Grants are an $80 billion slice of the Australian economy!
And getting those funds is intensely competitive. Writing a successful grant application depends on your ability to persuade – using logic, ethics and emotion to convince the reader that you and your project are special!
For your grant application to be successful you must:
- be addressing an urgent need
- prove that you and your staff or partners are qualified and trustworthy
- provide achievable and measurable outputs and outcomes
- show evidence of careful planning
- prove that you, your organisation and your project are more deserving than the competition
You must also be able to prove that you can do what you say you will do, without bagging the competition (which looks weak) or resorting to flowery metaphors or hyperbole.
This means carefully planning your approach to that submission.
Assuming you have read the Funding Guidelines thoroughly, ask yourself:
- What’s the problem (“Who Cares”)?
- What’s your solution and Why?
- How does that help (“So What”)?
Then use mind maps to flesh out your ideas. I use MindMap Maker to bring to light what, why, how, where, when, with whom and how much.
Get in touch if you need a hand. For more detail on writing successful grant applications go to Grant Writing Part II — Eligibility and Planning.