# Grant writing staffing worksheet

Version 1.0 · Prepared October 3, 2026 · GrantWriterMatch Editorial

Compare equivalent work and periods for an employee, external provider or hybrid. Unknown inputs stay unknown. The complete example below is hypothetical and is not a salary benchmark, actual quote or classification decision. This file stays where you choose to save it; do not send private staffing information to GrantWriterMatch.

**Planning period:** ____________________  
**Programs and funding types covered:** ____________________  
**Estimate based on: recorded hours / reviewed task estimates / preliminary assumptions:** ____________________

| Task family | Number in period | Hours per item, low–high | Total hours, low–high | Peak month(s) | Internal / external / shared |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Opportunity screening and research | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| New proposals | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Renewals or invited requests | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Budget and attachment work not already included | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Revisions or specialist review not already included | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Reports and other post-award writing | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Calendar, records and funder coordination | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Team development, supervision or handover | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ | ______ |

**Total non-overlapping grant-role hours:** ____________________  
**Separate program, finance and authorized-approval hours:** ____________________  
**Other duties available for an internal role:** ____________________  
**Tasks requiring expertise not currently present:** ____________________  
**Work you would stop rather than staff:** ____________________

For each row, total hours = number of items × hours per item. Sum the low estimates together and the high estimates together. Unknown workload stays unknown; it should not appear as zero. Describe whether an estimate includes revisions, meetings and administration before comparing it with another estimate.

## Next, estimate usable staff capacity

Paid working time is not all available for grant production. Subtract leave and holidays, general meetings, training, organization administration and other assigned duties from the paid hours for the period. Keep those categories non-overlapping.

**Usable grant capacity = paid hours − leave/holidays − non-grant duties − other unavailable time.**

**Capacity needed = estimated grant-role hours ÷ usable hours available for one comparable role.**

This is a planning fraction, not a worker-classification decision or a command to create a particular position. If estimated capacity is 0.3 of a full role, you still need to investigate peaks, specialist work and coverage. If it exceeds 1.0, a single employee's schedule does not cover the estimate without a different allocation or more capacity.

An employee is not automatically available whenever needed. An external firm is not automatically able to absorb every peak. Map deadlines month by month and ask how the arrangement handles simultaneous applications, a staff absence and an unexpected funder request.

## Compare the total commitment for equivalent work

Use the same planning period, task list and assumptions. Separate a first-year cost from an ongoing annual cost. Separate new cash spending from the estimated economic value of existing staff time.

### Staffing cost worksheet

| Cost item | In-house option | Outsourced option | Hybrid option |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salary or actual external fee quotes for the stated scope | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Employer-paid benefits/payroll costs not already included | ______ | Not applicable to the provider's quoted fee; record any separate applicable buyer cost | ______ |
| Recruitment, onboarding or provider setup | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Tools, subscriptions and equipment not already included | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Manager/vendor coordination hours × internal loaded hourly cost | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Program, finance and approval hours × relevant loaded hourly cost | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Additional specialist or peak-capacity work | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Other mandatory costs, explicitly identified | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Total first-period economic cost | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Incremental cash outlay in the period | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Contractual minimum or fixed staffing commitment | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Cash needed before work starts | ______ | ______ | ______ |
| Material unpriced or uncertain item | ______ | ______ | ______ |

**Loaded employee cost** means salary plus the employer costs you are actually including. Choose either itemized benefits/payroll amounts or a supported percentage assumption; do not add both for the same costs. For internal time, use an appropriate hourly cost and explain the basis. Existing salaried time has an opportunity cost even when using it does not create a new payroll payment.

For an external engagement, use a real quote and all applicable minimums. A monthly rate does not establish the total contract commitment. Extra specialist work is added only when it is outside the chosen arrangement's scope. Unknown fees or hours prevent a complete total; they do not become a free service.

For a hybrid, count the retained internal capacity and the external assignment once each. If a consultant reviews a staff draft, make clear that the staff hours cover drafting and the consultant fee covers review—not two complete writing assignments unless you intentionally commission both.

## Worked example: occasional proposals do not fill a full role

This hypothetical comparison uses invented planning figures to demonstrate the method. It is not a salary benchmark, provider quote or estimate of your workload.

An organization estimates the following grant-role work for one year:

| Work | Assumption | Hours |
|---|---|---:|
| Research and screening | 12 batches × 6 hours | 72 |
| Foundation proposals | 6 proposals × 35 hours | 210 |
| Reports | 12 reports × 5 hours | 60 |
| Calendar and grant administration | 12 months × 4 hours | 48 |
| **Total** | Non-overlapping tasks | **390** |

It separately estimates 120 hours of program, finance and approval inputs under either model. Those hours are not part of the 390-hour writer workload and do not disappear when writing is outsourced.

For a hypothetical employee, assume 2,080 paid hours minus 240 hours of leave/holidays, 300 hours of general meetings/training and 240 hours of other duties. That leaves **1,300 usable hours**. The identified grant work uses **390 ÷ 1,300 = 30%** of that capacity. The organization would need other useful duties, a part-time arrangement or a reason to buy spare capacity before hiring a full-time grants-only role.

Here is the first-year cost comparison using explicit assumptions:

| Cost | In-house | Outsourced |
|---|---:|---:|
| Salary | $70,000 | — |
| Employer benefits/payroll, assumed 28% of salary | $19,600 | — |
| Tools | $2,400 | Included in hypothetical external quotes |
| Recruitment/onboarding | $4,000 | Included in hypothetical external quotes |
| Manager or vendor coordination | 100 × $50 = $5,000 | 60 × $45 = $2,700 |
| Program/finance/approval inputs in either model | 120 × $45 = $5,400 | 120 × $45 = $5,400 |
| Writing, research and reporting quotes | — | 6 × $3,500 + $2,000 + 12 × $250 = $26,000 |
| **First-year economic cost** | **$106,400** | **$34,100** |

The assumed benefit rate, salaries, hours and quoted prices are illustrative. Some cost lines represent existing staff time rather than new cash payments. The actual organization would separately identify which amounts require incremental cash.

The full employee commitment is not a $26,880 purchase simply because 30% of $89,600 in salary/benefit cost equals $26,880. That is an allocation of labor cost; the organization still commits to the role and needs productive uses for the rest of its capacity. Conversely, if an existing suitable employee genuinely has unused protected time, a new full salary is not the incremental cost of allocating that time to grants.

The external example is attractive on the stated assumptions, but it remains incomplete if those quotes exclude work in the inventory or no qualified provider can meet the schedule. Price arithmetic cannot resolve a missing scope or unavailable expertise.

## Decision record

**Our chosen model and reason:**____________________  
**Assumption most likely to change the decision:** ____________________  
**Evidence we will collect during the first period:** ____________________  
**Person responsible and review date:** ____________________