As we established in last week’s article, there are many different funding opportunities that are available to nonprofit organisations: holding events, running subscription programs or even selling products. However, one major way for charities to fund their initiatives has always been grants coming from different entities – government institutions, private companies, trusts and foundations.
Depending on where they come from, grants can vary in size, duration and purpose. Some grants could only be available locally and only to environmental organisations, while others only want to cover specific campaigns or projects, such as payroll or travel. There are grants you can repeatedly apply for and others that are only given once.
Naturally, many questions arise when nonprofits plan and prepare to apply for grants. Seeing that there is so much to consider when writing grant applications, we decided to seek help from the experts at Strategic Grants. Their passion is to support charitable organisations in the process of planning, writing and submitting grant applications through mentoring services, training sessions, webinars and workshops, informative podcasts and blog articles. In addition, they provide a customised grants database and grants management system for nonprofits of all sizes.
In today’s post we are excited to share a variety of helpful resources that can help you find the best prospective grants to apply for and ensure the success of your grant applications!
Do Your Research
There are also a number of online directories that provide valuable information, research and analysis, as well as tools and best practices, to support nonprofit organisations on their grant seeking journey. One example of such directories is Candid, an extremely helpful resource where you can find information on funding possibilities, nonprofit operations, and more.
Create a Grants Calendar
Before applying, it is essential to look at all the recurring and upcoming projects that require funding. After that, do research and find the information on grants that your organisation can apply for throughout the year. As explained in the post on building a customised grants calendar, funding opportunities can come from:
- philanthropic trusts and foundations
- government grants
- local councils
- corporate foundations
- public and private funds.
Grants strategist Ruth Button recommends to create a list of funders you can approach as a priority:
“Having a wishlist of projects, equipment, operational needs or capital items that need funded for the next 6-12 months is a must when planning your grants programme for the coming year.”
Marking the most important dates in your own grants calendar will help with meeting deadlines and not getting overwhelmed by the application process.
Seek Answers to Your Questions
The questions most commonly asked by grant seekers, such as whether you can apply for funding for the same project from multiple sources or how to fund salaries for your staff, are answered here in this post by Craig Hunter, another member of the Strategic Grants team. If you have been wondering about writing your key message or looking for information on Private Ancillary Funds, check it out!
Follow the Musts for Grant Success
What are the things you must do to ensure the success of your grant application? The director of Strategic Grants Jo Garner outlines several important points that can help your nonprofit have a productive year. Strategically planning your objectives, getting clarity on projects costs, and using a data management system to record grant-related or donor-related information are crucial. Make sure to check out the article for more helpful tips!
Avoid Common Mistakes
Andrew Thompson of Strategic Grants mentions that there are several common mistakes that nonprofits make when writing their grant applications. Some of those mistakes such as using the same name for your project all throughout your application and attachments could be easy to correct. However, there are more serious ones, such not having a thorough risk and mitigation strategy (that does not mean not getting funding) might require more work and planning. Read the article to avoid these and other mistakes and don’t let anything stand between you and grants success!
