Grants provide money for projects.
The first step in applying for a grant is to prepare, which you can do even before you find the grant. You should find a grant that matches your project, not fit your project to match a grant.
The steps:
If you have a well-planned project, grant money is a great way to get it accomplished sooner. If you are clear on why and how certain projects will benefit from grant funding, you’ll be well placed when the right grant opens for applications.
Plan strategically
Review your goals
Avoid developing projects purely for the purpose of getting a grant, as these sorts of projects typically end up costing you lots of time and effort. Don’t try to manipulate a grant program for your club to get a grant. Instead review your strategic plan and develop a project that helps you reach your goals.
Consider grant eligibility
Consider which projects are more likely to attract grant funding. For example, a maintenance project like fixing your roof is less likely to be eligible for a grant than a capacity building project like building an inclusive change room. That’s why facility planning is important. Make your projects clear and prioritise and ascertain where your funding will come from. Use the Project preparation section as a guide.
Get your finances and operations in order
Prepare to contribute your money
If you try to rely on grant funding to prop up your operations, you’re less likely to get a grant. You need to present your club as a viable business so that grant assessors have confidence in you to deliver your project.
You will also need to have money to put into your unfunded and jointly funded projects, as most grants require a financial co-contribution.
Be up to date
Ensure that you have met all of your previous reporting and acquittal requirements (e.g. annual returns to the Office of Fair Trading and previous grant acquittals). This may be an eligibility pre-requisite.
The best way to secure a grant is to have well-planned projects that are worthy of grant funding and to run a good business so that your club is attractive to grant agencies.
Prepare
Collect your documents
Prepare a folder of the most frequently requested documentation, including:
Some grants will require a letter of support from UQ Sport. If this applies to you, email your request to [email protected] no later than 21 days before the grant closing date.
Easy to access storage
Collate all your documents and make sure they are easy to access. There’s nothing worse than trying to find your documents at the last minute before the application is due. This could be electronically, in your cloud storage. Your documents will then be accessible for the application process, then during project delivery, then again for acquittal purposes and for the reference of future committees.
Find a grant
There are many grants out there that may be suitable for your club – the challenge can be finding them. Here are some websites that help clubs find grants – note that some may require registration or subscription.
Here are some examples of grants that might be useful to your club:
How to Write a Grant Application
Applying for a grant isn’t too difficult but does take time and a lot of planning. Here are some tips that will help put your club well on the road to successful grant applications.
Ask others for advice, including…
This is the quickest and easiest way to make sure that your project or even your club is eligible and could save you a lot of wasted work and effort.
Call on those with the experience and knowledge needed to give the most informed response to the grant’s criteria. And always get someone else to proof your application.
If your club has failed for any reason to keep up with its reporting obligations in the past, say with the Office of Fair Trading, your grant application may not even be read. If you have any doubt, make a quick call!
Write a compelling application by…
Successful applications let the assessors know how their funding will have a positive impact on the community. Just be careful to balance telling an emotionally compelling story with ensuring that it is based on facts and genuine needs.
More than likely, the person reading your application will have never heard of your club or your project. To get over this hurdle, get the reader on board quickly by describing in simple terms exactly what your project is and how much impact their support will have.
If you can, support your answers with research and documentation – but only if it is verifiable, recent and directly relevant. Complex, out-of-date or obscure data will only weaken your case, so place yourself in the reader’s shoes and test whether your documentation really adds value.
Fill out the application carefully, including…
When you do add documentation, only include the relevant excerpts and make sure that you refer to it directly in your responses. Attaching a lengthy document and expecting the assessor to wade through it looking for your supporting evidence isn’t going to work in your favour.
Also – attachments might have a size limit. Don’t find this out right at the submission deadline!
Always read and understand any provided guidelines and program resources carefully before you start the application. Pay special attention to the program’s aims and frame your proposal in such a way that it clearly and directly meets them.
Remember, preparation and attention to detail here will make all the difference.
Believe it or not, people have submitted incomplete applications. A good proofread is key to avoiding this pitfall –
If a question really seems to be not applicable, discuss it with the grant assessor before ignoring it.
Quick tips for success
The application
Finalisation and submission
Finally…
It’s worth saying this again – don’t forget to have a fresh set of eyes proof your application, check all attachments work and that all criteria are responded to before pressing ‘submit’.
UQ Sport reinvests all profits into services, facilities, and programs, and is supported by funding from the Student Services and Amenities Fee (SSAF) to benefit UQ students.
UQ Sport Ltd is a division of UQ Holdings.
