The purpose of a grant is to disseminate funds to organizations without direct benefit to the grantor. Grants are not loans or rebate programs, and the funds are not intended to be paid back.

Generally, for-profit companies receive grants from small business incubators, government agencies, and maybe Boards of Trade. These organizations are designed to support new businesses, and the funds are usually for specific elements of start-up or growth. For example, there are grants for minority-owned businesses, those in certain industries (like farming), and more. If you are looking for a grant for your small business, the best place to start is your local Board of Trade. They will often be the most knowledgeable about where to go for more information and are great resources for advice.

Most grants, though, are geared toward the non-profit/not-for-profit sector. These are often offered by big businesses (an example being Bell Canada’s “Let’s Talk” grant for mental health services) and government agencies (such as Trillium Foundation in Ontario which offers multiple grants). Private sector organizations generally get a great opportunity for positive publicity by offering these, and the charitable organizations get the funds they need to operate. Win/win! Government agencies disburse millions of dollars in funds annually to a variety of charitable organizations as part of their commitments to the community.

Much like an RFP response, grant applications have specific strategies that help maximize your chance of receiving funds but are often limited to certain types of organizations or projects. Most grants include an open date, close date, and amount or amount range. Grantors may have $1,000,000 in funds to disburse annually, and are looking to award it to multiple organizations in $10,000-15,000 increments.

A key element to consider when deciding which grants to apply for is the eligibility criteria. Organizations use this to limit the scope to meet their own values, goals, and commitments so there isn’t a lot of wiggle room if you are missing criteria. For example, some grants require you to be either for-profit or not-for-profit. If you are a non-profit, you may be required to provide registered charitable status documentation. Some for-profit grants require you to have been in business for less than 1 year or less than 3 years. Other grants focus on mental health, child and youth services, or senior services, and you will not be considered if your program or service doesn’t fit.

Once you have submitted the grant application, I highly recommend that you make a copy of what you submitted and keep a digital copy in a designated repository (a document folder in the Cloud service of your choice works well). You have made commitments in that application that you will be held to, so keeping a copy readily available is integral.

There are 2 possible outcomes of a grant – you either get some / all of the requested funds, or you are denied. In the second case, I always recommend asking the grantor for a debrief so you can learn why you were denied, and let that information influence your next application.

If you were awarded funds, congratulations! Now the real work begins. Good luck and happy grant hunting!