Our Grants and Engagement Officer, Sophie, continues her blog series with a new post on writing successful grant applications. Sophie offers guidance on what we are looking for in an application, and shares resources to help increase your chance of success.
Writing grant applications can be a tricky business – from trying to find the right funder to understanding the different priorities, it’s sometimes difficult to understand just what is needed. With many non-profits being run by dedicated volunteers who juggle multiple responsibilities, and increasingly fewer opportunities, we understand that the grant-writing process can be frustrating and time-consuming.
At Devon Community Foundation, we know that there is still lots of work funders can do to create open and trusting processes, and we are keen to support applicants as we review our own procedures, to help you build stronger and more equal communities across Devon. That’s why in this post I’ve explored how to write a successful application. Drawing on my experience as an assessor, I offer guidance on what we are looking for, and share resources to help you put forward the best possible application.
Whilst this post is focussed on applying to Devon Community Foundation, we hope that these guidelines will also be helpful in supporting you to apply to other funders as well.
Funders will all have their own eligibility criteria, so before starting an application, it’s important to check that your organisation and/or project is a good fit.
At Devon Community Foundation, we do our best to match all eligible applications with the most appropriate funding, so you shouldn’t have to worry too much about digging into the detail of each fund we administer. Tell us who you are and what you do and we’ll do the work behind the scenes to identify the best fund for you.
However, we do have some more general eligibility criteria that all applicants must meet, and this may vary slightly depending on the size of the grant. You can find more information about eligibility criteria for grants up to £5,000 on our Small Grants page [please note that at the time of writing applications for these grants are currently paused]. The criteria for our Community Benefits Funds are slightly different, you can find out more about those here. We are not currently accepting expressions of interest for Large Grants but information about eligibility for these can be found here.
If you are not sure if your organisation is eligible for a grant, or you have any questions about your eligibility, please contact us before submitting an application.
When writing your grant application, clarity is crucial. We don’t expect you to submit extensive information or explain which specific inequalities you’re tackling. We want to get to know your organisation in your own words, to understand how your work aligns with our vision of a Devon that works for everyone, today and tomorrow.
Below, I’ve listed our main questions, with some ideas for how you can answer them clearly and directly:
By answering these questions clearly and thoroughly, you help us understand the value and potential impact of your work. It also helps the person assessing– we have a mix of internal and external assessors, who may not be familiar with your work, even if you have received funding from us before, so be sure to include all the relevant information about your project or organisation.
Applications don’t need to be long and complicated but adding a little extra detail can help us gain a clearer picture of what you’re trying to achieve. For example, instead of saying ‘we will run art workshops for children’ say ‘we will run weekly craft, photography and painting groups for children aged 6-11 in Teignbridge, over six months. Each session will be an hour long and will be attended by 10 children.’
We’d particularly recommend being specific about how the work will impact participants and communities; for instance, instead of saying ‘this work will bring people together to improve wellbeing’ say ‘the support group will offer a safe space to explore their mental health, with signposting to professional services, and help participants establish new friendships to reduce feelings of isolation’.
It is also useful to include details of any partnership work, the qualifications or experience of those delivering the work, and a budget overview to help build a stronger picture of the project and your organisation’s reach.
With demand for grants being so high, it’s important to demonstrate how you know your work is needed, and that funding will make a difference. There are many ways groups can do this, such as sharing details of community consultation or co-design, including conversations and feedback from existing partners and event attendees. Groups can also share details of successful pilot projects, attendance numbers, or requests they’ve received from the community. Each community is unique, so we’re happy for you to show your knowledge of your local community however you think best.
Strong governance is a key factor we look for when assessing applications. When applying to Devon Community Foundation, groups should have three or more unrelated trustees, directors or management committee, an account in the organisation’s name with two unrelated people with financial control, and strong safeguarding if they work with children or vulnerable adults.
Groups should also be aware of legal requirements around registration, and those with an annual income over £5,000 should be registered with the Charity Commission, Companies House, as a Community Amateur Sports Club, or with another relevant body.
For guidance on good practice, we recommend reviewing the Charity Governance Code, the NSPCC’s safeguarding guidelines, and keeping an eye out for next month’s blog for tips on how to capacity build and improve your organisation’s policies.
Learning about the impact of projects is key to delivering work that makes a difference. This doesn’t need to be labour intensive and can be as simple as having conversations with people and acting on their feedback. Groups can gather information through discussion, feedback surveys, pilot projects, monitoring attendance numbers, or any other way they find helpful. Speaking with people who don’t engage with your services, or drop out, can also be a valuable way to understand the impact of your work.
Having this information can help organisations deliver more engaging and impactful work, and it’s a very clear way to show local need, that you are responsive to your community and acts as good evidence for future applications.
Writing good grant applications takes time, and it’s a skill you can develop by attending Q&As, briefings and free online training like that listed below. Applicants may wish to use AI to help arrange their ideas, though we’d advise being cautious that the application still reflects you as an organisation. The grant application does not need to be perfect, and we can overlook issues with spelling and grammar– the most important thing is that we really want to get to know the groups who are applying to us. We’d encourage all applicants who might be unsure where to start to have a conversation with us, to see how we can help you submit your application.
Groups can also access a range of free resources and training, providing guidelines and examples to help increase the chances of making a successful application.
We are excited to support your work and look forward to receiving your application. If you have any questions or need to discuss any accessibility needs, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us at grants@devoncf.com. Next month, I’ll be sharing details about the support organisations can access to help their development, including policies and procedures.
If you have any questions or need further guidance about Devon Community Foundation’s funding, please get in touch with me at ssmith@devoncf.com or our grants team at grants@devoncf.com . You can also find me on Facebook and X.
