GRANT WRITING

Grant writing tips:

The UMRNHN has limited ability to provide information about current grants, and does not provide this as one of its normal services.

There are many options for you to access ongoing information about grants yourself. Here are some that you can subscribe to that will keep you up to date:

Commonwealth Government: https://www.communitygrants.gov.au
Victorian Government: https://www.vic.gov.au/grants.html
Our Community (subscription fee applies - very small for NFPs): https://www.fundingcentre.com.au

The NHVic newsletter also contains regular and relevant grant information.

Becoming a member of Our Community gives you access to daily grant information, as well as access to their comprehensive website resources. Click here for more information.

Grant writing tips
Writing grants can be a pretty frustrating and thankless task, especially if you are not getting a high success rate. Here are a few tips for getting started that just might help:

Read the guidelines! It might sound obvious, but it's amazing how often hours of work will be put into a grant application only to find it has missed addressing important criteria, or not included required information - or missed the point entirely!
Make sure your organisation is eligible to apply. DGR status is one to look out for. If in doubt, contact the funder.
Check and note the closing date, and any other critical dates (eg information sessions). I'm a great one for 'working under pressure' (ie leaving things to the last minute) but I do know that the best applications are the ones that are not done in a rush, and have enough time for good editing (rather than pushing the 'submit' button 2 minutes before it's due....)
Identify any evaluation criteria and weightings. This will highlight the areas of most interest and concern to the funders, and where you need to put in the most work.
Make sure your project fits the criteria. If in doubt, contact the funder.
Research the funder. Does your project align with the funder's own values and objectives? Will your project help the funder achieve their strategic objectives? This is particularly important if you're applying for philanthropic funds.
Identify an editor/critical friend. It's useful to know up front if there is someone (it can be a person external to the organisation) who is prepared to read through the application to ensure it answers all the relevant questions, and that it makes sense.

Working with philanthropy: