Social design is gaining in popularity. The socially active community is increasingly resorting to writing grants to obtain additional funding. Festive events, charitable projects, socially significant initiatives - all this, as a rule, is implemented through grant funding. And it is impossible to get these funds without a strong and well-written project.
There is such a term - grantwriting, which literally translates as the art of writing projects aimed at financing socially significant initiatives.
As a rule, all grantors are large state and commercial structures that direct funding for the implementation of only those project initiatives that have social significance and a specific result. Keep this in mind when formalizing your project.
Forming an idea
First of all, it is necessary to determine the area of the project, as well as the social group, to improve the conditions of which the project is aimed.
The main characteristics of a truly worthwhile social project idea are as follows:
- Novelty. The idea should be original, not borrowed;
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Accuracy. The pull of an idea is always very visible to experienced grant foundations, and imprecise goals and objectives of a grant can negate the chances of getting funding;
- Necessity. The idea should correspond to social problems, that is, it should be aimed at solving them. If the problem does not exist, or the scope of the grantor does not cover it, funding will not be allocated.
The times when projects were written for the final acquisition of some material values are gradually passing away. Grant givers are becoming more discerning and professional, which makes it hard to come up with a really worthwhile idea against the backdrop of highly successful projects.
Solution to the problem
The definition of the idea is followed by a solution to the problem, which consists in the activities provided by the project. For example, if we take the social adaptation of orphans as a problem, then the activities of the grant project can be:
- vocational guidance;
- meeting with representatives of a wide range of professions;
- information seminars;
- preparation of special vocational guidance literature.
That is, the entire sequence of actions should be aimed at solving the problem that was initially identified. The list can be wider or narrower, depending on the maximum level of funding allocated by a particular fund.
Having defined the problem, solutions, as well as the social group of addressees, the following characteristics of the project should be determined:
- territory of the project;
- duration over time;
- amount of funding.
The first two criteria are basic, and if the idea is clearly formed, then, as a rule, it is not difficult to answer the question of territory and time.
Potential grantees face much more problems when determining funding for activities. It should be remembered that donors are often interested not so much in financing as in partner implementation of socially significant projects. This means that the authors of the grant must also invest their resources for its implementation: labor, clothing, charitable, etc.
When determining the estimate, it is important to remember that a detailed report will be required for all costs. And it is at this stage, as a rule, that difficulties arise during the implementation of the project. So, practice shows that some even incurred costs are difficult to draw up in a report (like, for example, fuels and lubricants). Therefore, it is easier to take them into account within the co-financing of the author's group.
Fund search
An important step in writing a grant is finding a potential grantee. Each fund has its own requirements for applications, which are set out in the regulatory documents. All of them should be studied before preparing applications.
Do not forget about the danger of formal rejection of the application due to non-compliance with the requirements for paperwork: the volume of text, font, indents and other nuances should be strictly observed.
Presentation
Almost all foundations conduct project presentations before allocating funds. The authors should be ready not only to retell the provisions of the project already studied by the experts, but also to answer questions regarding its implementation and goal setting.
