The NRCF Grants team has been on a road trip around the Northern Rivers delivering free grant writing workshops for community organisations ahead of the opening of our Annual Community Grants Round.
If you haven’t been able to attend one of these workshops, or you’re just looking for a quick grant writing refresher, here are our top tips for giving your grant application the best chance of success!
1. Read the Grant Guidelines before you start
Every grant, including those administered by NRCF, typically comes with a set of grant guidelines, you’ll usually find on the funding organisation’s website. Guidelines outline key aspects of the grant, including:
- the funder’s objectives
- what type of projects and organisations are eligible to apply
- how much you can apply for
- what the reporting requirements of the grant will be if you are successful.
Read the thoroughly before you start writing your application so that you know exactly what’s involved.
2. Clearly demonstrate why your project is needed
At its core, grant writing involves demonstrating to a funder that your project will meet a need in the community.
Successful grant proposals clearly communicate:
- why your project matters
- how it will create impact
- what you need to achieve it.
We recommend using data (both statistics and administrative data from your organisation) to demonstrate the need in the community that you are responding to. The “five whys” is a useful technique to help get to the root cause of the problem your project is trying to address.
3. Focus on outcomes
Your outcomes describe how things will be different as a result of your project.
Focus on the changes you want to see among the people or groups who are participating in your project directly. For example, if your project involves delivering financial counselling, one of the outcomes you’ll likely want to see is people developing a household budget, that they stop relying on payday lenders or that they pay off their credit cards (or cancel them altogether!).
Choose outcomes that you can observe and document – this will come in handy when it comes time to write your report.
4. Build a relationship with the funder
Grassroots funders and community foundations like NRCF always want to hear about organisations that are doing great work in their focus areas or local communities. At NRCF we love to meet with organisations and groups that are doing great things in any of the seven Northern Rivers LGAs.
If you are successful in obtaining funding from us, we like you to stay in touch and keep us updated with your progress. If something changes with your project, it’s important to let us know as soon as possible so we can negotiate an amendment to your contract or make alternative arrangements. We’re here to support your project and want to do everything we can to see it succeed.
Over time, these things contribute to trusting relationships.
5. We’re here to support you
If you submit a draft application as early as possible, we can provide you with feedback on where we think it can be improved. But don’t wait until 24 hours before the deadline or we might not have time!
If you are unsuccessful, we are also happy to give you feedback on where you can improve for next time. Sometimes it can be hard to not take things personally, but taking feedback on board can help make your application stronger and increase your overall chances of success!
Mastering the art of grant writing takes time, patience, and practice. By following these steps and staying persistent, you’ll be well on your way to securing the funding you need to make a difference in your community.
Applications for NRCF’s Annual Community Grants close on Friday 4 October. Learn more about our Community Grants here.