Author: Steve Dowling - GrantHelper
Over the years, I’ve met many people in business in Australia who think they’re entitled to a government grant simply because they have a good business. Unfortunately, this isn’t the case. The reality is that winning a grant also requires careful planning, resources, and a great application. Writing grant applications is a time-consuming process. Competitive grants are as the name suggests, competitive—and the competition can be fierce. There are many different types of grants available, and the funding structure and application process can vary between grants. This article breaks down what to consider when you have your eye on going for a Government Grants.
1. What is a Grant
2. How to Find Grants
3. Working With a Grant Writer
4. The Best Government Grants for Small Businesses and Startups
5. How to Prepare Before You Apply
6. How to Write a Successful Grant Application
7. How to Use Grants to Grow and Improve Your Business
What is a Grant
Grants vary in size and are awarded at all levels of government; federal, state, and local. At any one time in Australia, there can be hundreds of grants open to applications, and billions of dollars in funding up for grabs. Governments award grant funding for many reasons including: stimulating economic growth, supporting innovation, building and developing infrastructure, or enriching communities.
But grants aren’t just awarded on a whim. They are awarded only to eligible applicants who can present a strong business case that outlines exactly why they need funding, and what the funding will be used for. A grant should never be viewed as free money. You can apply for a grant for free, but in order to be awarded a grant, your organisation will need to invest significant time and resources (which are often equivalent to a monetary investment) into your grant application and project.
How to Find Grants
Each of Australia’s state governments publish their own grant opportunities and have their own web pages. Finding a list of federal grant opportunities is simple, thanks to the Australian Government’s GrantConnect search engine. Federal grants are usually the biggest and often most competitive grants of all. Grants are administered by specific departments of government, and the most up-to-date information about a grant may be found on the issuing department’s website.
Working With a Grant Writer
Writing grant proposals is a time-consuming process. Businesses usually hire professional grant writers because they want funding but are not able to allocate sufficient time and resources toward developing a grant proposal. Each proposal must follow set rules about style and content, meet a set of eligibility criteria, respond to specific assessment criteria, and be written in a compelling manner that persuades the target audience or funding body. As a business owner, the benefits of hiring a professional grant writer include:
Finding grants that you otherwise would not
Having more time to work on other priorities in your business
Submitting a professionally written proposal that is more likely to succeed
Peace of mind that your proposal will comply with all eligibility and success criteria
Someone to help you to identify and address shortcomings in your business case
An additional resource to help with planning, coordination, and budgeting during the proposal process
The Best Government Grants for Small Businesses and Startups
Being unable to access the funding necessary to realise ideas, grow and thrive is one of the common frustrations many small businesses and startups encounter. Big ideas are great but bringing them to life costs a lot of money. And working on special projects is exciting, but who’s got the time when you have a business to run? To help you out we’ve curated not one, but 19 of the best government grants for small businesses and startups in this article on its insights page.
How to Prepare Before You Apply
You can waste a lot of time working on a grant application only to find out later that you aren’t eligible — and all that effort will be for nothing. Each grant program has a specific set of objectives it’s trying to achieve. And the more your project aligns to those objectives, the better. If there’s one golden rule to remember about applying for a grant, it’s to only apply for grants where you are certain that your organisation is eligible. Set aside some time so you can read through the guidelines with a fresh cup of coffee. As you read through, ask yourself the following questions:
Is my project eligible for this grant?
Does my business meet all the eligibility criteria?
Does my project align to the grant’s objectives and intended outcomes?
Does my business have the capability to deliver the project within the allotted time frame?
Is my business able to meet the financial obligations that will arise from winning this grant?
Can I gather support from customers and supply chain partners?
How to Write a Successful Grant Application
When you’re applying for a grant, the process can be very stressful if you aren’t well prepared. But with the right approach and some time-saving tips, the grant writing process becomes easier. One of the first questions worth asking before starting a grant application is ‘why?’. This will help you to create a strong application because you’ll be thinking about the benefits of your project. There are two parts to the question of ‘why’:
The first ‘why’: rational
The other ‘why’: opportunity cost
How to Use Grants to Grow and Improve Your Business
There is a broad spectrum of business activities that can leverage grant funding. From new market activation, to growing exports, to supporting critical R&D activities, or boosting business growth. Some of the many ways to use grants to benefit your business:
Accessing funds expenditure investment
Kick starting startups
Conducting planning and feasibility studies
Business development review and planning
Facilitating investment for rapid growth
Powering research & development
Launching or ramping up exports
Learn more about each of the topics introduced here at GrantHelper’s Insights page.
Final Thoughts
A poor-quality application that feels rushed or incomplete is unlikely to be successful, even if your project is relevant. Likewise, a well-written and thorough application will only go so far if the numbers don’t stack up, or your project is not relevant or is missing important information.
Be prepared to invest a lot of your time and resources into developing a winning application for a competitive grant opportunity. You should also consider hiring a professional grant writer; the cost to do so will usually be just a small fraction of the grant’s total value—and you’ll present a professional application that’s more likely to win the prize.
Want to learn more? GrantHelper’s free eBook includes 10 chapters of expert advice and professional tips that can help your organisation to do better with grants, whether you’re new to the process or you’ve applied before. Follow the link to get your copy of the Guide to Winning Grants.
About the Author
Steve Dowling has more than 30 years’ experience working with businesses in Australia and internationally to help them grow revenues, deliver innovative projects, and build a prosperous future. He has over a decade of specialist experience in facilitating applications for government grants, Steve understands the finer points of grantsmanship.