Nailing your next grant application

Written By Naomi Farrelly, Sparrowly Group

Grant programs provide a potential additional funding stream for business through funds to   short term programs or capital developments. There are a range of grant programs available across industries and purposes. They can help to cover activities  such as research and development, infrastructure, event delivery, marketing activities, hiring and training employees, or expanding operations. 

Grant programs are generally delivered by the government (local, state or federal) as a way to support the economy, critical recovery initiatives, innovative research, and industry development strategies. There are grant programs that are also run by larger organisations to support community development or small business incubation. 

Importantly, however, grants aren’t designed to support the ongoing sustainability of businesses and shouldn’t be relied upon in order to keep the lights on. 

They can be highly competitive, and often require a detailed written submission which takes time to prepare. But that shouldn’t be a reason to not apply. There are many things that you can do in your business to ‘get grant ready’ and be prepared for funding rounds when they open. 

Do your Research

Begin by researching the types of grant funding programs that are available including: 

Grant Connect 

business.gov.au 

Your local council, elected members and local, regional and industry organisations (e.g. state tourism organisations or business chambers) are a good place to start. Many have newsletters that you can sign up for where they share news of grants available.

There are plenty of free resources available to help you source grant details. You don’t need to pay for this information. 

Understanding the types of programs available and the activities that they will fund will help you to identify projects within your business that may be eligible. However, when grants are released are not set so you need to keep an eye out and stay informed.

Prepare your Grant Ready Toolkit

Having the key information required prepared will make the application process much smoother. This includes business, marketing and other plans, which you may already have in place as part of good business practice. 

You can start to prepare your general business information, supporting information and evidence including strategies and plans. 

Business Plans:

• General Details – registered business name, ABN and key contact details. 
• Business structure – business type, location and size.
• Key Business Numbers – including financials, number of employees and number and type of customers.

Supporting Evidence:

• Business Plan – keep it simple and current
• Business Financials – including annual budgets, profits and loss statements, cash flow forecasts and balance sheet.
• Marketing Plan – market details, objectives and alignment with any relevant local, state and federal government grants.
• Operational or Project Management Plans – these will vary depending on your business but may include risk management, event management or sustainability plans. 

It’s important to remember that every grant program is different. While having a toolkit will help you in completing your application faster, make sure that you tailor each application to the relevant grant program. Each grant will have a specific set of criteria so do not fall into the trap of ‘copy and paste’.

Define Your Project

What is it that you plan to do? You will need to communicate the value of your proposal  and sell your project to the funding body. This will usually include project details and a project budget. 

Project Title:

• Make it succinct and punchy.

Project Description:

• What will the funding be used for?
• What are the project goals?
• How the project aligns with the funders objectives and supports their outcomes?

Project Plan – outline in detail all stages of project delivery including:

• Staff details.
• Stakeholders and partners.
• Timelines.
• Key outcomes. 
• Success measures.

Project Approvals including:

• Development Applications (DA), if required. Having relevant approvals in place will make your application more competitive.

Project Budget:

You’ll need to provide a project budget to show how you will use the grant money effectively to deliver the project.

Before you prepare a budget, it’s important to read the guidelines and understand eligible and ineligible costs for the funding program (that is what you can and can’t spend grant funding on).

The project budget should:

• Be realistic and include all anticipated project costs (including ineligible costs).
• Have quotations or evidence to support budgeted amounts.
• Clearly identify the items that the funding will support.
• Balance in that you should not be gaining a profit – the income should equal the expenditure.
• Identify any in-kind contributions (e.g. human resources, financial or partner investment or support).
• Clearly identify your financial contribution to the project. 

If the grant has a matching fund component you will need to demonstrate that you have these funds by attaching proof such as Bank Statements or Loan Approvals.

The application process

Once you’ve found a grant program that you want to apply for, you’ll want to take some time to understand and plan for the application process. Before you start:

• Read the guidelines, twice. Make sure that you understand and meet all the eligibility criteria. It is important to read the fine print.
• Read the application form, twice. Review the application criteria and response questions.
• Phone the funding body to discuss the project, ask questions and clarify details.
• Understand the timeframes and deadlines and plan time to fully complete the application.

Criteria Responses:

Grant funding rounds are highly competitive. Assessors will be reviewing a high volume of applications. You need to present a concise, easy to read application that addresses all the stated requirements and assessment criteria. Assume the reader knows nothing about your business or your proposed project, tell the story of your business. Make sure you:

• Answer all the questions as each question will have a weighting as part of the assessment process, so it is important to answer all of them. 
• Articulate the benefits to the greater community. Remember it is not just about your business. What are the broader benefits from supporting your project, these could be economic, community, social or environmental.
• Highlight alignment with federal, state and local government plans (such as Community Strategic Plans or Destination Management Plans), show where your project fits in and supports bigger picture goals and objectives. 
• Be concise and factual by using simple language and do not include any misleading information. 
• Demonstrate your capacity to deliver and show that you have a successful business record and adequate human resources and skills to manage the project. Demonstrate that you have systems and processes in place to manage the project and that you have undertaken research, project planning and preparation.

Evidence and Supporting Material

Many programs allow you to provide supporting material. This is an opportunity to include more detail, beyond the limited word count of criteria responses. You still need to ensure that your information is accurate, concise and relevant to your application. 

Make sure you clearly understand the requirements and formats that information can be provided in, don’t be afraid to reach out to the program coordinator to seek clarification. 

Types of supporting material and evidence you may be asked for include:

• Site Plans, Aerial Views or Architectural Drawings (if relevant) that show the location of your project or what it will look like when it is complete.
• Research which assesses the viability of your project including financial forecasting.

• Letters of support from organisations such as your local council, tourism organisations, community groups or other businesses. Make sure you provide them with enough lead time to write this for you.
• Examples of past work, activities and projects including images and outcomes, that highlight your capacity to deliver.
• Letters of commitment showing your financial commitment to the program. Typically these will be from your bank or accountant. 

Completing a grant application is a big task. Be realistic about the amount of time it will take to complete the criteria responses, be organised and plan your time wisely (don’t leave it to the last minute). 

Good luck!

If you would like a copy of our Grant Ready Checklist, send us an email at mentoring@sparrowly.com.