Identifying Possible Funding Sources - Red Tape Busters At Red Tape Busters we are experts in winning our clients funding from Government and Philanthropic sources and have a high profile reputation as in the grant writing sphere. We are also experts in Government Lobbying and our Director is a well renowned Lobbyist across Australia.
To identify all or indeed any relevant funding programs which would be applicable to your needs requires a significant amount of time for the uninitiated, as there are literally thousands of Government based funding programs in place. Preparing a quality submission, which gets results, also involves a significant workload. In order to maximise the chances of obtaining funding you need to research as widely as possible to identify all funding opportunities relevant to your organisation and your project/initiative. Document all the possible opportunities, detail how you found them, the name of the program and which Department or Philanthropic entity they are available through. In order to find grant opportunities you need to research widely including Government websites, Philanthropic Websites, Our Community, local and metropolitan newspapers and also ask your local Councillor or State and Federal Member and see if they will place you on their mailing list to notify you of possible upcoming opportunities. Once you have identified all of the possible funding options, which might relate to your organisation and your project/initiative, now it is time to evaluate the program guidelines and program criteria and determine which programs match with each of your projects or initiative, if you have more than one. Specifically, you are looking for consistency between the purpose and goals of your project and the funder. In addition, you need to pinpoint specific funding priorities and preferences. In assessing how the grant fits with your project you need to consider the following issues:• Geographic location • Purpose of funding - What are they prepared to fund and why (their objectives/interests) • Who can apply for funding? Which groups? (eg registered businesses, sporting groups, non profit groups, women, migrants, the unemployed) • What groups are the targets of the funding program? - Disabled, children, women, sporting groups, Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islanders etc; • What costs/expenditure is eligible to be funded? What sort of initiatives are funded or not funded (eg infrastructure, training programs, innovation, facilities, service delivery etc); • Is it recurrent/one-off/matched and does this suit your project needs? • How much money is available, and on what terms? Is there a maximum amount, or a minimum? How much, on average, would your sort of project attract? Are their restrictions on what is funded, such as salaries, or buildings, or administration? Is the funding a subsidy for funds you already have, eg dollar for dollar, or a set proportion? • What is the timing for the grant? Do they receive submissions and make grants all year round? Do they have submission deadlines, decision dates, and an annual cycle? How many applications can you make in a certain time frame? Are they once-only grants, or are they made in stages or cycles?
• What sort of accounting/reporting procedures are required? How do they go about ensuring the effectiveness of their grant? Do they require an audit of accounts? How do they assess that your project has met the required objectives? What reporting requirements are needed to satisfy the program managers? What format does the report need to be in to satisfy the program manager? If after seeking out as much information about the program as possible, you believe your project/initiative meets the requirements of the program objectives and criteria then the next step is confirming the match. At Red Tape Busters we are experts in winning our clients funding from Government and Philanthropic sources and have a high profile reputation as in the grant writing sphere. We are also experts in Government Lobbying and our Director is a well renowned Lobbyist across Australia. We are currently focussed on improving our profile to be the most successful Grant Writer across Australia including NT. We are also specialist Tender Writers and again we work with clients all over Australia. Again we aim to be the premium Tender Writer in markets like Sydney and Melbourne given we already have a massive focus in Brisbane and Queensland.