Approaching the government to fund your initiative, project, or idea might feel like a pretty daunting task. . But, the good news is–winning government funding, proposals, endorsement or support is not as rare as you might think. What you need is a solid strategy, clear goals, an all-hands-on-deck team, and the organisation and commitment to seeing the process through.
At JNC, we endeavour to help our clients navigate the sometimes murky path leading to government funding–making sure their best foot is always put forward. Below, we’ve prepared a quick “cheat sheet” for your organisation to successfully navigate your funding journey.
Step 1
Create a win-win situation for you and your government partner. You have many things to offer your potential government funder–think through what they need and want. Where can you find out what they need and want? Look at their policy statements, public announcements, and social media. Pay special attention to budgets and speeches from the throne, these are very important signals from the government of how they see their priorities. Ensure you clearly articulate how your ask aligns with their priorities.
Step 2
Do Good & Feel Good: Government funders want to see the positive impact of the work they are funding–and you are doing great work! Help them to understand how your work is positively impacting people you are supporting and the communities they serve. If you can connect them directly to your clients or arrange for them to visit your programs, that can help strengthen their commitment & engagement.
Step 3
Impact & Results: The more evidence you can show that your program is a success, the better.
- Government funding, typically comes with rigorous reporting obligations. Always be prepared to provide clear, concise evidence on what your funding will be used for in the future, or has been used for in the past.
- The more you can collect data on the impact of your work–the change you are actually making, rather than just the outputs (number of people served), the more compelling your case will be.
- If you have the opportunity to commission an independent evaluation of your work, take advantage of this–getting independent experts to validate the effectiveness of your work is so important!
Step 4
Make it Easy for your government audience: Be as clear and concise as possible, and come to the point, what are you asking for? You want them to understand your message, why it matters to them, and what kind of help you are hoping they can provide. You want them to clearly see how your work aligns with their policies and priorities.
Step 5
No headaches, no problems: Make sure your contributions are free of errors and mistakes, and create solutions for potential funders, not more problems. This does not mean you cannot criticize the government, but if you are pointing out a problem, you should also highlight a potential solution.
Please leave your comments below and thank you for reading!
-Jesse
