What Makes a Good Grant Application?
Are you stumped as to what makes a good grant application? We’re here to unlock the secrets to getting support, with 10 actionable tips that you can start benefiting from today.
We’ll also help you avoid common mistakes that can waste time and energy, and ultimately result in failure, especially if you’re applying for a significant opportunity. In fact, only around 41% of those applying for federal grants find success. 1
In this article, we will uncover:
Interested in increasing your chances of getting in the winner’s circle? Read on.
Top 10 tips for writing a strong grant application
Whether you’re handling your grant application in-house or working with a grants specialist, here are 10 battle-tested tips that we use to get results with our clients.
1. Know the guidelines inside out: Read, re-read and return to them
Study the grant guidelines thoroughly, absorb them, and come back to them regularly. When your application is finished, conduct a final check against the guidelines: this will help you identify misalignment and inconsistencies. We often notice these creeping in when multiple people work on an application.
2. Don’t wait, start now
You can’t start too early, but you can definitely leave it too late. Start work on your application as soon as possible to allow yourself to mitigate any potential delays along the way. For example, gathering letters of support can take a while.
3. Be memorable
Find the intriguing aspects of your project and highlight them in your summary, which is your chance to get the reader’s attention. What are you doing that’s novel, unique, and relevant to the grant?
4. Tell a story, concisely
A good grant application needs a compelling narrative, but it also needs to be succinct to meet strict word and character limits. Write efficiently (avoid ‘salesy’), and use bullet points to help keep your character count down.
5. Write for the layperson
Write your responses as if the person reading them has no knowledge of your subject matter — it’s highly likely that they won’t. Guide the reader through your application, provide clear explanations of any complex points, and avoid jargon.
6. Give one person control of the write up
Try to avoid ‘design by committee’ — having multiple people editing your write up. While you may need input from various sources, you should assign one person to be the editor and allow them control over the final product to ensure consistency.
7. Repetition can be good
Your answers should stand up as standalone pieces of content, so don’t be afraid to repeat yourself if a question calls for it. It’s not unusual for responses to be chopped out individually and assigned to different assessors; don’t assume the reader has the full picture.
8. No such thing as too much evidence
Supporting documentation is key to creating the surety the assessors are looking for, so you can be liberal with this so long as it is relevant: plans (business, project, marketing, risk), studies, financials, forecasts, letters of support, supplier quotes.
9. Show how you’re a safe bet
Ultimately, the government is looking for you to show how your project is a match for the objectives it wants to achieve, and that your company has the necessary capabilities and experience. They also want see evidence that you present a low level of risk.
10. Ask for feedback
Fresh eyes can work wonders on grant applications. Have an associate, spouse or friend share their feedback on what you’ve produced — this is one of the fastest ways to improve. Ideally this person won’t have been involved in the write up.
5 common pitfalls to avoid with your grant application
Even great projects can miss out on grant funding if the application isn’t correctly handled. Here are five common mistakes for you to avoid.
1. Applying when you are not eligible
Don’t proceed with any grant application until you are certain your organisation and project are eligible. Unsure? Get expert assistance.
2. Not answering the question
Grantors tend to approve applications that are laser-focused on answering the questions and criteria as they are presented. S.O.T — Stay on Topic!
3. Neglecting the budget
A detailed budget is the core of a grant submission and demonstrates those all-important financial management capabilities — give it plenty of time and attention.
4. Lack of support
Show the grantors you have support and buy-in for your project — you need them to see you as a backable choice, with people and resources behind you.
5. Underestimating the time required
It doesn’t pay to be optimistic when planning your grant application workload. Many applications take well over 40 hours to complete.
How to know when you have a strong grant application
The true test of your application will come when it’s assessed, but until then, see how many of these attributes you can check off:
- You have a clear vision for your project and what it achieves
- You have a narrative that explains what success looks like
- Your organisation has developed grant readiness
- You have collated plenty of supporting evidence
- A third party can understand the vision of your project after reading your submission.
How to know when you are grant ready?
We have outlined 8 key activities for developing grant readiness here. If you’ve read through the readiness activities and can confidently say you have them all in hand, congratulations, you are likely in a strong position to apply for a grant. And if you’re still unsure, you shouldn’t feel discouraged — some uncertainty is natural and it is very rare to feel 100% confident with grant applications — even if your preparation has been outstanding, it’s a competition with an uncertain outcome.
Want to know your grant readiness?
Use our free questionnaire
This carefully crafted questionnaire lets you self-asses your organisation’s suitability for a grant and better understand what it means to be grant-ready — this could save you hours of wasted time on unsuitable applications. Try it now and ensure you are abreast of all the critical details and activities you’ll need to coordinate, plan for, and gather as part of creating a successful grant submission.
Whenever You’re Ready, Here Are 7 Ways We Can Help You
- Grant Application Readiness
Assess your current position, identify gaps, and prepare your organisation to meet the stringent requirements of competitive grant programs. - Grant Application Strategy
Pinpoint the right grants, align your projects with funding priorities, and establish a roadmap that significantly boosts your chances of success. - Grant Application Search
Let us do the heavy lifting to uncover the most relevant and high-value grant opportunities tailored to your business objectives. - Grant Application Writing
Our expert writers craft persuasive applications that showcase your strengths and align seamlessly with the funder’s goals and criteria. - Grant Application Review
Receive detailed, strategic feedback to sharpen your application, address potential weaknesses, and ensure maximum alignment with assessment benchmarks. - Grant Application Management
End-to-end oversight of your grant journey — from planning and writing to submission and reporting — so you can stay focused on running your business. - Grant Application Courses
Access self-paced online training to build your internal capability and develop the skills needed to navigate and succeed in the grant landscape.
Ready to get started?
Not Ready to Enquire Yet?
We understand that winning grants takes time—something many business owners and directors don’t have. That’s why we’re here to guide you every step of the way.
Our Insights showcase some of the grant-winning methods we employ at GrantHelper, and they will help you create a stronger grant application.
Explore additional Insights, or our Podcasts page, where you’ll find expert advice, actionable tips, and time-saving strategies to help you get grant-ready.
Alternatively, check out some of the Clients we’ve helped and what they had to say about us.
- Source: SmartyGrants, 2022 stats report ↩︎
