About
Charitygrants
We Are Here To Help You
Charitygrants Management Services is a non-profit support consultancy based in Romford, Essex. We help charitable organisations in the UK and Africa to secure grants from trusts, foundations, governments and lottery sources.
Contact us today for your grant needs.
I Am Here To Help You
Please contact me today for your grant needs. I can help you to:
• Develop clear actions for your organisation’s growth,
• Plan and write proposals that win grants with you,
• Shape the direction and vision for your organisation and projects
• Become effective and efficient in seeking and securing grants!
My Mission
To help non-profit organisations develop and sustain themselves.
My Goal
To make the process of writing for grants less complicated for beginners and help those struggling to write credible proposals get the right formula!
Meet Elisha
He is the author of “How to Write Successful Applications & Proposals for Grants”. He also develops grant writing courses which he facilitates online at charitygrantshq.com.
Elisha holds degrees in Economics, Statistics, Organizational Development and Grant Writing.
Elisha’s online eCourse – Writing for Grants Made Easy e-Course- is taught to thousands of students annually. Hundreds of students have testified to how this eCourse has helped them to master the art of grant writing. Elisha has raised over £5 million in grant and contract awards for his clients in the last 10 years.
He is an alumni of The UK Institute of Fundraising, The Foundation Centre in New York and most recently the Grantsmanship Centre, Trenton, New Jersey. He is founder and director of Charitygrants Management Services.
I am here to help you. Together we can make your community, voluntary or charitable organisation grow strong and healthy.
Contact me or give me a call:
Email: elisha@charitygrantshq.com
Phone: +44 792 165 5533
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Frequently Asked Questions
How sure are you that we can get a grant?
There are lots of things I need to know about an organisation before I say whether I can or cannot find grants for you.
Generally speaking, to get a grant, an organisation must qualify, be ready and prepared for it. Usually I have sets of questions which I ask all community group that come to me to answer first before I give them a yes or no answer.
The work I do is to help properly constituted not-for-profit organisations to secure grants from trusts, foundations, governments and lottery sources.
I can help you if your organisation:
– Is well constituted i.e. you have developed and adopted well-documented rules and regulations for your group, and that the group has a good number of qualified management committee members
– has a bank account in the name of the organisation with two or more unrelated signatories,
– is able to describe its mission, vision, aims, objectives, activities and can provide examples of very good work in the community, supporting a disadvantaged population and that’s why you need grant support.
Then you should also tell me what you need the grant for and what exactly you will purchase with the money?
You can read my Free Book: How to Get Your Organisation Ready for Grants at www. charitygrantshq.com/
If we cannot pay you now, Can you get the grants for us and we give you a percentage or commission?
The straight answer is no. It’s not an ethical or good practice. It doesn’t work like that. You see, I’m a member of the United Kingdom Institute of Fundraising. This regulatory body of fundraisers in the UK and other professional bodies like the Grants Professionals Association frown on commission based services.
Writing for grants involves much work and takes a lot of time. As you know, time is money. I will spend hours developing the proposal and in this field, you are not guaranteed a 100% success.
What happens when the grant proposal is not successful? It will mean that I would have used my time for nothing. And we cannot put a budget line in the proposal to say that part of the grant will be used in paying commission. You can’t do that. The funder wants its money to go towards a project and not paying people for services rendered to you.
I cannot help you on the promise of a commission or percentage. You have to pay for my time if you hire me to write a grant proposal for you.
What should a charity do when a funder is visiting the organisation
It’s a joy for all fundraising officers to get a funder agreeing to visit their charity to meet with them and understand more about the work their charities do.
If you get this chance, grab it and prepare well for the day. Meeting funders give you the lifetime opportunity to impress and showcase the good work your organisation is doing in the community.
A funder will agree to come to you because they feel you have the programme that can help them achieve objectives for which they were set up.
