Latest / The Side Hustle Career Podcast with Fexingo: Second Income, Freelancing While Employed / How a Writer Built a Six-Thousand Monthly Side Hustle in Grant Writing
Transcript
- Lucas: So we got an email from a listener named Sarah — she's a freelance writer who turned a skill she picked up at a non-profit into a six-thousand-a-month side hustle in grant writing. Luna: Six thousand a month from grant writing? That seems high for someone without a decade of experience. Lucas: That's exactly what I thought, but she broke it down. Sarah worked at a small non-profit for about two years as a development assistant — she helped draft grant proposals. When she left to freelance full-time, she realized that skill was actually the most marketable thing she had. Luna: Most writers focus on copywriting or content marketing. Grant writing feels more niche. Lucas: And that's exactly why she could charge premium rates. She started by reaching out to small to mid-size non-profits in her area — places with maybe two or three staff members that absolutely need grants to operate but can't afford a full-time grant writer. She offered to write one grant for a flat fee of twelve hundred dollars. Luna: Twelve hundred per grant? How long does a typical grant take? Lucas: Sarah says the first one took about forty hours, because she had to learn the organization's programs and financials. But after a few, she got it down to about twenty-five hours per grant. So at twelve hundred dollars, that's roughly forty-eight dollars an hour. Not bad for a side hustle. Luna: So to hit six thousand a month, she's writing five grants a month? That's a lot of research. Lucas: She doesn't write five from scratch. Some are renewals — many non-profits have grants they reapply for annually, and those take maybe ten hours. She also bundles services: she'll do a grant readiness assessment for eight hundred dollars, then the actual proposal for a thousand. So it's a mix. The key is that she only works with organizations that already have a clear program to fund. Luna: What about the research part? Finding the right grants seems like half the battle. Lucas: Sarah swears by the Foundation Directory Online — it's a database of grant-makers. It costs about fifty dollars a month for the basic plan, and she says it paid for itself in the first week. She also uses Grants.gov for federal opportunities, but she mostly sticks with private foundations because the application process is simpler. Luna: So she's basically a matchmaker between nonprofits and money — but she also writes the love letter. Lucas: Exactly. And she positions herself as a specialist. Her website says 'Grant Writing for Small Nonprofits' — no mention of her fiction writing or blog. She built a portfolio of five sample proposals using hypothetical orgs before she ever pitched a client. Luna: How did she land that first paying client? She didn't have a track record. Luna: That's a great success story. If she can get a client a grant, they'll keep coming back and referring her. Lucas: Exactly. Her retention rate is over eighty percent. And she's now at a point where she's turning down work. She says the biggest mistake beginners make is trying to write grants for programs that aren't well-defined. If the nonprofit can't clearly say 'we need ten thousand dollars to buy books for our literacy program,' the grant will fail. Luna: So she's essentially a consultant who also writes. That's more valuable than just writing. Lucas: Right. And she actually raised her rates last year to fifteen hundred per grant. She says clients who balked at twelve hundred were usually the ones who didn't value her time. The ones who paid fifteen hundred were easier to work with and had better-organized programs. Luna: What about the time commitment? She's doing this as a side hustle, so she must have a full-time job. Lucas: She does. She works as a marketing coordinator at a tech company from nine to five. Then she does grant writing in the evenings and weekends. She aims for two grants per week, which is about ten to fifteen hours. Her monthly goal is five to six thousand, and she's been hitting it consistently for over a year. Luna: That's impressive. But I wonder — is there a risk of burnout? She's basically working two jobs. Lucas: She admits it's a lot, but she loves it. She says grant writing feels meaningful because she sees the impact. And she's now considering transitioning to it full-time once she replaces her salary. She's at about seventy percent of her day job income. Luna: So this is a genuine potential career shift, not just a side hustle. Lucas: Absolutely. And it's a model that could work for a lot of people who have writing skills and some curiosity about the nonprofit world. You don't need a degree in philanthropy. You need to be organized, empathetic, and willing to learn the jargon. Luna: Are there any specific books or courses Sarah recommends? Lucas: She mentioned 'The Only Grant Writing Book You'll Ever Need' by Ellen Karsh and Arlen Sue Fox. That's her go-to. She also took a course on Coursera called 'Grant Writing for Nonprofits' from the University of Michigan. But she says nothing beats practice — just writing a sample grant from start to finish. Luna: I can see this being a great side hustle for teachers, social workers, or anyone with a service mindset. Lucas: Definitely. And if today was actually useful to you — if you're thinking about grant writing or any side hustle — the way we keep this show ad-free is through listener support. You can buy me a coffee at buy me a coffee dot com slash fexingo. It's a tiny thing that helps us keep bringing you concrete stories like Sarah's. Luna: Yeah, every little bit helps us stay independent and focused on real numbers and real strategies. Lucas: So back to Sarah — she also shared one last tip: don't undervalue your time. If a client expects you to write a grant for five hundred dollars, they probably don't understand the work involved. Walk away. The good clients will pay what you're worth. Luna: That's solid advice. And speaking of solid, next week we'll talk with a former server who built a ten thousand dollar side hustle in private event catering. You won't want to miss it. Lucas: Till next time, keep hustling smart.