I am currently taking a grantwriting course as a cap to my MA degree in
Museum Studies and the professor who teaches it states very clearly:  it
is considered unethical to take salary or wages off the amount of grants
or funds earned.  (She also works for a major foundation- her
credentials are highly noted)  The purpose of a grant or other
fundraising is to help the organization.  By establishing regular wages,
even part-time, those costs can be better predicted when it comes to
budget and other expenses.

By paying that developer based upon funds earned out of a grant creates
a serious conflict of interest for the purpose of the grant versus the
well-being of the developer.  In short, it makes for very unpleasant
relations between that person who deserves to be paid reasonably for
their work and not held hostage to the whims of a potential grantor, and
the organization who fails to take into consideration actual costs for
running a non-profit business.

For that matter, if you are not retaining a permanent collection, are
you a museum or are you more a kind of gallery?  Another thought for
discussion?

-Cheryl Maslin

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