Yes, I am going nuts.
Hence this short but useful post. My top three tips on how to apply for a community grant.
1. Make sure the grant is a good fit for your school or organisation.
2. Have a clear idea of what you want the money for - and be able to articulate that within the guidelines.
3. Read the guidelines.
If you need more tips (what, you're not an expert now?), check out this story that I wrote for Ninemsn's Money website. It's called How to Apply For a Grant. I found it very helpful. I just wish I'd got one of the helpful experts I interviewed to apply for this grant for me.
Now that would have been very useful.
Have you ever applied for a grant for your school or sporting organisation? Any exciting tips or insight to share? Alternately, want to write mine for me???
No thank you! Too much paper work...just be sure you fill in everything . I hate to think your application would be rejected because you forgot some simple thing...oh, the pain!
ReplyDeleteIt is amazing isn't it - applying for funding of any kind seems to contain alot of repetitive jargon! We have gone through this with our boys funding applications for a teachers aide.
ReplyDeleteIt is similar to the uni essay I am writing the moment - objectives, outcomes, etc etc.
Hope the grant comes through!
Timely. I have a grant application on my desk for the cricket club. Why it has become my job, I am not sure...?
ReplyDeleteOff to read your article now...
My dad knows your pain. But that said, the funding he got for the cause he was raising it for, after filling in reams and reams of paperwork made it worthwhile. Almost.
ReplyDeleteOur multiple birth club is in the middle of 3 grant applications. It is so much work I feel like donating the stuff myself! Good luck (will send your article to our Treasurer for perusal!) x
ReplyDeleteAnd don't forget about benchmarks. Ugh. Good luck.
ReplyDeleteomg, I barely have the patience to fold my own laundry. I could never get through a grant writing process. yikes!
ReplyDeleteHow funny. I'm writing two at the moment for my sons' school. We've been successful in the past and usually get grant money when we clearly demonstrate a need and outlined the community benefits inb plain English. A phone call to your local member for a letter of support helps too. Good luck!x
ReplyDeleteGood luck! Hope Fibro school gets the grant.
ReplyDeleteOnce upon a time I wrote grants as part of my job. Thankfully there were accountants and the like to deal w pesky issues involving numbers and budgets. I think I may have written the same grant app you are applying for for our primary school. We didn't get it and we were not really a good fit.
ReplyDeleteI didn't even know that you could! But now I have a little plan brewing that requires much paperwork... x
ReplyDeletesorry, I have no advice to offer but wishing you good luck on the grant!
ReplyDeletexo
When I was at high school my school was part of the Government's "Disadvantaged Schools Program" which meant that being a new school, low socio-economic area, etc we could apply for grants to improve facilities available to students. Going through the grants process yourself I guess you can imagine why the teachers/p&c thought it would be a great "experience" for a student group to complete the grant application process!
ReplyDeleteI've also applied for community grants for Guides and Scouts. The one thing that all grants processes have in common is that they are SO repetitive! It's like you write the same thing about twenty times with different wording...