Fee Structure and Compensation Principles
The Rural Impact Group does not accept finder fees, referral fees, or success-based compensation under any circumstances. All fees are disclosed in advance in the signed engagement agreement. There are no billing surprises in any engagement this firm accepts.
Fixed-fee project engagements require confirmed payment before work begins. Hourly engagements are invoiced weekly with net-7 terms. Advisory partnership clients are placed on monthly autopay. No work begins or continues on an unpaid or overdue engagement.
Engagement Acceptance Standards
No new engagement is accepted if execution would compromise delivery quality on an existing engagement. The firm maintains a deliberate practice limit precisely because rural organizations deserve full advisory attention, not divided attention.
No engagement begins without a signed agreement defining scope, deliverables, timeline, and fees. Verbal commitments do not constitute an agreement. Work scope is defined before work begins and is not expanded without a written amendment to the original agreement.
Clients must deliver all required project data no fewer than 14 days prior to any grant or submission deadline. The firm maintains a strict rule against processing emergency applications. This rule protects client organizations from the quality failures that are predictable consequences of compressed timelines.
Scope Boundaries
The Rural Impact Group is not a technical IT implementation vendor. For all cybersecurity and defense compliance engagements, technical execution remains with the client's internal IT team or managed service provider. The firm's scope is strictly constrained to documentation, regulatory alignment, policy architecture, and bid readiness. This boundary is not negotiable and will be stated clearly in every applicable engagement agreement.
Confidentiality
All client information is held in strict confidence. Client data, strategic plans, financial information, and organizational details are not disclosed to any third party without explicit written authorization from the client. The firm does not use client names, case details, or project outcomes in marketing materials without explicit written permission.
Conflicts of Interest
The firm will not accept an engagement from a client organization if that engagement creates a material conflict of interest with an existing client. If a potential conflict is identified during the engagement intake process, it will be disclosed immediately. The prospective client and existing client will be informed, and no work will proceed until the conflict is resolved or waived in writing by all affected parties.
Accuracy and Evidence Standards
The firm practices evidence-based consulting. Data supports every recommendation. If a proposition cannot be substantiated with credible data or documented professional judgment, it will not be proposed. Analytical conclusions that rest on assumptions will identify those assumptions explicitly. Projections, estimates, and forecasts will identify their basis and their confidence level.
Professional Affiliations
Reagan Lynch serves on the national board of the Grant Professionals Foundation and administers the Weatherly Scholarship Program at First Baptist Church of Gainesville, Texas. These affiliations do not create any preference, priority, or preferential treatment for organizations affiliated with these bodies in any engagement decision.
Accessibility Commitment
Every deliverable produced by The Rural Impact Group is built for accessibility. Reagan Lynch is Blind and depends on assistive technology to do his own work. No deliverable leaves this firm in a form that would be inaccessible to a person using a screen reader. The firm's full accessibility policy is available on the Accessibility page.