In this blog I lift the curtain on what a grants assessor and funding decision maker looks for, how to avoid the pitfalls and how to give your bid the best possible chance of success.
My experience includes being on both sides of the funding process. I have been a commissioner of charity services from within Local Government, I have served as a trustee of a grant-making trust, and I have served as a grants assessor. I have also been a successful funding applicant and raised income from a multitude of sources.
I shared my tips for funding success in a recent webinar for Birmingham Voluntary Service Council (BVSC) hosted by 4front Partners. In this blog, I summarise my top tips and advice.
Address the criteria
Make sure that you check and understand the eligibility criteria, ask any questions before applying and produce a specific, relevant, focused and targeted bid for this funder. You must write the narrative against their criteria and address what they are looking for - not what you want to say.
Present a coherent and compelling narrative
Give clarity on what the funding is for, avoid jargon and write with one voice (not by committee). You must engage the reader - if it is dull to write, it will be dull to read. Develop a persuasive argument for funding, section by section, with a clear golden thread running through the proposal.
Get the numbers right
Make sure that your financial history and projections are correct, clear and make sense. Check, double check and check again. Explain any discrepancies or unique elements. Make sure that the history and projections support and underpin the written narrative.
Impact and evaluation
Demonstrate your understanding of your impact. Show an mix of measures and methods, be creative. Ensure that your targets are reasonable, but with a degree of challenge and jeopardy too. To demonstrate your historic impact, keep any use of stats or case studies very concise and focused on their criteria. Use your strongest possible stuff.
Key areas to cover for charity grant funding success
At minimum, make sure that you cover:
a) the problem - clearly defined against their criteria
b) the solution - compellingly articulated
c) impact - the difference that will be made
d) why you - why you're best placed, the history of impact and delivery
e) why now - explain the urgency
f) infrastructure - make sure that you have the leadership, governance, and financial management in place to be credible
Wider approach to funding
It is also important that you focus on the wider approach to funding. Lots of grant funders are closing or on pause, and this route is only part of the funding mix. It is crucial to zoom out and think through overall income generation in a holistic way.
Following the tips above will give you a better chance of charity grant funding success.
[image shows a stack of British Pound coins]
