Should You Have A Grant Writers Kit?

The idea of having a Grant Writers Kit may sound pointless when every grant has different requirements and the funding objective for an organisation will vary with each grant. However, for Grant Writers, there are many parts to grant writing that are repetitive no matter what the grant is. This is truer for Grant Writers who work specifically inside the organisation seeking grants, but Grant Writing Consultants can find useful strategies in adopting parts of a Grant Writers kit as well.

Generally, a Grant Writers’ kit simply represents a single place to access all the information and documents that are typically requested when grant writing. They are documents that may only change annually (financials) or not at all (company registration records). Generally, these documents do not have to be stored in a single place, and they may already be stored in various locations within the organisation’s record keeping system.

The Grant Writer ‘kit’ is simply a reference document with links to the relevant information, which should be updated any time the information changes.

Registration Details

Most grant applications will require grant writer to provide proof of company and possibly charity registrations, and in some cases, the organisation registered documents.

The following are some items that typically fall into this category:

• ASIC Registration (eg Certificate of Incorporation)
• Constitution or Trust Deed for the organisation
• ABN lookup page (shows DGR and Charity status along with operating business names)
• ACNC Charity Details Page for the organisation
• State-level Incorporation Certificate
• Local Council Business licences, permits or registrations (where applicable)
• Representative group or governing body membership details

Financials

There are very few funding applications that do not require the grant writer to either submit, or have available on request, a current set of audited financial accounts.

As a minimum, this should include links to:

• Most recent Audited financials (within last 12mths preferably, otherwise year before)
• Most recent P&L (esp if Audited Financials is > 12 months old)
• Most recent Balance Sheet (esp if Audited Financials is > 12 months old)
• Annual Report (if available)

Organisation Planning Documents

Many organisations will have some, but not all, of the following documents. For those organisations without a full complement of this document set, it is worthwhile to commence working towards creating them for future reference.
These documents include:

• Business Plan
• Organisation Mission and Vision (if not included in Business Plan)
• Strategic Plan (if not included in Business Plan)
• Financial Plan and Objectives (if not included in Business Plan)
• Risk Management Plan
• Maintenance Plan
• Other Plans – Marketing, Technology, etc

Committee Details

Have a summary of each Committee member, the position they hold and contact details is essential for almost every grant writing opportunity. This information should be updated as Committee members change.

Insurance

The natural disasters that have besieged Australia in recent years, have highlighted the need for grant writers to have easy access to insurance details. At a minimum, this should include the Certificate of Currency and the Policy document, including any supplementary documents. This information should exist for each type of insurance held (public liability, business, contents, etc) and will need to be updated each year, as well as when any policy changes are advised by insurers. It is also handy to keep a record of current and past claims, including outcomes and communication.

Membership & Usage Statistics

Most grant opportunities require grant writers to identify how their membership community, or key demographic groups within their community, will stand to benefit if the funding being sought is secured. Having a good record of the core demographic makeup within the community can help specifically when grant writers discover a grant that offers to address specific demographic groups. Additionally, the grant writers kit should include some statistics that represent how many members there are in total, how many use the facility each year as well as how many non-member visitors use or visit the organisation’s facility each year. Breaking down these statistics within the demographic groups is also beneficial for a grant writer when doing grant writing for funding that is targeted at a key demographic group.

Photos

When the floods hit many non-profit organisations in Australia, grant writers were asked to provide ‘before’ and ‘after’ photos of their facilities. Many organisations lacked the ‘before’ shots and a few lacked the ‘after’ shots. Insurers and grant funding will usually ask for both. Keeping a library of photos of the facility (interior, exterior and grounds) will assist in expediting both the grant writing and insurance claims process. Taking photos whenever damage or deterioration occurs will also assist in any efforts to seek compensation, insurance or funding.

Links & Research Papers

Generally, each specific grant may require the grant writer to find research papers which will support their ‘angle’ that they are presenting to win the funding. However, having some stock of research material that supports the premise of ‘why’ the organisation exists can also provide valuable statistics which can support any case. For example, a men’s organisation that exists to reduce male suicide rates would have material that gives statistics on male suicide rates and what impacts those figures, along with research to support why such organisations make a positive difference.

The Rub

Everything mentioned above represents material which an organisation ‘should’ have available to them at their fingertips, regardless of grant writing opportunities. In reality though, many of these components are missing from many organisations due to time or knowledge constraints, limited manpower, or competing priorities. However, working towards having the full complement will not only strengthen a grant writers’ case for funding but will likely make the organisation stronger as a result or going through the process of reviewing each of these vital areas of operation.