Grant writing secrets for beginners

Overview
If you know what it is you want to achieve with funding, your chances of receiving it increases dramatically.
This may seem obvious, but often, organisations say things like, “Oh, we need this to help our children’s project,” or, “This will help me launch my business,” without being able to clarify how exactly will the money boost their project or launch their latest venture.

Think!
Thinking in detail about how you’ll use a grant and why you or your organisation needs it will also help you to match yourself to the right grant or grants.
Very often, funders are bound by the terms of a bequest or other obligation that underpins their activities.
So if they clearly state that they “fund projects which support people over 80 years of age,” or “have money available to support start-up businesses in X town,” they will never fund a children’s outreach project, no matter how well- written your proposal might be.
Use the internet, or fundraising software, to find whose criteria best match your proposal.

Capital funding
Projects which require initial assistance to get going, but which can later on become self-funding are an attractive proposition for funders.
The official term for this is “capital funding.”
An example might be funding start-up costs to support the construction of a non-profit hospital café, which would then support itself. The cafe profits can support the hospital.

Revenue funding
“Revenue funding”, on the other hand means that the funder is being asked to provide an income stream.
An example of this type of funding might be staff salaries, or the running costs of premises.
Sometimes applications for costs like these are essential. However, doing your best to think in terms of capital funding, or “seed money,” will boost your chances of success in most cases.

Final word
Once you’ve clarified the scope of your project and followed the above-given tips, you only have to lay out the exact information in an application form, proposal documents or during a site visit.
It may be tedious, but it is also your best chance of coming across as the perfect match for those funds.