What would you do with a $10,000 grant for your business, sports club or creative hobby? I’m sure you have no shortage of ideas!
I know dozens of people who’ve gone from not knowing how to write a grant application to getting some tips, giving it a go, and being successful. One Townsville roof painting business received $10,000 to release a new service that they’d been dreaming about for the past two years. Another local not-for-profit received the same amount to run a domestic violence awareness campaign they’d been planning for some time. There are thousands of people using grant funding to make their ideas a reality, so how can you join them?
A Few Tips to Get You on the Right Track:
1. SIGN UP FOR FREE SERVICES THAT NOTIFY YOU WHEN GRANTS ARE AVAILABLE.
That’s right! No more hearing about grants the day before they’re due. Simply enter your email address and your areas of interest and you’ll be emailed as soon as new grants are available, at no cost to you.
Townsville Grants Hub – townsville.grantguru.com.au
Regional Development Australia Grant Finder – rdanwq.grantguru.com.au
2. ALWAYS READ THE GRANT GUIDELINES.
The grant guidelines are a document that accompanies every grant application form. Every grant is different, so the guidelines tell you what this grant will pay for, what it won’t pay for, and what documents you need to attach to your application. For example, a lot of business grants will pay for a business coach or specialist equipment, but they usually won’t pay for everyday expenses like rent, staff wages and work vehicles.
The grant guidelines are often written in wordy bureaucratic-speak and several pages long, so many people choose to skip reading them and go straight to filling in the application form. Be warned – if you do this, you may waste your time by asking for something the grant won’t pay for, or you won’t attach the right documents and your application will be discarded before it even gets assessed.
Don’t let your time and effort go to waste – read the guidelines!
3. CREATE A ‘WISHLIST’ FOR GRANT FUNDING.
Instead of going after any grant opportunity that comes along, think about what your business or organisation really needs, and what your priorities are. Then look for grants that match that need. There are hundreds of grants out there, so this kind of thinking beforehand will save you time by narrowing down your grant search, and make the application a lot easier to write.
While you’re waiting for that perfect grant to come along, create a ‘wishlist’ of ideas that you want to pursue and think them through in as much detail as possible. What exactly do you want to do? What’s required? What resources do you already have (cash, people, equipment) and what do you want the grant to pay for? What are the longer-term benefits from doing this project?
If you’ve done this thinking ahead of time, writing the grant application will be a breeze. You’ll also be able to hit the ground running and start your grant project immediately when the money comes through, which is important if you only have a short time to complete the project.
Take action on these tips and you’ll be ready to start kicking goals with grant funding!
For more information about grant funding visit createandevaluate.com.au.
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