How to Promote Yourself as a Freelance Charity Bid Writer

The free Charity Excellence Funding Finder grants directory has a search category for professional freelance charity bid writers that enables users searching our grants to also search for experienced bid writers to write grant applications.  We charge a small fee for this, which makes a contribution to helping us continue to make our services available for free.  If you are a bid writer and would like more details, or an application form, contact me at ian@charityexcellence.co.uk.

How to Find a Charity Bid Writer

If you're looking for a bid writer, register (it's free), login, then go to Funding Finder (in the blue band at the top of your screen), and use the Bid Writer search in the People & Groups pull down menu.

Charity Freelance Bid Writer Agreement

Fees

The fee for.

• A charity, such as a CVS providing fundraising bid writing – free (very, very few do).
• A sole trader - £100 pa.
• A fundraising agency or consultancy - £125.

Where a company or agency wanted to list a number of its freelancers, there would be a sliding scale of discounts depending on how many.

Experience & Qualifications

• A minimum of 3 years full time experience either in a paid staff role within a UK charity or fundraising consultancy, in which bid writing formed the majority of your role.
• If you filled a part time role, you must have a minimum of 5 years’ experience, as above.
• Time spent as a volunteer or in a more general fundraising role cannot be counted, even if part of your role included writing bids.
• For agencies and consultancies where there are multiple staff, any staff member must have their work supervised to a level and standard that will guarantee the same level of expertise is brought to a client’s work as is outlined above.

Validation

Those applying must submit:

• A valid insurance certificate that must include for professional indemnity, as a minimum.
• A recent CV.
• A copy of their client contract or terms of business, which must comply with the Fundraising Code of Practice guidance.

Bid Writer Entry

• A text entry of up to 100 words. Your entry:
  • Must include where you are based, the number of years’ experience you have in bid writing and areas of expertise, such as small charities, Lottery bids, arts etc.
  • Claims must be reasonably underpinned with fact.
    • For example, in order to say you are a very experienced bid writer, we’d expect to see you include a significant number of years’ experience.
  • Facts must be up-to-date and reasonably attributable to you.
    • For example, I brought in a £2.1m bid. Actually, it was almost entirely down to my Fundraising Director, not me, and it was a decade ago.
  • A link to send traffic to. That might be a website or LinkedIn or other profile but can be an e mail if you wish.
  • In addition, you may provide us with 2 tags from.
    • Region/Country and/or England pull down menu or the City/County menu.
    • And also, from the People & Groups and/or Sector & Types pull down menus.
  • We are not able to upload images.

Conduct

• Any form of abuse, but particularly racism, homophobia or sexual harassment is a non-negotiable red line and will not be tolerated.
• Freelancers will:
  • Comply with the Code of Fundraising Practice at all times.
  • Including providing clients with a written agreement that complies with the Code.
  • Be open and honest with potentials clients.
  • Not make claims that they are unlikely to be able to deliver on.
  • In particular, if asked about pitching for work outside their area of expertise, will ensure a client is advised of this and.
  • Will not take on work which they cannot reasonably expect to be able to do to a high professional standard.
  • Have transparent pricing, without hidden charges.
  • Deliver good quality work promptly and to the standard agreed.
  • Charge clients a reasonable going rate within the sector for quantity, quality and level of work they carry out.
• Clients will:
  • Comply with the Fundraising Regulator’s guidance on working with professional fundraisers.
  • Be open and honest with freelancers.
  • Not seek to use a freelancer as a source of free advice.
  • Not make claims that they know or are unlikely to happen, such as levels of work.
  • Pay them promptly, in line with any agreement timescale or within 28 days if there isn’t one.
  • Not seek to impose any onerous or unreasonable requirements.
  • Accept that no fundraiser can guarantee that a bid or any specific percentage of bids will be successful.

Relationship

The bid writer is purchasing an advertisement and may not state or imply to anyone that the relationship is any more than this or that their inclusion on our system is an endorsement of them or their work.

Insurance

Bid writers must have professional Indemnity Insurance that covers the work they will undertake for any claims of negligence, errors, or omissions in their work, with minimum cover of £100,000.

Disclosure

Bid writers must disclose any additional information that Charity Excellence might reasonably wish to be aware of both prior to and at all times when their services are being advertised by Charity Excellence.  That includes but is not limited to criminal convictions (other than minor road traffic offences) and allegations, whether public or not, relating to bullying, racism, sexual harassment or any other form of abuse.

Period of Agreement

Charity Excellence will display the bid writer’s advert for a period of 1 calendar year, at which point it may be continued subject to payment of the fee.

Variation

The bid writer may ask for reasonable changes to be made to their advert from time-to-time to reflect material changes in their circumstances, but Charity Excellence will not carry out repeated or very minor changes and only at our discretion. We reserve the right to refuse any changes we do not feel are necessary or material.

Termination

The agreement may be terminated by either part at any time, with 7 days’ notice.

Refunds

The fee is non-refundable.