G R A NT S I N AU STR A L I A 2017
GRANTMAKER ACTION LIST This list has been informed by analysis of the Grants in Australia 2017 research study, an output of Our Community’s Innovation Lab. The 2017 survey is the ninth conducted by Our Community since 2006. A total of 1227 people completed the survey, which was conducted online from November 2016 to February 2017. The survey, the biggest of its type in Australia, is part of an ongoing research project that charts the development of the field of grantmaking in Australia from the grantseeking community’s perspective. The production of this takeaway list reflects Our Community’s aim to ensure that the data we collect is not just interesting but useful. > Download the full survey report here: www.ourcommunity.com.au/grants2017
1. Reduce the rate of un-submitted forms Finding: Not-for-profit organisations are wasting a huge amount of time on applications that are started but not submitted. A total of 54% of the grantseekers we surveyed said they’d started an application in the previous 12 months that they didn’t end up submitting. (Not all of this is down to a grantmaker fault – many just ran out of time – but you can play a part in bringing down this rate.)
Action: o Audit your processes to help reduce the number of grantseekers who waste their time starting applications that they don’t complete: o Ensure your program is open for long enough to give grantseekers time to plan and complete the application process. Factor in time they may require for board meetings and approvals. o Ensure your guidelines are clear, comprehensive, and readily available. o Insert an eligibility test into the earliest possible phase of your application process. o Read the December 2015 edition of Grants Management Intelligence on this issue, with stats to help you benchmark yourself against others in your sector.
2. Provide grants for core costs Finding: Grantseekers report that grants for core costs are getting harder to get, despite the reality that not-for-profits can’t get by without them.
Action: o Read our help sheet to find out more about why grants for core costs are so important, and this article about why some feel they’re a great tool. If you can’t provide grants exclusively for core costs, make sure you allow a portion of your project grants to be used for overhead.
An enterprise of: