By Marisol Fornoni

Unfortunately, there are many misconceptions out there when it comes to grants. It’s incredibly hard for first-timers to get their grant application approved. As competition increases for funding and funding continues being cut, it has become harder to obtain funding for organizations that are piloting new ideas or that have no ‘track record of success’ (as funders like to call it). Funders want to see previous experience and be certain that you have a solid capacity of carrying out a project according to their terms.

If you do not have experience carrying out any projects make sure you do! Run a trial and document everything; the good, the bad and the ugly. If you then decide to apply for funding use this documentation to answer these core questions every funder asks in detail:

• Which community members and stakeholders will benefit the most from your project?
• How will you involve participants during the planning and execution phases?
• How will you measure or evaluate the impact of your project?
• Do you have a work plan outlining all project steps, timeline, and resources?
• What experience and/or qualifications does your organization have to carry out this project?
• If activities continue beyond the term of the grant, how will they be sustained?