How to get Grant Savvy in 2012
Every community radio station faces a very common issue, one that is vital to the operations of a community broadcaster, regardless of circumstances. This issue, is of course, funding.
A large percentage of community stations would have an annual income of less than a $100,000 each financial year.
The running costs of a radio station quite often exceed that of what the station earns.
These costs range from transmission fees, APRA (Australasian Performers Rights Association) fees, equipment, training, content, staff salaries, outside broadcasts and premise management and rental fees.
A great way for any community station or non-profit organization to succeed in funding their operations is through grants.
The 2011 CBAA Conference hosted a workshop on grants and how to be grant-savvy.
During this session, hosted by the Community Broadcasting Foundation, those who attended were shown a step-by-step guide on how simple it is to apply for a grant through the use of CBF's revolutionary online grants application website; Smartygrants.
Smartygrants is an easy online grant application system, and I had the pleasure of trying it out for myself before the entire workshop audience.
It is as simple as creating an account and you're good to go.
You click on the grant you wish to apply for and fill out all the necessary information. Once it's all filled in, you can submit it straight away.
It was enforced throughout the session that it is absolutely paramount that you fill out all the information correctly.
Failure to do so would of course result in your application being rejected, so be vigilant.
Here are a few tips to ensure your application is at its highest quality:
Before applying for a grant, remember to read the guidelines; these outline exactly what you have to say and they guide you through the assessment criteria.
If you're unsure about anything, speak to the grants administrator.
Showcase your creativity and innovation; think outside the box to really make your application stand out.
Ensure the budget for your project is added up correctly and always include in-kind contributions; the board wouldn't have much faith in you if you couldn't budget correctly.
Finally, proof reading your application works wonders; never forget to do that.
There are many grant rounds coming up over the duration of 2012, so there will be many opportunities to fund your station in the near future.
This is a fantastic way to get your station's funding back on track, and it's even easier now, so there's no excuse.
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