Grants

There are many different types of grants:

Our tip? Sign up to the TNA and Auspicious Arts newsletters. It’s a great way of finding out what’s on offer!

Hot Tips for Writing Grants

  1. Decide whether you should spend your time applying at all Writing grants takes a lot of time and energy and they’re really competitive. Who are you asking for money from? What are they looking for? What do they prioritise? Read the funding body’s guidelines and ask yourself: does my project match what the funding body wants? You should really weigh up your chances of success and decide whether or not you want to spend the time writing a grant, or whether you’d rather fundraise a different way, like running a crowdfunding campaign.
  2. Talk to someone You should always, always, always (did we mention always?) call the funding body and talk to them about your project. Ideally, not on the day that it’s due. Maybe a couple of weeks beforehand. That way, they’ll have more time to talk to you about your project and whether it’s a fit for their funding criteria. These people are pretty much all amazing and will be so full of tidbits and info and tips and tricks, you’re silly not to use their amazing free services. See also point one – talking to someone can help you decide whether or not it’s worth your time applying at all.
  3. Why why why? The most common question grants assessors want to know is WHY? Why should this work be funded? Why is it important that it is made? How is it advancing the artform or why is this voice important in our artistic landscape or how will it increase our understanding of the world around us?  If you can answer some big questions like this, then your chances of success are instantly much much higher… as long as you can articulate these answers!
  4. Be clear and concise. Don’t waffle. Don’t use weird artwank speak. Just talk about the project using simple, straightforward language. If there’s anything you’re unsure about in the project it’ll probably be unclear in the application. So, use this as an opportunity to shape the content of the project as much as possible. The project can change but be certain in the things you’re trying to achieve with the project and how you will do that. Make sure you open by saying what the project is – don’t assume it’s clear – is it a cabaret show, an installation, a play…? Some projects assume form and content knowledge when actually you just need to tell the assessors what you’re doing right from the start.
  5. Innovate Rightly or wrongly, fairly or unfairly, most grants are focused on innovation. They want to know how the work is exploring something new, something different, some new frontier. This can be artistic, thematic or in ways that it advances your career. One way or the other you need to explain how this project will take the arts somewhere else – by investing in the development of the artform itself, telling an important story or investing in you as an artist.
  6. Sell yourself Speaking of you – this isn’t the time to be modest. Panels trust people as much as they do projects. Sell your credentials. List all your great successes. Don’t hold back. You want to convince a panel that you’re going to make something pretty damn amazing.
  7. Know your numbers Panels will interrogate budgets and they know what looks weird - it’s easy to pick up when you’re trying to fudge the numbers or where you’ve just made it up. Make sure your budget makes sense. Always try to have at least three other players in the income - for example, in kind support (such as venue hire or anything you’ve locked in for free) plus any partnerships and sponsorships that you might have secured. We also recommend including a contingency plan in your application - just a paragraph or two explaining your plan B if other grants, income, venues etc. fall through.
  8. Think about your support material Support material – letters of support from partners or past collaborators, videos of previous work, etc – is super important. This can be just as much work as the application itself. The general vibe when asking someone to write a letter of support is that you should write it for them, and then send them the text and they’ll put it on their letterhead and sign it. So use this as an opportunity to say some more great things about you and your project.  And choose video excerpts carefully.  The shorter the better.