HOW DO YOU KNOW IF YOU SHOULD APPLY?

So now that you have found available funding, you have determined your organization is eligible, now you should go ahead and apply, right?

Well, not quite. I strongly recommend that every organization pause at this stage and reflect on some key questions. Just because you can apply for something, doesn’t mean that it is the best use of your organization’s time, energy, human resources, or even relationship capital with funders.

Some organizations which frequently apply for government funding have developed a go/no go decision-making matrix (often called an opportunity assessment) that helps them determine if they should apply. Depending on the size and complexity of your organization, you may or may not wish to adopt this kind of tool. Here are some sample questions to consider:

-How competitive is this funding opportunity? What is the likelihood that we will be successful?

-How much time will it take to develop an application? Who on our team has time to do this work? What other work will be postponed?

-If we are successful, are we capable of implementing the program? What are the risks to our organization in implementing this project?

-Is the funding being offered enough to cover all costs associated with delivering this program? If not, do we know where we will get the additional funding?