One of my clients is a small music ensemble that also has a consultant working for them as their executive director. I'm trying to not butt heads with this other consultant, who certainly has skills in some areas, but she has no marketing skills and is doing all the marketing work for the organization. I'm consulting in fund development/fundraising. I have to do a lot of writing for the organization, and since I'm experienced in writing marketing copy and fundraising copy, my writing is a lot better than hers.

Anyways, I sent a draft of a grant proposal to her to give me some notes and she sent me back some marketing copy that she had created for the website to use instead. The copy isn't all bad and certainly I can incorporate some of it, but most of it is getting left out. That's not my problem. I make the call on what gets submitted for grants since that's why I was hired.

Here's my dilemma. She sent me this copy for the website, and I feel like there are problems with it and ways it could be a lot stronger. BUT, I'm not being paid to consult in that area. And I don't have the time to deal with it. I'm not on salary. I get paid a fee that is contingent on money being raised. It's not a commission. It's a set fee per month; the pay schedule is what's on contingency. The point is, I'm really not being paid to give my opinion on that stuff, and while I feel like my opinion is valuable, I also don't want to give it away for free.

At the same time, I don't want an organization I'm consulting for to be putting language on its website that I don't think is very good. I feel like somehow that makes me look bad by association.

Maybe I'm just venting here so I don't go put my foot in my mouth with the client.

This is a recurring problem I have where I have a specific job and I see someone else not doing a very good job, so I want to offer assistance to help them make their thing better. I won't say it's always gotten me in trouble, because that's not true. Sometimes initiative is appreciated; sometimes it's seen as a threat.

I guess I could just ask outright if she wants some feedback on her copy. And if so, I could give her my notes. It's not a total mess, it just needs to be tightened up. And she herself has admitted that this kind of writing is not her strength.

BUT AGAIN, I don't want to work on something I'm not being paid for. Sigh...I don't know...stay in my lane or offer help?

Seesaw