CHECKLIST

The Grant-making Body

Appropriate donor

• do their policies and practice (if you know them) match up with your appeal?
  (if not, why should they break their own rules?)
• are you asking for an appropriate amount?
  (what's their income? what size grants do they make?)
• is the timing right?
  (when do they need the application by? when do you need the money by?)

The Actual Application

Addressed to the right person

• personalised? or looks like a circular?
• most recent correspondent, spelt correctly?
• name of the funding body spelt correctly?
• most recent address?

Overall impression

• too long / too short?
• too glossy / too scruffy?
• legible?

Style

• too full of jargon? abbreviations?
• assumes they're idiots? assumes they're experts?

Content

• says who you are and what you do?
  (clear and concise? or pages of trivia?)
• says what your group's legal status is?
• says what you need the money for and why?
  (what will it buy; who will benefit)
• says how much and by when?
• says how you'll evaluate the grant (if appropriate)?
• says what else you're doing to raise money?
• says who they can contact for more details?

Supporting material

• accounts? a budget?
  (what message are you giving if they're not included?)
• Annual reports, press cuttings, leaflets...
  (too much?)

General impression of group given by application

• businesslike?
• 'well-meaning but woolly' ?

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