First, I will suggest that you remain calm. Don’t panic or develop any phobia. Rather, develop a rapport between you and the funder. Listen well to this funder and be very open in discussing the project you are seeking support for. Talk confidently about your organisation. Show you know the facts about your organisation. Talk with passion and conviction about your projects, your successes and impact of your work in the community. Show that the project you are seeking support for, is well planned, based on research and consultations with your service users. And that you have a plan ahead on what happens after their funding?
Ask the funder lots of questions about their funding streams even if your research have answered some of them.
When the funder asks a question which you don’t know answers to, please say so. Do not try to impress and give wrong answers. Say you’ll find out and let him or her know the answer later.
Most funders want to know how strong your organisation is financially. Make sure the finance officer of your organisation is at hand to explain your finances.
Can I write the grant proposal myself?
I doubt if you can without any training! Writing for grants is very technical and you need to know the basics. You cannot stand up one day and say I want to write proposals for grants.
Most people learn to write grants on the job, but this is done through a carefully planned process. There is so much to learn about the subject of grant proposal writing before you can tackle it.
As a novice, you will find it daunting.
First, you have to understand how to plan and develop your ideas into projects. How to identify the needs of your constituents
Secondly, you need to know the structures and formats that your grants applications should take. Then the components of proposals like
• how to write the executive summary,
• statement of need,
• project description,
• aims, objectives and activities,
• outcomes, sustainability, and budget — and
Other things you’ll need to consider when preparing and submitting proposals.
Interestingly, there are so many resources online these days to help you learn how to write proposals fast. Courses, books, video lessons, podcasts, etc. that can help you learn how to develop good proposals.
While learning, it’s good to be reading samples of actual proposals and applications other people have written. This can give you further insights into how proposals are written.
But you need to learn the planning process, the development, the writing and contacting funders in the right way.
You have so much to do in order to master this art of writing grant proposals.
Should you want to learn how to write proposals and applications that win grants, I have a practical eCourse which is very good for beginners: “Writing for Grants Made Easy eCourse”. Just go to my website at www.charitygrantshq.com and register for this eCourse
Our charity is based in the UK but we support education, health and community development projects in Africa. Can we get grants for our projects?
Yes, you can. You will have no problem securing grants for projects in developing countries.
In addition to the big funders in the UK, like DFIF (Department For International Development), Comic Relief and the Big Lottery Fund, there are lots of trusts and foundations in the UK, USA, Europe and other parts of the world that give grants to projects in developing countries. You can get information on these funders in directories like:
• The Europa International Foundation Directory/World Guide to Foundations Directory.
• FundsforNGOs. This organisation has a list international foundations that fund projects around the world.
• We also have BOND in the UK that carries database of international funders.
• The Foundations Center in The USA has a whole directory dedicated to foundations supporting charity work in the developing world, like Asia, India, Africa, the Caribbean and other regions.
• USAID, Rockefeller Foundation, UNICEF, CIDA and may others
Elsewhere on my website, at www.charitygrantshq.com you will find a good resource on funders that fund projects specifically in developing countries.
Can I get a grant to start my business?
Yes, you can. There’re lots of funding opportunities available to businesses, especially startups and those in their early stages.
All central governments, local councils and private sector organisations give grants to businesses.
The UK government has a comprehensive database – The Regional Growth Fund which you can research for the type of grant that fits your business. The best place to seek for these grants is the government website at www.gov.uk.
The Princes Trusts helps young people with ideas to start their own businesses.
There are also Regional Business Development Centres all across the UK where businesses can look for grants. Examples are the Essex Business Grants and Business Grants in Wales.
Many developing countries have business development centres within identified ministries that give grants to incubate and grow new businesses
There is also The Commonwealth Entrepreneurial Development Project which is purposely established to help aspiring entrepreneurs in commonwealth countries.
We also have the European Union Regional Development Fund.
While nonprofits seek for grants using proposals, business need more. In addition to your proposal, you must develop a robust business plan stating clearly how the grant you seek for is able to help you achieve your aims and objectives.
Not all business can access grants though. There is the hurdle of eligibility criteria that you must pass before being granted the money.
We are a community group not yet registered as a charity, can we get grants?
