There are a wide variety of grants and tenders available to businesses to help employ staff, boost productivity, innovate, add new products or services – the list can be endless, sometimes overwhelming, but also rewarding.
Our team at Crush Communications has experience working in state and federal governments and has had success in recent years successfully applying for grants, tenders and awards for various businesses and organisations across the region.
Here are our Top 7 tips to help you give your next application the best shot at success.
Read the fine print
There is nothing worse than spending hours on an application only to find out that you aren’t actually eligible, or what you wanted to apply for doesn’t meet the criteria.
Parrot key words and phrases
Highlight the key words and phrases in the explanatory notes and guidelines and use them in your application. Repetition is king.
Answer every question
Think about what each question is actually asking. Have you addressed every point?
Be concise and use active voice
Be direct and to the point. It will be easier to stick to the word limit if you remove any extraneous words. Also use direct or active voice, rather than passive voice.
Never assume prior knowledge
Avoid acronyms and industry jargon. You should never assume the person assessing your application knows anything about your industry or location.
Know your audience and what they are looking for
Put yourself in the assessor’s shoes and target your response to them. Some examples for government grants might include whether the proposal offers value for money for taxpayers, is your business sustainable and successful, or are you a sure bet.
Consider your local demographics. Are you creating jobs or providing employment in a high-unemployment or low socio-economic region? What impact does your service or product have on the local community?
Speak confidently and don’t be afraid to talk up your experience or credentials. Have you won any industry awards or accolades in the past?
Get organised and be prepared
Prevent any heartache when websites inevitably crash by downloading the application form preview and typing your responses into a word document, to copy and paste later on. Also, have all the necessary edits and supporting documents ready to go before you start the online submission.
One final piece of advice is to consider outsourcing your grant application. Not all grants allow this, but most do. If it will save you time you can spend in your business, it may be worth the cost. Crush Communications has experience in grant writing, tenders and awards submissions. For available grants, visit www.grants.services.qld.gov.au