For many people, grant applications seem so overwhelming or so much work that they don’t bother. But by ignoring grants you could be missing out on a LOT of money. By following these simple steps, it should make the process of applying for a grant a lot simpler and easier.
Plan YOUR PROJECT
The first step is planning your project – know what you want to do, how you will do it, how long it will take, how much it will cost and what the benefits will be.
For a Project Plan template to help with this, get our free Project planner here!
Find the RIGHT grant
Once you know how much money you need to do your project and the benefits your project will deliver, it makes finding the right grant easier. You need to find a grant program that is willing to pay for the benefits your project will deliver. Take a look at the grant guidelines ‘Intended Outcomes’ or ‘Program Objectives’ and see if your project is going to deliver against them. If so, then you have probably found the right grant (unless you need more money than they are offering!).
The best way to find the right grant is to sign up to receive the information about grants that are open or coming up. For details, see my blog about Where to Find Grants here!
When you find a grant, you then need to read the guidelines, which will tell you about what benefits that grant program wants to fund, as well as how to apply. For more information about grant guidelines see my blog here!
Just WRITE the application!
You’ve planned your project so there is no reason to procrastinate. You should have all the information you need to fill out the questions about how long your project will take, how much it will cost etc. So just create an account (for any grant through an online portal) and draft your application. Have someone proof read it before you submit. Easy! But if it’s not, you know where I am if you have any problems or if you’d like someone to review your application first!
