Tourism grant writing tips from grant writers and funding bodies
For Destination Sydney Surrounds South, Tilma Group presented a webinar on grant writing tips.
Tilma Group regularly co-writes tourism-related grant applications with not-for-profit groups, tourism operators, event organisers and Councils.
Regional NSW and Destination NSW joined the webinar to share their top tips from the point of view of funding bodies.
What are the biggest challenges around applying for funding?
Participants in the webinar (who were mainly tourism operators) shared what they find most challenging around applying for grants:
Finding the appropriate grant that suits my business
Finding out about grants when they open (not shortly before they close)
Matching grants to the projects we have planned
Time of year: our event usually falls on or just before the school holidays and we tend to miss out for that reason
The time need to get the grant application right and to answer the questions asked
The timeline to bring the application together, with many moving parts and external contacts
The time spent on the application process only to be unsuccessful
Getting all the details together and putting them into words that resonate
Answering the questions specifically and fully is hard
Searching for and through the relevant strategy documents to demonstrate the project aligns with these
So much information is needed for some grants (applications can take weeks to gather everything)
Worry about confidentiality of the information we provide
The long assessment period in a fast changing economy and environment
Getting the grant over the line
Lack of transparency in the assessment process (faith in the politics)
Does that ring true with your experience?
Which projects are successful at securing funding?
Government grants aren’t easy money: the process of applying for grants takes time and energy to write, but if you don’t ask, the answer will always be ‘No’. Grants can be great way to accelerate your business’ growth.
Grants are highly competitive – there are always more applicants than funding available (unfortunately), so don’t bank on your application being successful. Being public money, transparency is required in which projects receive funding.
Projects that secure grant funding typically
support government strategies (which are identified in the government’s strategic plans)
are aligned with the grant’s criteria / objectives
have demonstrated the project will be delivered if funded (planning is thorough, the applicant or contractors have the skills to realise the project)
can demonstrate viability and sustainability
How to become ‘grant-ready’
Firstly, consider it is worth your time to apply for a grant – in applying, delivering and acquitting your project. Do you have the capacity to deliver on what is expected by the funding body?
At any point in time, you want to be ready to apply for grant funding for your priority projects - sometimes a grant opportunity arises suddenly and you may only have a few weeks to prepare an application. Assessors can see if a grant has been pulled together quickly without too much strategic thought.
Even if a grant opportunity is not yet on the horizon,
prepare a business plan for your business, event or destination
identify your priority projects, growth targets, and development plans for the next 5+ years?
prepare a business case for each priority project
ensure your projects are shovel ready, such as securing approvals and permits, quotes, and the required matched funding (typically half of the cost of the project)
secure partners, suppliers (e.g. tradespersons), and supporters (e.g. let your industry associations and members of parliament know about your intentions)
Don’t try to design a project to fit a grant opportunity. Only apply for grants that are the right fit for your project.
You might need to identify phases of development, as one grant might not cover a whole project.
Cooking school Food I Am sought funding for a canvas marquee to use for seven months of the year to demonstrate they could develop a new events market for their business (weddings, celebrations and business events). Once they could prove the business model worked, they sought funding to improve the marquee to make it weatherproof for year-round use.
Being ‘shovel-ready’ means if you were awarded funding tomorrow, you would be ready to go: you have approvals, you have your partners and contractors lined up, etc. You are able to move forward with your project. Note that when your project must be completed by is in the guidelines.
Develop a compelling business case
An effective business case provides rationale to potential funding partners on why your project should be undertaken, helping them understand:
its economic value
why a private or public partner should invest in it
why it represents a worthy expenditure of public funds
It will outline things such as
expected outcomes if the investment support is provided
the opportunity cost if the project does not go ahead
the project’s budget and capital required
timelines and capacity to deliver the project including who will do what and their qualifications/experience in similar projects
how outcomes will be measured
how the project aligns with the mission and vision of your organisation
the project’s risk management plan
This doesn’t have to be extensive document, just clear.
Read more: Developing a business case to support grant applications
Practical tips in preparing an application
Before starting
Don’t leave writing the application to the last minute – it is requires a lot of time to write an application
Read the guidelines completely
Watch the webinar
Call the grant provider if you have any questions at all
Talk over your project with your regional tourism organisation to ask for advice and check eligibility
Read any hints and tips provided about how to answer questions – how not to misinterpret questions, and how to answer in full
Letters of support
Letters of support take a while to be written so request them at an early stage. Request letters of support for your project from a variety of stakeholders, such as your regional tourism organisation, Council, state and federal MPs, Chamber of Commerce, local tourism organisation, businesses or community groups who might also benefit, people who can verify your work on similar projects
Ask supporters to speak to how your project would meet the grant’s objectives (let them know what those objectives are, such as economic impact for your Shire).
Writing the submission
Write your application in Word then copy and paste into the online portal. Start with dot points and brainstorming how you will answer the question, then finesse. Word will help you manage the word limits.
