A Basic Guide To Seeking Out Grants

By Author: Red Tape Busters
Total Articles: 40
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There is lots of money out there for not for profit sporting and community groups, tens of billions of dollars in grants funding is provided each year, and your organisation can get a share of it. The trick is to make sure you are organised and clear about what you want.

Grants are generally awarded for programs or projects. They are not given for your core funding, such as wages or administration costs unless they are part of the program or project.

Your organisation should avoid relying on grants alone for continued existence. This will put you into a precarious position. It will reduce your flexibility and increase your vulnerability if a previously reliable funding body or source sudden change of focus.

Types of grants
Federal, state, and local government all distribute grants, many philanthropic and community foundations distribute grants, some other not-for-profit groups and organisations, as well as some businesses. Each of these funders have different drivers for their grant making so make sure you understand the funding bodies motivations. It will help you target your application.

Available ...
... funds vary greatly from program to program and from funder to funder. The difference may vary from only a couple of hundred dollars to tens of millions.

Each funding body will differ in how they select who is eligible for their funding and what they will ask in return for their cash.
Before accepting any money from a funding body, you must be certain you have the capacity to fulfill the terms of the grant contract. If a funding body believes you can deliver projects on time, as well as on budget and in the manner as they were approved, you will increase your chances of achieving a second, third or on-going grant.

Where to start
Take time to think about your requirements before you start looking at what grants are available. Have a brainstorming session to make lists of all of the items your organisation would like to do or fix, if only it had the funding.

The brainstorming session should help identify:
Problem / Issue / Need
Strategy / Solution / Options
Activity / Step / Stage
Timeline
Approx Cost
Possible Funding Source
Desired Outcome

It is also recommend that you start the process of gathering all the things that you will to need to make the grant application. This will include your organisation’s details, mission statement, insurance certificates , etc.

When grant writing, it is good sense to keep both an online and hard copy version of your grant application. Each grant application you write must be tailored to the particular funding body you are applying to. Keep in mind while grant writing, that funding bodies can generally spot copy-and-paste applications and they don’t like them.

Where to look
There are grant websites that your organisation can subscribe to, as well as doing google searches. Most of the grant websites have a comprehensive list of all the grants available in Australia that will fit your organisation’s profile and search preferences. They may also entitle you to grant alerts and access to grant search tools so you can search databases any time you choose.

Then start applying!
If in doubt, get help. Help is always available. Red Tape Busters has a team of professional grant writers waiting to partner with you and your organisation to get grant funding. With grant writers Brisbane, grant writers Melbourne, grant writers Sydney or grant writers anywhere across our nation, Red Tape Busters are here to help and waiting for your call.

Red Tape Busters is a Brisbane based company although we have clients all over Australia. We provide tender writer in Sydney, grant writer in Melbourne, council lobbying, job application writing. We are now active in the Sydney market – very active actually and we can assist non profit organizations and businesses in accessing Government, council and commercial tender opportunities. For more information, please visit - https://redtapebusters.com/