Advice on Applying for Grants
And here are some wise words from the funding consultant Colin Laird:
When applying for grants, a lot of time can be saved by research. Carefully read through prospective funder’s criteria before writing anything down. By reading up on what is available, your efforts can be positively directed towards an achievable goal. Even the most persuasive and gifted writers would fail if applying for the wrong grant. A little time spent researching exactly what grant givers want to fund can often be a useful exercise as you will eventually start to match your funding goals to funder’s criteria. A perfect match may never happen, but you might find that one particular grant would cover maybe 80% of what you want to do. You can then continue to research what funds are available to cover the remaining 20% and start to map out a plan.
A strong grant application is similar to a strong job application. Schools are full of staff who have successfully completed winning job applications, so it would seem like a good idea to utilise these skills. Each applicant has looked at the person spec and job description, given it some thought and finally explained why and how their skills and experience match these criteria, carefully and concisely giving evidence that they are a capable and suitable candidate. The same process is used with a grant application. If time allows, have a group of staff look at each prospective funder’s ‘what we will fund’ and ‘what we won’t fund’ lists – this will save a lot of time and effort in the long run. You may end up with one particular funder that stands out as being the most relevant to what you want to do. Don’t expect to find a perfect match though – remember you will be looking elsewhere to fund certain aspects of your project. Focus on the main relevant funder, using the skills of your group of successful job applicants to tackle each bullet pointed criteria. After a short time, you will have a list of reasons why your School is an excellent candidate for the funding. This list will be repeatedly referenced and expanded upon when filling in the actual grant application.
It may also be beneficial to get together again as a group to tackle the actual grant application forms. Read through any accompanying guidance notes and have these notes to hand. Don’t use up everyone’s valuable time filling in the easy questions at this point. Tackle the big questions that require lengthy and comprehensive answers. Using large sheets of paper and markers, break off into sub groups for 10 minutes to tackle these questions. The form may require you to write 500 words about outcomes but at this stage you only need to list outcomes. Similarly, the form may require 500 words assessing the need for the project – again the sub groups only need to list the main reasons why the project is needed. At the end of the session, all the information gathered will eventually form the comprehensive answers on the grant application form. If you have a designated person to complete the actual form, they will find the task much easier, knowing that many parties have been consulted beforehand.
For further information, please contact Simon Fearnehough at simon@hideouthouse.com or phone 01865 858982