A Sprinkling Of Grants Wisdom

Sprinkle Magic dress design Intent on growing her fashion design business, fashion designer and entrepreneur Sprinkle applied for a grant through the Textile Clothing and Footwear Small Business Program. The application took her two weeks to complete and submit. “With deadlines to meet and bills to pay, it was a big thing for me to push everything aside for two weeks to concentrate on getting all the things I needed together and writing the application,” says Sprinkle. “But I’m glad I did because without the grant I would never have been able to afford to do the things I have done with it.”

The grant gave Sprinkle the means to develop an internal structure for her retail business, Sprinkle Emporium located in East Brunswick, and purchase computer software to assist with the smooth running of the business.

Sprinkle Magic outfit For others applying for grants, Sprinkle urges a strong commitment to the task: “I went to all the information sessions and downloaded as much information on the grant as possible, reading it thoroughly and highlighting key points and so forth. I also had the manager of the Brunswick Business Incubator look over my application.”

“It is likely that there will be lots of other people applying for the grant, some will employ professional grant writers to write their applications, so you have to be very thorough if you write it yourself,” says Sprinkle

With more applications received than there is money available to fund projects, consider these tips when writing your grant application.

Play by the rules

Read the grant’s guidelines before you start writing. As tempting as it may be, don’t veer from the rules set out in the application.

If a specific font, size and page margin is requested – stick to it – and if the guidelines ask for the final document to be stapled, resist the urge to bind it or put it in a presentation folder.
Keep to the headings, tables and layout provided in templates.
Consider how colour images and graphs will appear in black and white as applications are often photocopied and distributed to assessors.

Call someone who cares

Who better to call than the grant administrator if you have any queries about your application? It is also a great way to find out useful information that isn’t published. Consider asking:

What type of projects are you seeking? Are there specific things that you’re not wanting?
What size grants do you expect to award?
How many applications have been lodged?
Can someone in the agency review a draft application?

Putting pen to paper

A good application is not defined by the volume of written material but rather by its ability to clearly, and persuasively, express its message. Try to guide the reader through your submission by stating your main points upfront, setting the background and introducing concepts early, progressing from simple to complex aspects of your project and maintaining consistent themes throughout.

All about me

The application is your space to shine, but there are polished applications that capture the reader’s interest and then there are those that are blinding with too much ‘me’ factor, providing an unnecessary amount of detail about design projects and waxing lyrical about the organisation’s successes. It’s vital that you keep your application focused and address the needs of the grant maker, showing a match between your project and the grant’s funding aims. Applications that don’t fit within specified guidelines will be quickly eliminated.

Want more information?

Transform Your Design Business is a free online guide, developed by Design Victoria, to assist Victorian designers to take full advantage of grants and assistance available to them. It provides valuable insight into the grants process and offers tips for developing stand-out applications. It also includes a range of grants that designers may be eligible for, including information on closing dates, eligibility criteria and grant providers.

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