Top Tips

Hints and Tips for writing your grant application!

1. The Issue

Understand the funding guidelines to ensure that your project or program is aligned with the funder’s priorities. Identify a specific problem or issue and demonstrate how your idea can address it!

2. Budget

Consider what will and won’t be funded when preparing your budget. Ensure that you demonstrate how any ongoing costs of the project or program will be met and consider how these costs can be incorporated into ongoing operating expenditure.

3. Project Management

You need to demonstrate how your project will be managed to achieve the stated objectives on time and on budget. Include a timeline to assist the funding body in understanding how your project will progress and identifying the key milestones. Be realistic about what you can achieve in the defined timeframe!

4. Funding body

It never hurts to establish a relationship with the funding body. By making contact and clarifying what the funding body is looking for upfront you will ensure you do not waste any time preparing an unsuitable application.

5. Proofreading and submission

Before you submit your completed application to the funding body you should give it to someone else for proofreading. They should be able to understand what your project is, what you want to achieve and how you are going to achieve it without knowing the background. Revisit the funding guidelines to ensure that you have addressed all of the criteria and are presenting a project or program that aligns with the priorities of the funding body.

6. Feedback

Due to the competitive nature of grant-seeking you will not be successful in every grant application you submit. An unsuccessful application should not discourage you from applying again and is an opportunity to learn how to improve your future applications. Make contact with the funding body to seek meaningful feedback on what could have been done differently to increase the likelihood of the application being funded.