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Filling in an application form can be daunting. It takes time and it's best not to tackle it on your own or in one go. We want to make a fair assessment of what you want to do but we can only do this on the basis of the information you give us and if we phone or visit you.
Before you send your application to us it is a good idea to ask someone who knows something about your organisation but not much about your project to read it through.
When they have done so, ask them these questions:
- What does your organisation do?
- What is it applying for?
- What will the application achieve?
If their answers are unclear or inaccurate, you may need to look at your application again. Our experience is that this is time well spent.
If you haven't applied to us before, we suggest the following approach
- Start off by thinking about the need you want to meet and how a Lottery grant might help you do this.
- Make a list of all the things you think we need to know about your project. Keep this as a checklist to make sure you have included everything we need to know in your application.
- Get together a small group from your management committee or staff team to go through the questions on the form and jot down the main points that answer them. Use your checklist to make sure you have not missed anything. If you are not sure what a question means, call your local Community Fund office.
- We assess your application against the criteria set out in the application pack, so make sure your project meets all of them.
- Write your first draft on a copy of the form. It is best for one or two people to do this rather than everyone trying to write it. Other people may suggest improvements afterwards.
- Make sure you can back up what you say with evidence. Send it with the application if it is important or tell us about it on the form so we can ask for it if we need it.
- There is no need to use jargon when filling in the form. In fact, it's best avoided. Just make sure it is written clearly and is easy to understand.
- We need the cost of your project to be as accurate and detailed as possible. This will take you some time to sort out, but without it, we are unlikely to make an award.
- Salaries can be a particularly difficult area of budgeting, especially calculating National Insurance Contributions. You can get information on National Insurance rates and thresholds from the Inland Revenue
- Apply for all the money you need to make your project work. If you apply for too little, we may question whether you can do the project.
- Applications to fund building work are particularly involved. Check that you have sent us everything we need.
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