Company grants: Everything you need to know
It can be a challenge winning company grants for your business. However, it can be done, and we are here to give you advice on how to win your next grant. If you’ve never applied to one before or aren’t seeing results, we can help. These 7 tips will help you on your way to securing the next company grant that’s right for your business.
Here are our top 7 tips to help you secure company grants for your business:
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Keep an eye out for new opportunities
You should always be keeping an eye out for new company grants. Funders can release grants at any time. Others release their grants at the same time annually. Keeping track of these opportunities can help you prepare.
Our new Grant Tracker service is launching later this month (July 2021). It will host all the latest grant opportunities in the UK from 1,500 data points. This can help you keep track of live grants. You will be able to filter the results by keyword, optimising your search. Leave your details to register and get notified once the system goes live.
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Make sure the company grants are right for your business
You should be asking yourself if you are the right company to apply for the business grant. You should look for one that matches your objectives, not the other way around. Applying for a grant where you change your objectives to match theirs won’t work. You should ask yourself:
- Do the funder’s aims and objectives align with your own?
- Will you need to provide a matching amount of funding from another source?
- Do you meet the eligibility criteria?
- Do they offer the amount of funding you require?
If you’re unsure when you come across company grants, try using a SWOT analysis to help. This is a great way to unpack an opportunity and decide whether it’s right for you. You should assess the:
- Strengths
- Weaknesses
- Opportunities
- Threats
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Start planning as soon as possible
Successful applications for company grants are the ones that have clearly managed their time effectively. Grant awarding bodies will be able to tell if your bid for funding is rushed. Grant applications can range from a couple of weeks to a few months depending on the opportunity. Some company grants are first come, first served. So, you will want to plan as soon as possible and well in advance. This is one sure-fire way of securing a cash grant for small businesses.
Set yourself realistic internal deadlines for you and those working on the bid. Ensure plenty of time for unexpected delays, factoring in proofreading and final edits. This can reduce the stress when it comes up to the submission deadline. It’s better to be over-prepared than under-prepared.
A checklist can help you keep on top of the requirements for the application. For example:
- Submission deadline (date and time)
- Number of questions
- Word/character count for each question
- Any supporting documents needed
- The number of copies (if any) required and their format
- Note how to submit the bid (hard copy, portal, email, etc.)
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Include evidence
Including hard evidence of statistics and facts can really strengthen your grant application. Company grants will always require you to back up any claims you make with evidential proof. Research is key here.
Many company grants will also require you to include evidence of a business plan. This may include providing a statement of your company’s finances and balance sheet. If you’re a start-up, it may require you to provide projections of your profits and losses in the coming years.
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Demonstrate sustainability and innovation
Sustainability and innovation are becoming an integral part of company grants. Funders want to know that their money is going towards a business with a long-term solution to an issue. Or they’re hoping to fund innovative solutions that will revolutionise your industry, particularly government business grants. They want to be reassured that their money isn’t just a short-term solution. Sustainability is one of the government’s top priorities.
Demonstrating value for money will always get you in the funder’s good books. They want to know they are getting more giving you their (or the taxpayer’s) money. Winning funding bids will have innovative, ground-breaking solutions.
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Proofread your response before submission
Proofreading your company grants response is a crucial step you should do before you submit. You want to be assured that you are submitting a flawless proposal. One with grammatical and spelling mistakes will not go down well with the evaluator. It can look sloppy and un-bothered. If you aren’t willing to proofread your response, why would they give you their money?
This is what you need to think about when writing your response. You should be checking it over at least twice before your final submission. A good idea is to have someone else read over it. A fresh pair of eyes can help spot any missed errors, unfinished sentences or incorrect spellings. You have to remember that your competitors will be putting their all into their responses. You want to show that you are the best option. Having a flawless application can help persuade the funder that you deserve the funding.
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Always ask for feedback
It’s never a bad idea to ask for feedback if you’ve been unsuccessful with a company grant application. Most funders will be more than happy to oblige. This can help you to see where you can improve for next time, going forward. Spotting gaps or shortcomings in your responses can help you know what to work on. This can then increase your chances of your next application being successful.
Hopefully, these 7 tips can get you on your way to securing your next company grant. However, we understand that grant applications aren’t everyone’s cup of tea. You may need assistance, but luckily for you, we can help.
Our Services
Our Grant Writing Service is for businesses who want to start applying for grants, but don’t know where to begin. If you don’t have the resources or the time in-house to write a winning grant – we can help.
Our Grant Writing Consultants have over 60 years of experience in bidding for funding and grants. From grants for charities, start-up business grants and council business grants. They can take care of the whole thing for you – they’ll even submit it on your behalf.
Get in touch to find out how we can help your business grow!
Our Grant Tracker service is now live and hosts all the latest grant opportunities in the UK from 1,500 data points. Opportunities are manually tracked, enabling accurate keyword labelling, optimising your search for the perfect grant. This can help you optimise your search for grants for businesses.
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