How to save time when you write grant applications

Do you think it takes you too long to write grant applications?

Are you finding you’re spending hours and hours writing an application for a few thousand pounds? Yes, some grant application forms are longer than others, and it doesn’t always correlate to the amount of money you’re asking for. But here’s the thing – imagine if that was YOUR money you were giving away. Let’s say you’re writing a small application for £4k – I’d bet if that was your £4k you’d want some pretty decent information on who you were giving it to and what it was going to be spent on too! Luckily there are some key ways that you can speed up the application drafting process:

1. Invest in training

If you’re new to trust fundraising, recognise that your first few applications will take longer until you get used to the process. Invest in training so that you know exactly what you need to write and how. This year more than ever there are lots of online training options from courses to webinars, some paid-for but also lots of free options including blogs and video training. Invest some time in learning and you’ll save that time, and more, when it comes to writing successful applications.

2. Work on your case for support

Do some work on your case for support (or multiple cases for support if you have different areas of work) so that you’re clear on why your project or service is needed and what you’re going to deliver. The importance of this part of the trust fundraising process really can’t be underestimated – if you’ve got all the evidence (statistics as well as quotes / case studies) on why your project is needed, making the case for why a funder should support you over someone else, is pretty much done for you.

3. Create a quotes and case studies bank

Instead of searching around for that perfect quote or story to bring your application to live, you’ll have them all in one place, with the appropriate permission, ready to use in your applications. Just make sure your permissions are up to date and you renew that permission after a year or so.

4. Set up a ‘fundable projects system’

Instead of trying to create projects when funding opportunities come up, with a fundable projects system in place you will have a suite of ready-made project plans and when funding opportunities come round you can concentrate on writing, rather than creating new projects. Having a system means you don’t have to constantly go back to your services or operations teams to ask for project information, leaving you free to get on with writing applications when the next deadline comes around.

5. Agree a sign-off process (if you need one)

If your manager or someone else in your organisation needs to approve your bids before they go out, agree who will do this beforehand. Make it clear what the process is e.g. they get a draft, give you feedback and you create a final draft. Try to avoid going backwards and forwards with different versions and iterations and agree who gets the final editorial say.

6. Create a crib sheet of key information

Keep your crib sheet to hand when you are writing applications (I have this on a pin board so I can just look up and type the answers when I’m filling in application forms). You might want to include registered charity number, company number, number of employees, last financial year’s income and expenditure, level of reserves etc. having this information to hand means you don’t have to go back to other files or emails to find what you need, and less chance of being distracted by something else!

7. Create 100/200/300 word summaries of who your organisation is and what you do

Similar to number 6, create a document with different word count versions of who you’re organisation is and what you do. Build this up as you write applications so that you have different versions to answer questions such as ‘please provide a brief description of your organisation and what you do’ or ‘Please outline your objectives and key activities’. Then when you find this question in an application, you’ll have ready made versions that can just be tweaked rather than re-writing from scratch.

8. Recycle!

You really don’t need to write each application from scratch and many application forms in particular will have the same questions. Use what you’ve written for past applications – if you have a couple of applications that you think were really good, print those out and have them to hand when you’re drafting a new application.

9. Find some space to write

Make sure you’re free from distractions when you’re drafting. For me, this means working somewhere quiet and knowing I won’t be interrupted. There are studies that say interruptions can cost you 20 minutes in terms of getting back to your writing flow, so if you need to book out a meeting room, or go and work somewhere else for the day, this can mean you’ll be much more productive and write much more quickly.

10. Give yourself a time limit

Give yourself a limit of say 20-30 minutes per application. This can be particularly useful for longer applications and will help you to stay focused. Set a timer and write as much as you can in that time, then have a break. After your break you can choose to go back and edit and finalise what you’ve done if you feel you need more time, or move on to the next question. You can read more about the Pomodoro technique and how it can help your productivity here.