But Why No Commission?

It’s no secret that Billy Madison is one of my all-time favorite films. The climactic scene during the academic decathlon remains one of the greatest moments in cinematic history and I will die on this hill. Why do I bring this up? 

Business Ethics. 

Someone out there just chortled. 

Anyway, it is considered unethical in the grants profession and by the Georgia Grant Professionals Association of which I am a member to be paid on commission. But why? Lots of people find this concept obvious, but it’s not obvious to everyone, so I thought it might behoove us to examine it further. You can examine the Code of Ethics here and some more of the FAQs on the Ethics here. 

Let me be 100% clear on this issue. I don't understand the ins and outs on this fully. I'm a bit of a concrete thinker, and this issue is a little abstract. So today, I'm listing three digestible reasons which have convinced me this policy is a solid one. 

 The Issue of Control

The consultant, at the end of the day, has no control over whether your grant is funded or -- more importantly -- in what AMOUNT your grant is funded. This is a key point. You may be asking for 10,000, with the grant-writer expecting a 1% or 5% or whatever. But what happens if the funder is short? What happens if you only get $2,500? Does the grant-writer not have rent money that month? Also, keep in mind that grants are a long process. The grant-writer needs to be paid monthly, not whenever the grant comes due. This set-up really doesn't work for anyone. 

The Issue of Quality

If someone is working on commission for a low-paying grant versus a high-paying grant, the temptation there is to do their best work for the high-paying grant and slack off on the low-paying one. 

Now, of course, I would never do that. I'm a good writer.

This is the one place where I feel ethics starts to creep in. Humans are, unfortunately, susceptible to, shall we say, a certain flexibility when it comes to right and wrong. We tend to see things in shades of gray when it comes to our own actions and black and white when it comes to the actions of others. Shocking, I know. To remove this source of temptation, it is best not to work on commission. 

The Issue of Submission

Another area ripe for ethical conundrums is where to submit. If an unscrupulous sort were to be paid on commission, they may be tempted to go for a larger grant the customer may not be quite as qualified for, in search of a bigger payout. They may not be doing this consciously, but their subsconscious greed may get the better of them. Again, better to avoid the slings and arrows flesh is heir to and not work on commission in the first place. 

We may be in marketing, but we're not quite salespeople, sorry to say. Commission just isn't for us.

However...

Grant-writers are allowed to include their pay as a portion of the grant with the funders permission as a part of a renewal grant. I'm not 100% on the details of how that works, so I don't advise folks jump to do that. Best to continue working on a project basis, even on renewal grants. Better safe than sorry, right? 

Today’s dad joke: 

Lots of people pick their nose, but I feel like I was born with mine. 

See you next time!