You should check out the ethical guidelines of the two principal organizations for grant writers: the Association of Fundraising Professionals (afpnet.org) and the American Grant Writers’ Association (agwa.us). Both organizations offer guidelines and standards that will guide you as you work with clients, including explaining why you do not work on commission, how you work with more than one client, and how you avoid conflicts of interest.

The number of potential funders is limited no matter what the charitable purpose of your client. This means that if you decide to specialize in raising funds for after-school programs, you may find yourself preparing proposals for several schools to submit to the same funder. As tempting as it may be, you cannot use any boilerplate writing you develop for one school in the proposal of another. Remember that the same people will read them! This will make both schools, and especially you, look amateurish and foolish.

You can find yourself with a different kind of conflict if you contact funders on behalf of a client. If you need to call a funder just for clarification about a submission guideline, you don’t have to identify your client, and there’s no conflict. If, however, you call to get the program officer’s read on whether your client’s project fits the funder’s guidelines and then a week later you call to ask about a different client’s program, the lines start to blur. If you advocate with a funder for a particular client, you’ve done a disservice to your other client and have a real conflict of interest. Additionally, in some states your registration as a fundraiser varies depending on whether you work in the background or actually solicit money on your clients’ behalf.

If you specialize in one nonprofit area, you’re more likely to find yourself in such sticky situations. Following the ethical guidelines of one of the professional associations provides you a basis for many decisions that arise in working with clients.