Our Top Tips for Applying for Grants

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Our Top Tips for Applying for Grants

Sometimes, the funds you generate from fundraising just don’t add up to be enough for your planned project. Grants can still take a while to process and there is still effort that needs to be put in however, large grants allow you to make the changes you need to your establishment generally quicker than it can sometimes take to raise the funds with fundraising events.

There are many charities and organisations out there that offer grants for nurseries, schools and voluntary services ranging from small amounts of money to large amounts depending on your project needs and the grant on offer.

Click here to view funding opportunities for schools, nurseries, SEN schools & community projects

Top Tips:

I have listed below our top tips for applying for grants with a successful application.

1. Preparation

Give yourself plenty of time to apply before the funds are needed – it can often take several months for a funder to reach a decision about your application as they have closing dates to work with and a lot of applications to sort through. This is why you need to make your application stand out from the rest.

2. Choosing a Grant

Rather than spending lots of time applying for a large amount of grants. Save yourself time by researching to find the grants that specialise in the type of project you are funding for. By finding a grant that is specific to your project you will also have a higher chance of receiving the grant.

3. Call around first

If you’re not sure if a grant is specific to your requirements, ring them first to check, this will also save time on filling out grants applications that are not applicable to your project.

4. Detail

When explaining why you need the funds, go into as much detail as possible listing all of the benefits that the item/s that you wish to purchase would bring to you and how your school/community are missing out due to not having the item/s. It’s also important to remember that they sometimes add word limits so try to just to fill the box and don’t go over the limit. Make sure you mention only important things that show why you need the grant – waffling on will not win you the grant.

5. Honesty

Be honest about your situation and what you want the funding will go towards. Funders like to see genuine applications, not ones that just says what you think they want to hear.

6. Quotes

Make sure you get about 3 quotes for your project so that you know almost exactly how much you need. Asking for too much may lower your chances of receiving the funds and asking for too little may end up in the project never getting finished due to lack of funds. When comparing your quotes remember the cheapest is not necessarily the best option, consider quality, warranties and previous customer recommendations.

7. Get everyone Involved

Involve the whole school/community in your plans – it’s great to also show you have done this in your application and explain how the funding will help benefit everyone. They will like to see that you have put the effort in to raise some of the funds yourself – this also shows how important the money will be to your project.

Download our free funding guide below which outlines 6 major grants available to apply for now

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