Applying for Grants: What needs to be looked at while applying for Grants – Some donor agencies may have a specific time period for applying for funds and others may have flexible time period. Here are some of the steps as to how to approach a donor agency for the first time.
Step-I. –
a)Get some information about the funding agencynto whom you are planning to approach for funding support. This could be done through their website or any other NGOs who have already getting funds from that donor agency or any other sources.
b) See if they have any priority areas and issues
c) See if they have any specific time for applying for grants
d) See if they have any standard formats or guidelines for applying for grants
e) See if there is some information related to the contact person for your region
.f) Also see if they have any fund limits for a particular period say one year, two years or long term
Step-II a) If your planned activities meets the criteria of the donor agency
You should get in touch the agency and express your interest of approaching them for funding support. While writing, you should give a brief about your organisation, what activities at the moment you are working on, who the funder for the existing project,justification of taking a new project etc…
After getting the information, the funding agency may ask for more clarifications or write to say that they further needs to look into this, or may ask you to prepare a concept note, or may say that they might visit the project area to assess or may simply send a regret letter.
If they ask you to prepare a concept note or a proposal (they may have their standard format) and also ask you to submit some annexures alongwith the proposal. Some of these could be
a) Project Proposal
b) Budget (if you have included in the proposal itself, there is no need to attach separately) Find out if they have a format
.c) Annual Reports – last two years or so as asked by the donor
d) Consolidated Audit Statements last two years or so or as asked by the donor
e) Organisation’s Registration copy with bye-laws
f) FCR Registration copy (for international donors)
g) Copy of Latest FC returns
g) Income Tax Registration Copy
h) PAN & TAN Nos (optional)
i) 80 G registration (optional)
j) Organogram
Any other information that the donor agency may have asked for.