A recent report published by Our Community Pty Ltd presents feedback from 1,227 grant seeking organisations across Australia and provides valuable insights for both grant seekers and grant makers.
A troubling finding of the report, particularly given the resource challenges of grant seeking organisations, advises that over half of the organisations surveyed reported they’d started an application that were not submitted. The variety of reasons outlined in the report points to the importance of planning and implementation of systems to support the grant application process.
If nothing else, the review of grant eligibility criteria is ‘must do’ for grant seekers. Although identifying early on that your project or entity type does not align with the criteria may be disappointing, it will save hours in the long run. Furthermore, making contact with the funding body to clarify your questions about criteria and eligibility is equally important. If the fit isn’t right the contact may lead you to another funder who is more appropriate.
The investment of time in setting up a system to support the grant application process, often referred to as grant readiness, allows organisations to identify funding opportunities that align with their overall strategy and most importantly avoid the practice of trying to fit a square plug into a round hole.
The misalignment will stand out to funding bodies and waste valuable time of both grant seeker and funder.
Grant readiness systems can include a set of information containing a ‘wish list’ created during the strategic planning process, which may include evidence to support the project needs; along with sets of fundamental documents usually required by funders. Preparation is the key to minimising the time required to complete grant application and maximise the success rate of grant applications. That’s what we all want don’t we?
Read the full Grants in Australia report (links to external website).
