Do you ever wonder what the hot grant topics are at any given time? Do you wish you could see what grants others are searching for, and whether you’re keeping up with the latest grant trends?
Grant data is an interesting space, and I always find it fascinating to track what people are searching for across Australia.
Because we have such an extensive list of grants at The Grants Hub, over 1,500 members searching our Grants Directory, and 17,000+ on our newsletter list, we have a pretty good idea of what’s happening grant-search-wise across Australia. If you’re into data, this kind of stuff gets you excited!
Top 5 Grant Topic Searches (keyword search)
Not surprisingly, in July and August the number one grants search has been for COVID-19. That’s number one across the board, regardless of whether it’s a Not-for-Profit, business or individual searching.
But what about beyond that? Well, here’s a summary of the 5 top grant topic searches (keyword search) over the past 4 weeks:
COVID-19
Mental health
Bushfire
Youth
Disability
Youth and mental health are always high, disability is often in the top 5, and bushfire & COVID-19 are clearly new to the top 5 in 2020. For me what’s most interesting about this in July and August, is that while Victoria is not in a good COVID-19 situation, the rest of Australia is fairing much better health-wise. However despite this, the demand for COVID-19 related grants continues to be front and centre.
It’s a good reminder to grant seekers and grant funders alike that the need for funding to support COVID-19 impacts is going to be longer-lasting than 2020 alone. Please factor this into your 2021 grant programs.
Top 5 Grants Clicked in Our Grant Highlights
Another way we can track what’s trending is by looking at the grants clicked in our weekly or bi-weekly Grant Highlights.
These Highlights go out to over 17,000+ people, so they’re a good indication of what grant seekers are looking for across Australia.
Here are the top 5 grants clicked in our Grant Highlights over the same 4 week period as above.
Community Business Grants - Risk Management: Provides organisations with targeted support to help them develop their risk management practices. (National grant | now closed)
Social Investment Grants Program: Aims to assist not-for-profits to build capacity within their organisations which can include efficiency of programs, policy, staff acquisition and retention. (National grant | closes 11 September | $25,000-$50,000 grants available)
Community in Partnership Taking Action (COMPACT) Grants Program: Supports partnerships and collaboration between community, non government, youth, sports, arts/media, educational organisations and the private sector by providing grant funding for innovative, evidence-based community projects. (NSW grant | now closed)
Community Capital Foundation Grants: Supports organisations to develop and/or enhance the capacity of the community by strengthening the connections of the people they serve. (NSW | closes 31 August | $5,000-$50,000 grants available)
Safer Children, Safer Communities Impact Grants: Supports community organisations and not-for-profits that are working across a range of child safety and protection programs and initiatives. (National | now closed)
Usually, the top grants clicked are those for general community projects, or grants which fund children and youth. However similar to what we’re seeing with grant topic searches, in our Grant Highlights we are again seeing a strong interest in grants for:
Business and organisational development
Risk management
COVID-19 support
Mental health.
Key Insights
The trends are shifting. Children, as a topic, didn’t even make it into the top 5 keyword topic searches above, and grants exclusively for children and youth were not in the top three clicked grants in our Grant Highlights.
What you’re searching for at the moment are business and/or organisational development grants, risk management, COVID-19 support and funding to support mental health needs. This is across both business and the Not-for-Profit sector.
Not surprisingly, the grant searching insights we’re seeing now correlate with the findings from our COVID-19 What Grant Seekers Need Survey back in May. The number one request from grant seekers to funders back then? An urgent need for funding for operational costs, including salaries.
If You’re a Grant Seeker:
You must be strategic about your grants program right now. This is true at any time, but particularly at the moment. My top tips:
Do not apply for every grant. Be very specific in your search and only apply for the most relevant grants for your organisation/business.
Set up Tailored Grant Alerts so that you are alerted by us as soon as a funding program opens which meets your exact needs, or if the deadline changes. If you’re not a member of The Grants Hub, start a no-obligation 14 day free trial.
Invest time into reading grant guidelines. Make sure you meet every element of the applicant and project selection criteria before applying.
Build operational and staffing costs into your project/program - if the funding body allows it. Well-run projects and programs, which are monitored & evaluated well, do need someone to coordinate them. These staffing costs should be built into your program and grant proposal.
Submit excellent applications, not just average ones. The grant searching data you have learned about above mean that grants for operational costs, risk management, COVID-19 support and mental health are very competitive. Give yourself the best chance of success by putting your best foot forward. If you’ve got the resources or you’re new to grants, I would recommend paying a Grant Writer to put your grant application together for you. Ask them questions and make sure they’re the right person for the job. We’ve got Australia’s number one list for Grant Writers (according to Google at least!) right here at The Grants Hub.
If you’re a Grant Funder:
Funding for operational costs
Funding for salaries
Funding for operational costs
Funding for salaries
Funding for operational costs
Thanks 😉
Jessie Ballantyne
Founder & CEO
