ERI Grants offers flexible support that adapts to your goals. Whether you need help with a single proposal, a multi-year strategy, or post-award program evaluation, we’re here to help.
Our team listens first. We start with your vision, your needs, and your community—and we build from there.
Conclusion: Grant Writing Services vs Doing It Yourself—Make the Right Investment in Your Future
When it comes to securing funding, the right support makes all the difference. Choosing between grant writing services vs doing it yourself is more than a logistical decision—it’s a strategic one that impacts your capacity, your success rate, and ultimately, your mission.
If your team is overwhelmed, under-resourced, or facing complex grant requirements, professional grant writing services may offer the clarity and confidence you need to move forward. If you have the internal skills, time, and experience, a DIY approach might still be effective—especially for smaller opportunities.
At ERI Grants, we’ve built our process around supporting organizations that serve the greatest needs. With our contingency-based model, experienced team, and equity-driven mission, we help transform your vision into real, fundable solutions. Whether you’re new to grants or ready to scale, we’re here to walk with you every step of the way.
We invite you to explore our full list of services, learn more about our mission, or meet the team behind our success. Let’s find the best path forward together—because when it comes to grant writing services vs doing it yourself, you don’t have to choose alone.
We invite you to explore our full list of services, learn more about our mission, or meet the team behind our success.
FAQs
Q: What is the difference between grant writing services vs doing it yourself?A: Doing it yourself means using internal staff to write grant proposals. Grant writing services, like ERI’s, offer expert support, often on a contingency basis, to improve outcomes and reduce time demands.
Q: Is it worth paying for a grant writer?A: If you want to increase your chances of winning a grant without overwhelming your staff, working with a professional service can be worth it—especially if they only charge when you win.
Q: What does ERI’s contingency-based model mean?A: ERI only charges for grant writing services when your organization wins the grant. This makes high-quality support more accessible.
Q: How much time does DIY grant writing take?A: It varies, but it can take weeks of staff time. Research, writing, and revisions all require focused effort.
Q: Can ERI help small schools or nonprofits?A: Yes. ERI specializes in supporting underfunded and underserved organizations across education, healthcare, and community service sectors.
Q: What if we’ve written grants before?A: Even experienced teams benefit from professional insight, especially for competitive or large-scale grants.
Q: Does ERI help with program evaluations too?A: Yes. We offer full program evaluation services to support grant reporting and long-term funding.
Q: How do I know if we’re a good fit for ERI?A: We offer consultations to learn about your goals and assess whether our model aligns with your needs.
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Grant writing services vs doing it yourself—learn which option is best for your school or nonprofit and how ERI’s expert team can support your funding goals.
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