11 tips for a writing a great charitable grant application
Want to give your good cause the best shot at funding? Improve your next charitable grant application with these expert tips from Kim Black, Specialist Trustee in the Public Trust Charities team.
Before you apply:
1. Ensure your application aligns with the trust’s purpose and selection criteria. These are available on our website.
2. Read the application guidelines and exclusions carefully.
3. If in doubt, contact Public Trust. A call or email to confirm your eligibility can save a lot of valuable time for your charity. Kim explains: “A school called me recently to ask about funding for a sports facility. I was able to explain this particular trust couldn’t fund that, so she told me about another project the school had. We both agreed it was a much better fit for the trust’s priorities.”
In your application:
4. Be specific. State very clearly what costs you are applying for. Kim explains: “For example, some charities will say, ‘support for our youth programme’. What does this support include? Salaries, rent of premises, equipment or supplies? Make it clear what you actually plan to spend the money on. A budget can help to support this, but it should be clear in the written part too.”
5. Explain the impact. How many people are going to be impacted by the funding you are applying for and how? Include accurate facts and figures so we understand the impact and importance.
6. Share examples showing you have the capability and capacity to deliver on the planned project or service. Consider mentioning your organisation’s longevity, previous success with this service, qualifications and experience of your staff or volunteers, organisations you collaborate with, financial sustainability, other sources of funding.
Says Kim: “A charity recently included a video of one of their volunteers talking about their role and why they volunteer. This was great because it really brought the programme to life and gave credibility to the application. I could see it was already being run successfully and it gave us confidence to provide further funding.”
7. Write clearly and avoid using industry specific jargon and acronyms. Kim explains: “We have a lot of applications to read so explain simply and clearly who you are, what you do and why it matters.”
Your supporting documents:
8. Ensure your financial statements are compliant with the reporting standards relevant to your charity. If you don’t know what this means find out by visiting the Charities Services website.
9. Provide up-to-date financial statements or explain why you are using old information. If recent accounts aren’t available yet consider supplying a draft update. “We use your financial information to consider: is your organisation financially sustainable, are we confident it can deliver on this initiative? Do you have sufficient funding to do this without our support? We also use the quality of the reporting to assess the quality of the governance and management of your organisation relative to organisation size,” says Kim.
10. Include letters of support, testimonials and videos if you have them but ensure they are relatively current.
Kim says: “Letters of support can be very powerful because they are often written from the heart and include personal experiences written in their own words. They help us see how charitable funding can truly change people’s lives.”
11. Check the basics. For organisations that received a grant the previous year from one of Public Trust’s managed charities, it is important to submit the receipt and accountability report by the due date (if required). “If for some reason you can’t do this – contact us! We understand the challenges for volunteer-run organisations and will be flexible where we can,” Kim says.
Don’t just put an application in and hope for the best, Kim says. Take the time to follow the above tips and whatever guidance the funder gives. “There are so many demands on funding. Successful applications need to meet the trust priorities, explain the impact and give us confidence in the charity applying.”
As one of New Zealand’s largest charitable trust administrators, Public Trust proudly supports over 430 trusts in distributing funds back into our communities.
If you or an organisation close to you could benefit from funding, now is the time to act. Apply today and help shape a stronger, more connected future for Aotearoa.