Funding applications: a beginner’s guide

Posted on January 11th, 2012 by Lucy Windmill

Written by Mary Jane Edwards

Even for their simple layout and straightforward questions funding applications can often still be daunting. I sat down to pen an application before Christmas, and after not having tackled one in a while I was much in need of a refresher. I compiled a rough checklist, which made me revaluate my approach and think about all the things I wish I’d known when I was starting out!

Every application will be different depending on what type of funding body you approach and what fund you are applying for but this mini briefing aims to cover the very basics of how to approach a funding application so you best communicate with your funder.

Making a start

Talk through the funding application with your colleagues making sure those you work with have the opportunity to input into the proposal. Once you’ve pulled together an initial proposition designate one person to pull all the information together, making sure any further contributions from other departments and or, persons are passed directly to this individual to avoid confusion.

Read the application several times, breaking down each question into a several mini-questions. This will help you to stick to specifics and avoid penning vague, generic statements. Applications often have limited word counts, so use clear and simple language to be succinct. If your application becomes too convoluted funders will lose interest.

Let it take shape

Build a checklist to ensure you have:

• Questioned what do you want to do and why what you want to do important.
• Chosen a title for the project that is accessible and self-explanatory to any reader.
• Asked yourself, are you responding to a problem? If so, outline why this needs to be solved.
• Made time for expansive research around your subject, collate statistics, facts and quotations that support, and prove the need for your proposed activity.
• Detailed how you will go about achieving your ultimate aims, referencing short, medium and long-term objectives.
• Understood what you will create/provide?
• Decided who you will be working with to implement these plans and why.
• Outlined what progress have you made to date?
• Built a timeline moving forward to detail what is needed to take the idea further: outlining any roles that you would like to recruit for, the next steps you want to take and the time this will take you (e.g. 6 months)

Budget breakdown

Create clear costings, include a budget outlining the costs for a: pilot, development phase or investment ready proposal. Be realistic when breaking down costs, budgets should accurately reflect the planning, research, project delivery and evaluation. Grant and funding assessors will always be on the look out for over and under estimated costings. If you don’t have a financial officer in your organisation it is well worth seeking external financial advice to enable you to be precise about how you will achieve your aims if your funding is successful.

Most funding bodies will want to know if you have approached any other funders or secured any other funding, and on what terms you have done so. Make sure you have researched as to whether the funding body you are applying to prefers to be the sole funder or understands that there may be a need/necessity for other investors. Be sure to detail in your application potential institutional investors, charitable foundations and funding bodies that you have approached or are already working with, and in what capacity.

Measuring Stick

As we are seeing more and more voluntary and community sector projects are becoming harder to evaluate, due to the nature of work they carry out, especially those that focus on social change and social outcomes. Thus it is important you carefully considered the expected returns of the project be they financial or social. Question whether you have a robust way of identifying your impact, will you engage a third party to assess and provide a true measure of the improvement in outcomes. Prove your organsiation has the capacity to manage, deliver and evaluate your proposed activity.

If you are capitalising on pre-existing models, don’t be afraid to make references to similar projects that have been successful. Offering a selection of case studies can reassure the funder that you have carried out relevant research and understand where your proposal would fit in the related sector and current economic climate etc.

‘I know nothing..’

Assume your funder isn’t familiar with your organisation, as after a while the text, which seems clear and coherent to the person writing the application may not be transparent and obvious to fresh eyes. Where appropriate mimic the language funders use in their guidelines. Be assertive, choosing confident words like ‘increase’ to describe your outputs and remind yourself of the funders’ objective at every stage. Think about what will set your application apart from others, is the proposal imaginative, will it capture the funders attention?

Depending on the type of funding you are applying for you may be asked to submit an exit strategy or risk mitigation analysis. Most funders will want to know what will happen when the funding comes to an end, therefore it is essential to carefully consider how you will promote and protect the sustainability or legacy of the project.

Thinking ahead

Even if the application is just an expression of interest and there is no requirement to detail timelines or provide development and or, delivery budgets, building the rest of the package will help enable you to have clearer vision of the whole. Fully understanding your proposal and the impact of the project as a whole will better equip you to breakdown, outline and respond to individual parts of the process or project delivery. Ask yourself honestly whether your vision, aims and objectives are achievable. Having a mental picture of the project coming to fruition could help you identify where will you need assistance; will you require legal advice, marketing and public relations support separate to your organisation’s current strategy?

If your application is successful you will be required to supply key information about your company/organisation; data, accounts, memorandum of articles etc, to prove you meet the eligibility criteria. Ensure you have assembled this prior to possible consultation dates with your funders.

Before submission

Get someone impartial to proof your final draft. Requesting trusted individual’s opinions and perspectives on your approach is vitally important: be open to criticism and constructive feedback, as it will encourage you to refine your answers and project plans. Don’t make any schoolboy errors at the final hurdle – be sure to complete all sections and submit everything requested.

And finally… good luck!

Read Mary Jane’s article in the Guardian here.

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