How to Write a Grant Application: A Step-by-Step Guide for Australian Organisations

Writing a grant application can feel like a big, vague task, especially if you are a volunteer doing it at the kitchen table after work. It becomes much easier when you break it into steps and realise that most of the work happens before you write a single answer.

This guide walks through the process used by experienced grant writers, adapted for small Australian not-for-profits, community groups and small businesses.

Step 1: Read the guidelines twice

The grant guidelines are the rulebook. Read them once to decide whether the grant is worth pursuing, then again with a highlighter. Note:

The objectives. What is the funder trying to achieve? Your application has to show that your project helps them do it.
Eligibility. Who can apply, where, and with what legal structure. If you fail one eligibility rule, stop here.
What is and is not funded. Many grants exclude ongoing running costs, wages for existing staff, costs incurred before approval, or purchases of land.
Assessment criteria and weightings. These tell you exactly what the panel will score.
Amounts and co-contribution. Minimum and maximum grant, and whether you need to contribute.
Key dates. Closing date and time, project start and end dates, and when decisions are expected.
Required attachments. Financial statements, quotes, letters of support, insurance, incorporation certificate.

If anything is unclear, contact the program officer. Most guidelines list a contact for questions.

Step 2: Check the fit honestly

Before investing hours, ask three questions:

Do we meet every eligibility requirement?
Does our project genuinely match the funder's objectives, or are we bending it to fit?
Can we deliver it, report on it and cover any co-contribution?

If the answer to any of these is no, move on. A shortlist of well-matched grants beats a pile of rushed applications. Our grant eligibility checklist can help.

Step 3: Plan the project before you write

The strongest applications describe a well-planned project. Write a one-page project plan covering:

The problem. What need are you addressing, and for whom?
The activity. What exactly will you do?
The people. Who will run it and who will benefit, with realistic numbers?
The timeline. Key milestones from start to finish.
The budget. Every cost, with quotes where possible.
The outcomes. What will be different at the end, and how will you know?

Once this page exists, the application mostly becomes a matter of fitting your plan into the funder's questions.

Step 4: Gather your evidence

Assessors want to see that the need is real and that you can meet it. Useful evidence includes:

Community or member surveys
Waiting lists or attendance records
Public data, for example from the Australian Bureau of Statistics or your council's community profile
Letters of support from partners, schools, councils or service users
Photos of the current situation (broken equipment, an inaccessible entrance)
Results from previous projects

Ask for letters of support early. Partners are busy, and a generic letter written in a hurry adds little. Give them a few points about the project and ask them to describe their own connection to it.

Step 5: Answer the selection criteria

This is where most applicants lose marks. A few rules:

Answer the question that was asked

If the question asks how you will reach people with disability, do not talk about your organisation's history. Break multi-part questions into parts and answer each one.

Use the funder's language

If the guidelines talk about "social connection", use that phrase. Assessors are scoring against their own criteria, so make the link obvious.

Be specific

Compare:

"Our project will help lots of young people in the area."
"Over 20 weeks, 30 young people aged 12 to 17 from three local high schools will attend a weekly two-hour cooking and life skills session at the community centre."

The second answer is easy to score. The first is not.

Use the word limit well

Do not pad, but do not leave half the space empty either. If a criterion is worth 40 per cent of the score, it deserves more effort than one worth 10 per cent.

Write plainly

Short sentences. Active voice. No jargon unless the funder uses it. Assume the reader has never heard of your organisation and is reading their twentieth application of the day.

Step 6: Build the budget

The budget should tell the same story as your written answers. Every activity you describe should appear as a cost, and every cost should link to an activity. Include quotes where required, show co-contributions and in-kind support, and check the total matches the amount requested everywhere in the form. Our guide on how to write a grant budget covers this in detail, including GST.

Step 7: Show you can deliver

Funders are investing in your organisation as much as your project. Show:

Your track record with similar projects or previous grants
Who will manage the project and their relevant experience
Your governance: an active committee or board, financial controls and policies
How you will manage risks such as low attendance, cost increases or a key volunteer leaving

Step 8: Explain outcomes and measurement

Describe what success looks like and how you will measure it. Keep it practical:

Outputs are what you deliver: number of sessions, items purchased, people attending.
Outcomes are the change that results: improved skills, reduced isolation, more girls playing sport.

Say how you will collect the information, for example attendance records, short surveys at the start and end, or feedback from partners. Funders will often ask for this in your acquittal report, so plan it now.

Step 9: Review, then review again

Before submitting:

Have someone outside the project read it. If they cannot explain the project back to you, it is not clear yet.
Check every question is answered and every attachment is included.
Check names, numbers and dates are consistent throughout.
Read the eligibility section one last time.
Save a copy of every answer outside the online form. Online systems can time out and lose work.

Step 10: Submit early

Aim to submit at least one or two days before the deadline. Online grant systems often slow down in the final hours, and late applications are almost never accepted. Keep the confirmation email or receipt.

After you submit

If you are successful, read the funding agreement carefully before signing, note every reporting date, and keep receipts and photos from the start. See our guide to grant acquittals.
If you are unsuccessful, ask for feedback. Many funders will explain how your application scored. Use it to improve the next one, and keep the application. Much of it can be reused.

When to get help

If a grant is large, complex or critical to your organisation, it can be worth getting professional support. Win With Words, the Australian grant writing agency behind GrantFinder Pro, writes applications for organisations that want an expert to take the lead.

Quick checklist

Read the guidelines twice and confirmed eligibility
Contacted the program officer with any questions
Written a one-page project plan
Gathered evidence and letters of support
Answered every criterion directly and specifically
Budget matches the project and adds up
Attachments complete and clearly named
Reviewed by someone outside the project
Submitted early and kept the receipt

Find grants worth writing for

See which grants match your organisation, free, at grantfinderpro.com.au/find. Matches are a rough guide to eligibility, so always confirm against each grant's guidelines.