Grants – The Importance of Planning

The following wise words come from our expert grant writer and are critically important for all non-profit organisations.

Importance of Planning

I know I harp on and on about the need for planning when it comes to a non profit organisation or business chasing funding or tender opportunities. Indeed planning is vital, not just in effectively running the organisation or business but it is vital when it comes to grants and tenders. However I still don’t feel many of our readers are really placing much of an emphasis on planning and I continue to be amazed at the LACK of planning when it comes to significant projects.

This has been reinforced recently when two funding programs which had substantial funding available were advertised and we were swamped with requests for help. One program was a school funding program while the other program was sport and rec based but both programs could provide hundreds of thousands of dollars for each project which succeeded in winning funding, hence significant school and sport and rec infrastructure projects could be funded through these programs.

As mentioned in both cases we were swamped with requests for assistance. However the sad reality in most cases was that the school or sporting club, while they had a fantastic project in mind – it was just that – an idea in their mind!

They had not progressed the idea at all and had not undertaken any real planning, nor had they undertaken community consultation, completed any significant research required to support and prove the case, started any required planning approvals with the local council etc etc.

The harsh facts are that without planning most submissions for any significant amounts of money will simply fail.

With all our clients including the schools we work with, non profit organisations and sporting clubs planning is the key to our success. In many instances when we believe significant funding programs will open in future we start work on the planning, research and indeed the preparation of the submission months in advance – sometimes we start work on projects some 6 to 9 months PRIOR to when we believe the funding program will open. This is why we are so successful in winning our clients funding or preparing winning tenders – preparation is the key. I again can’t stress strongly enough – if your organisation, business, school or sporting club is serious about chasing funding or tenders start NOW. The massive successes we have with our clients clearly demonstrates that planning realises success the failure to plan realises just that – failure. Contact us now if your organisation needs any funding at all – we can get you the funding you so desperately need!

Please call Multisport Concepts and allow us and our grant expert to tailor your proposal for the best possible chances of success – don’t wait until the last minute.