Government Grants are rarely available to individuals. To be eligible you will most likely need to be a registered non profit organisation in your area. Each grant making body will have its own set off rules that you should read as a priority and before making any other arrangements to apply for funding.
Research funding opportunities in full. Many government grants will be backed up by significant documentation detailing the regulations of who and want they are able to support.
It is vital that consume as much of this information as you can before
you apply to ensure that you are eligible. Grants from Governments and
related state agencies often demand a big investment in the application
process so it is crucial that you don’t waste your time.
Record as many details as you can about the opportunity you plan to apply for. You need everything from the name of the program,
the program number, application guidelines, eligibility regulations,
all deadlines, all contacts and any other details of importance related
to the program. Not only will you have all of the information in one
place but this process will help you to better understand the
organisation’s funding restrictions.
In the midst of all of the
documentation it is easy to lose track of what the grant funding is
actually there to do. In many cases the objectives
of the program may actually change from year to year as well. Wherever
possible you should try to contact the grant representative to discuss
the funding opportunity with them. Not only is this a great opportunity
to develop your relationship with a funder, it also provides an
opportunity to gather insight from the staff about what projects they
are looking for. You should also try to use this opportunity to briefly
discuss your project proposal
as they may be able to help you by making recommendations, suggesting
changes or even advising you that there is a more appropriate fund
available.
Be studious and careful in adhering to
all guidelines, however unimportant it may seem. Funding organisations
often demand that proposals are written in a certain style and
deviations from the official guidelines are likely to damage your
funding application. Most grants are heavily oversubscribed so it is
doubly important not to give any reason whatsoever for the funding
organisation to dislike or even just throw out your application based on
an easily fixed technicality.
Be prepared to submit your application at least one full day ahead of the deadline.
Often government grants will include multiple documents, signatories of
different people in your organisation, articles of incorporation and
additional technical documents, by leaving it to the last minute you
will have no time to rectify any mistakes or omissions you have made.
Even the best grant writers in the world sometimes miss out crucial
pieces of information so you need to give yourself time to discover and
problems and resolve them.
Show evidence of the need for your
project, ideally by using recognised or government statistics. Grant
funders need to understand why your project is important, why your cause
needs to be urgently addressed and what impact financial support for
your organisation could make on the community. Don’t assume that they already understand the problem you are trying to resolve and try to be as clear as possible.
Grant funders and particularly
government grant funders wish to see existing community support for your
organisation and the services it supplies. They want to fund
organisations that are already relevant in their communities, have a
track record of success and have a ready way of connecting with groups in need. You can supplement your application by including quotes, case studies
and testimonials of either people who have already received your
services or people who can explain why they desperately need the new
service you are proposing. This will help to provide a human element
that a program officer can relate to.
Invite a friend to read over your
proposal before you send it. A new pair of eyes from outside your
organisation will be able to add new perspective and invite you to
consider your proposal from different points of view. They may be able
to highlight a section that is unclear or not needed as well as basic
grammar and spelling.
All funders, both government and private, often seek solutions
that are both innovative and replicable. Funding organisations want to
see a new way to tackle an existing problem whether it is using new technology, utilising local knowledge or by adapting a new monitoring and evaluation
technique. They also want to use your project as a testing ground to
see what works and what doesn’t in the hope that your scheme can be
replicated in similar areas across the country and around the world.
Maintain an excellent record of all
activity undertaken throughout the grant process. Governments and their
agencies are known to be far more strict on reporting than private foundations
and many demand the right to evaluate your project on site with little
notice. Ensure you are prepared by keeping and maintain high quality
records of all activity, expenditure and impact.
