Do you want to build your business but don’t have access to development funds?
A business development grant is a great way to bring in extra cash and support to help you scale up your business and move your company or Not-For-Profit to the next level.
In this article we are looking at grants, how to find them and how to make sure your application is a winner. We are covering;
- What are grants and awards?
- Where to find grants
- Treat It Like A Project
- RTQ
- Understand The Rules
- Use Clear, Concise Language
- Be Clear About Your Aim
- Use Measurable Impact Statements
- Be Honest
- Save Your Work
- Replicate And Repeat
- Summary; Grants Aren’t Free Money But They Are Pretty Close
What Are Grants And Awards?
A business development grant is an amount of cash, goods, services or support that can be offered to businesses and Not-For-Profit organisations to help them scale up.
A grant, unlike a loan, is not repayable but that doesn’t mean to say that it is ‘free cash’. In fact, many grants and awards come with strings attached such as regular reporting that ensures the money is used for its intended purpose.
Grants can come from central government, local government or other grant-making bodies that have money set aside for specific proposes.
Sometimes the grants are location specific such as the Reigate and Banstead Business support grant. Other grants may be restricted to businesses at different stages of their life cycle such as start-ups or might be reliant upon the age of the owner, like the Prince’s Trust.
Others might require the money to be spent on specific things like business development consultancy, capital assets or IT development.
Where To Find Grants
With such a wide variety of grants available, it can be difficult to know where to start when you are hunting for support.
A good place to start is the government’s own Find A Grant Service. You can use this tool to search for grants by location, size and recipient type. At the time of writing there are 108 different grants you can apply for.
Local authorities often have grants available for local areas and the Reigate Business Support Grant is an example of this.
Don’t discount private organisations. Barclays Eagle Labs is arguably one of the better-known grant and support sources but it only takes a few minutes of Googling to find plenty more.
So now we know where to get a grant, let’s take a look at how you should approach the process.
Treat It Like A Project
Many companies and Not-For-Profits spend a large amount of time applying for grants and awards and the one thing that successful applicants have in common is that they treat the process seriously.
Treat your grant application like a mini project. Establish a timeline so that you understand when you are going to do the work and then stick to it.
The last thing you want to be doing is a dashed application at 23.05 the night before the deadline.
RTQ
If you speak with people who mark any type of exam they will tell you that the most common mistake is that students answer the questions they wished had been asked rather than the one that was actually asked.
Make sure you Read The Question (RTQ), go through the guidance documents and fully understand what the grant is for, why they are giving it and what you have to do to produce a winning bid.
A good tip here is to keep referring back to the summary guidance as you write your application, just to make sure you haven’t strayed from the requirements.
Understand The Rules
The rules are really important. Often these are set not by the people administering the competition but by councillors, trustees or central government.
So although you may feel that the rules are unfair, inconsistent or difficult to manage, you really have no option but to make sure your entry complies.
Time spent reading and understanding the rules is never wasted but if there is something that doesn’t make sense then feel free to contact the organisers as they are always happy to help applicants.
If we use the Reigate and Banstead Business support grant as an example, applications need to be;
- From people that live in the borough or have a business business is based in the borough
- For an amount up to £1,000
- For a business with fewer than four employees
- Used to help fund new or improved equipment like machinery, tools, IT or training
Use Clear, Concise Language
It is tempting to pack your application with management buzzwords and impressive sounding language – after all you are going in to bat against some very high-powered companies so you need to sound like them right?
But there are two points here. The first is that people who use buzzwords, TLAs (Three-letter acronyms) and platitudes often end up sounding insecure or even worse, like they are trying to hide something.
Secondly, the people who will read your entry will most likely not be subject matter experts in your industry and will have hundreds of similar applications to get through. They will appreciate a straightforward document that sets out clearly your case and consequently, you are much more likely to have a positive outcome.
Be Clear About Your Aim
What exactly is it you want to do with the award?
Avoid general, bland statements about making the world a better place and instead make sure you kick off your submission with a tightly phrased single sentence that sets out exactly what you want to do.
For example, change “This award will allow our company to invest in more machinery” with “This award will allow us to invest in a high-pressure pump meaning that we can wash higher windows which in turn opens up a new market for our service”
For the Reigate and Banstead Business support grant you will need to supply;
- A Summary of your business objectives
- A precis of your skills and experience
- An analysis of your target customers
- A market and competition analysis
- Your sales and marketing plan
Now in this case you don’t need to submit a full-blown business plan but the headings above will get you a very long way to producing one so you may as well complete the job anyway. You may well find that it improves your chances of an award too.
But in all cases remember; clear, concise language that is to the point.
Use Measurable Impact Statements
Application judges love to see specific, measurable outcomes that will result from their work.
Think about using the SMART (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Related to the business, Time-bound) methodology to sharpen up your statements.
Make sure you have some clear and realistic numbers around your plans and use the phrase “This means that…” liberally throughout your application.
Be Honest
This should be a no-brainer really, but there is always the temptation to ‘over-egg the pudding’ and be a little loose with the truth.
Remember though that the people who read your application may well ask for information to back up your claims or they may require receipts to prove you spent the money the way you said you would.
Also, they are likely to be highly attuned to the local business scene so your untruths may well catch you out!
In some cases, you will need to complete a short interview so honesty really is the best policy.
Save Your Work
It is possible you may feel this is the only grant or award that you will ever apply for but that could be a little short-sighted.
As we have already noted, awards and grants are a good source of development income so you never know when another may come along that will help you grow your business.
Save all of your work in an easily identifiable folder. It may be that the next application you make requires totally different information but equally, you may find that you can reuse a lot of the work you have already done, making the next award much easier to apply for.
Replicate And Repeat
You have three possible outcomes following your application.
Firstly you may get a full award, in which case happy days!
Secondly, you may get a partial award. It is always worth asking for feedback so that you can understand why you weren’t 100% successful and to help you hone your next application. It is also no bad thing to make contact with the organisers because many grants aren’t widely publicised.
The third option is an outright refusal but don’t lose heart. Again, ask for feedback to help you understand what went wrong. Sometimes you are allowed to amend your application if you have made an error and you can then reapply.
But even if you can’t apply again remember that you have learned a lot from this application and when the next opportunity comes along you will be much better prepared.
Also don’t discount the fact that many grant makers are keen to support businesses that they have worked with before. In the case of the Reigate and Banstead Business support grants, follow-on grants are available so it is worth keeping all the information handy and keeping in touch with the administrators of the scheme.
Summary; Grants Aren’t Free Money But They Are Pretty Close
As we have seen, grants and awards are a great way to provide cash and other support to growing businesses and there are plenty of sources around. But you do have to put some work in and make sure you approach the application process in a professional manner.
Make sure you read the requirements, understand the rules and carefully craft your application in clear and straightforward language.
Provide the reader with impact statements that show the benefit their grant will bring and above all be honest.
Once you have completed your application then see if you can reuse the information and documents you have produced for other awards and always ask for feedback to make these even more compelling.
And remember that a grant award might not be the only thing on the table so always ask whether there are any further follow-up grants available.
Good luck with your application!