Developing a Grant Strategy

First and foremost, what is a grant strategy? A strategic plan is a formal and organised plan that enables an organisation to document their direction for the future and how they plan to get there. They then use this information to identify their funding requirements and the funding opportunities they intend to target or pursue over a certain period of time.

For any organisation having a strategic plan helps them to identify goals and objectives and plan how they will use their current available resources both human and financial. For an organisation intending to seek grant funding it makes sense to have an accurate picture of what financial input will be required before proceeding with the grant searching and application process.

To be successful in gaining grant funding for their client the grant writer needs to be able to clearly identify the long- and short-term goals, the priorities of the proposed project or program and the strengths of the organisation and their procedures in order to select appropriate grant opportunities to pursue.

Having a strategic plan helps the organisation and the grant writer Sydney to develop a direction for the future and how they intend to get there. They define the problem, identify a solution and clearly budget to achieve the program or project outcome.

The grant writer can assist their client organisation to develop an effective strategic plan or can use their existing plan to apply for grant funding.

The elements of a strategic plan are used within the grant application to inform the funding body how the grant funds will be used.

Strategic plans generally include the following elements:

• Vision
• Mission
• Goals and objectives: major steps to accomplishing a goal; specific, measurable, and achievable in a defined period of time.
• Tasks: more specific activities designed to accomplish objectives.
• Action steps: timeline, activities, persons responsible.
• Results measurement.

All the information contained in a comprehensive and detailed strategic plan is able to be effectively used by the grant writer when composing the grant application for their client organisation. The evaluation component of the grants process looks for the applicant organisation through their grant writer to provide thorough and comprehensive information about the project or program they are wanting to implement and how they intend to do so.

Having an organised strategic plan improves the probability of success in winning grant funding as it demonstrates exceptional planning and a professional and business-like approach to the funding body.

Spending the time and effort in developing a strong strategic plan and linking it to the organisation grant strategy demonstrates a long-term commitment to success and an investment in the future and ongoing continuity of the organisation which grant funders like to see in the organisations they will allocate funding to.