The answer is a big yes but with limitations. If you are a community group or a voluntary association, helping your community with charitable activities, even if you are not yet registered with the charity regulatory body of your country, you can still get a grant.
But like I said in an earlier answer, your group must be properly constituted. You must have a constitution or governing document. The group must be run by good number of credible trustees.
• You should have a bank account with 2 or more unrelated signatories
• You must be seen to be doing some good work in the community
If you can show all these, and a need for the grant, then you are in. You can get the grants you need by following a laid down procedure.
The caveat is that there are very few funders who give grants to non-registered charitable organisations.
I will advise you to register your organisation and have a charity registration number. This is because over 99% of funders want to give grants only to those organisations that are registered with the charity regulatory body of their country.
What Must You Do to Win Grants Every Time You Write Applications & Proposals
The simple answer is to follow instructions that the funder you are approaching with your application has given to you.
Let me sound this warning first. It’s not a foregone conclusion that you’ll win grants every time you write and submit proposals to a funder. However hard you tried, you are bound to be rejected some of the times.
This is because there are thousands of other organisations like yours who are approaching this one funder at the same time. And the funder has only a small pot of money to distribute. So funder look carefully at all applications submitted to them and identify that near perfect project proposal which matches the funders’ interest and priorities to support.
So, to win grants most of the time I will say:
• Be very prepared. Your project must be well-planned, thought off and communicated clearly to the funder. Planning is key, absolutely necessary.
All funders issue their funding guidelines. They want proposals to them to follow their specific eligibility criteria. You should follow this criteria and write a good and compelling proposal that:
• Show clearly how you fit into the funders priority,
• the need for the grant,
• how you plan to resolve the need, and
• What you will spend the grant on.
One other thing! Make sure you build some relationship with the funder you have identified to approach before submitting applications. You do this either through telephone calls, personal contact or e-mail.
When you talk to a funder and they tell you to submit an application, half your work is done.
Funders want details about a project, not generalities. They want to be assured that their funds will be spent effectively. If you can give this assurance, you are bound to win grants most of the time.
Basically there are 8 proven steps you must take always to win grants most of the time when you submit applications and proposals.
You can read about all 8 steps on my website at: www.charitygrantshq.com .
Where can we get money to support the Non-Profit work we do
To get money to support the non-profit work you do, “You must undertake fundraising”! i.e. ask people for donations!
In fact, 99% of support to charities come from:
• Donations from friends, families, colleagues, individuals.
• Funding bodies including trusts and foundations which are also mostly set up by individuals, families and companies
• Government institutions and departments established to give grants.
• Online. Of late there is a lot of request for funding support online. There is a plethora of organisations that can help you to generate income online – Just Giving, Bmycharity, Virgin money, etc.
I have compiled a very detailed and comprehensive list of over 40 different funding sources from which non-profit organisations can get money to run their charities. It’s absolutely FREE for everybody.
You can access this info at www.charitygrantshq.com to download for FREE. This name of the eBook is: “Discover 44 Funding Sources for Non-Profit Organisations “
I am a student, how do I find grants for my research work?
You can get grants for your research work but you must research for those grants. The Research Council in the UK is always advertising for funding opportunities in various areas including Economics, Arts and Humanities, Medical, Engineering and many others fields.
If you are an individual seeking for grants, this is what you do!
• Affiliate yourself with a college or university. Almost all universities have database of scholarships and offices that coordinate scholarships for research work. Talk to the officer in charge and they can direct you on how you could access a grant for your research work.
• There are funding directories like Cara, Scholarship search, and others that carry information on grants for scholarships, research, and fellowships. Search for one and read through them for the grant you need.
• The government of UK has information on grants for students available on its website www.Gov.uk and www.grantsforindividuals.org.uk
In the USA the Foundation Center has a publication dedicated to Grants for Individuals. In this directory you have information on various types of grants that any individual can access.
Another approach is to find an educational charity with a similar interest to your research domain and ask them to act as your fiscal sponsor.
Charitygrants
Elisha Fiador is a Grant Writing Specialist, Strategic Planner and Charity Consultant based in Romford, Essex.
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