Three quotes. A certificate of currency. Two letters of support. A committee resolution. A budget with the GST done properly. Two 500-word essays. And an acquittal waiting at the end that nobody warned them about.
For $5,000.
I am not against small grants. I have seen $5,000 buy a defibrillator, get a dozen volunteers coaching accredited, or put up a shade sail that means junior training does not get cancelled in February. Real outcomes for real clubs.
What I question is the effort curve.
The paperwork for $5,000 is often identical to the paperwork for $75,000. Same portal, same attachments, same reporting obligations. And the people carrying that load are usually a treasurer doing the books after her own workday, and a president who is also running the canteen roster on the weekend.
Three questions before you apply
A small grant is worth applying for when at least one of these is true.
- The item genuinely changes something for your members, rather than topping up general funds.
- It builds a track record with a funder you intend to go back to for something bigger.
- Someone in your organisation already has the governance documents assembled and current.
If the answer is no to all three, that $5,000 can cost you more in volunteer goodwill than it delivers. Volunteer hours are a finite resource and they are not free just because nobody invoices for them.
A note to funders:
Scaled requirements would be transformative. A short form for anything under $10,000. Accept a photo of a quote. Let groups reuse the governance documents they lodged with you eight weeks ago.
You would get more applications from exactly the small, grassroots groups your programs say they want to support. The organisations most worth funding are frequently the ones with the least capacity to prove it.
Not sure whether your project is worth the paperwork?
Send me an email with your club name and a couple of lines about what you are hoping to fund, and I will give you my honest opinion on whether it stacks up. Or if you would rather talk it through, I am happy to give you 15 minutes on the phone.
No obligation either way. Sometimes the most useful answer is that the grant is not worth your committee's time, and you are better off hearing that before you start.
Jenny Lawson, Successful Grants | info@successfulgrants.com.au | www.successfulgrants.com.au | 0418 884 264