Use simple, plain language
Use active and concise language
Be persuasive and clear
If writing or concise writing is not your strength, find a team member or friend who can help you - reach out and get help if you’re not a great writer
Use images to paint a picture of your project: images of your business, a mood board of what you are trying to achieve, a satellite image from Google maps showing your property and where the infrastructure will be built
Assume the reader does not know what you are talking about - include all appropriate background details on your business and destination and the context the project will sit in
Quantify all claims you make – for example, rather than say ‘a lot of families visit our region,’ say ‘26% of domestic overnight visitors to our Shire are families’. Other examples of quantifying claims include providing past results, copies of financial records, testimonials, information about similar projects you’ve managed, and quotes from suppliers to demonstrate that the budget is realistic.
Provide the source of statistics, such as: Tourism Research Australia, [your LGA] profile, 2019
Council’s economic development or tourism manager can provide economic impact reports, such as REMPLAN or ID Profile reports
Council’s community development officer can provide advice on your community’s social needs
If you don’t have space to write everything into your answer, you can refer to an attached document (e.g. a page in your business plan)
Double check that you have answered the question asked, and have answered all parts of the question
Be immaculate in the details – make sure everything you claim in the application form and attach to the application is aligned, all the figures add up in your budget, etc
The most important parts of your application
Show these clearly:
How your project fulfills the grant’s objectives
How your project will provide a good return on investment for the government’s investment in terms of economic and social benefit for your community
How the Government’s investment would enable additional economic or social benefits your region that wouldn’t otherwise happen or wouldn’t happen as quickly
How others will benefit such as how other tourism businesses will experience flow-on benefits or direct benefits via a partnership or collaboration – what is in it for the region
Show how your project will bring to life the distinctive characteristics and features of your destination
Alignment with local, regional and state government strategies
You or your contractors have the ability and skills to deliver the project
You have undertaken detailed planning and forethought
Once complete
Seek feedback on your completed draft application such as from your regional tourism organization, local branch of Regional Development Australia, Council grant writer or tourism officer
Have a fresh set of eyes proofread the application before submitting
Pat yourself on the back for having a go – that was a lot of work!
If successful
Be prepared to allocate time to deliver on the expectations of the funding body and to complete the acquittal and necessary reports.
If unsuccessful
Ask the grant provider to provide feedback on your application
Improve your application based on the feedback and re-apply in the next round, or keep an eye out for another suitable grant
Grant writing tips from funding bodies
State governments are as rigorous as banks in assessing applications for funding
For some grants private businesses are eligible to apply, but they must demonstrate public good – your regional tourism organisation can help you frame how you write this into the grant application.
Don’t ask for a draft application review and feedback from your help network at the last minute – give them time!
The government are not risk takers, they won’t take your word for it, so back up your claims with evidence
Assessment panels are comprised of experts such as economists
They take their responsibility for investing public money from taxpayers seriously; the recommendations they make to ministers is based only on the grant criteria
Demonstrate effort to the assessment panel
For ‘competitive neutrality’ the government won’t assist one business at the expense of others or another business
If you are unsure what to write to answer a question, call the grant provider to ask e.g. where to find information on your community’s social need
Some grants are first come, first served until all funds have run out, even if that happens before the advertised closing date; some grants have a due date, where all are assessed together after that date.
The majority of successful applications are not written by grant writers, and some unsuccessful applications are written by grant writers. No one knows your business and vision as well as you do. If you want to use a grant writer, be aware that they will need a significant amount of your time; you will be co-developing the application.
The grants are often super competitive so you may not be successful, even if you do everything right
Focus on communicating why your project is good for the grant provider’s objectives (rather than focusing on why the project is good for your business)
Pictures help the judging panel understand your business; a mood board about your vision and what you are trying to achieve helps them interpret what you write in the application.
Ensure attachments match what you say in the application form e.g. quotes match what is in the budget
If your project is unique in your region, it’s more likely to score more highly than where there are multiple nearby competitors
When you have a limited word count, you can refer in your answer to where more info can be found e.g. to a page number reference in your business or event management plan
Make sure your budget only includes eligible line items (check what is not eligible in the guidelines)
Case studies: what makes a successful application?
Food I Am, Wagga Wagga NSW
Food I Am had a vision of what they wanted to achieve with their new business from the beginning:
Stage 1: Developed 10-year plan and business model, including marketing plan: the ‘Food I Am Ten Year Journey 2011-2021’
Stage 2: Used plan to secure funding to help construct cooking school
Stage 3: Added events venue (canvas marquee) and enhance outdoor area and landscaping (e.g. car park) to host events (destination weddings and business events, meal events)
Stage 4: Expanded cooking school to cope with growth and enable multiple simultaneous uses of the property (cooking classes, meal, event), and improve accessibility
Stage 5: Secured funding to weatherproof marquee for year round use, add outdoor kitchen for cooking school
Additional Stage (opportunistic response to temporary lack of tourism due to COVID): Gourmet condiment production for online sales
Stage 7: Construct accommodation offering
Food I Am have been both successful and unsuccessful with grant applications over the years. However, they are always grant ready for the next stages in their business journey: they know what projects they want funding for next. They have a good relationship with Council for Development Applications, they have relationships with key stakeholders and funding partners, they have savings or bank loans ready to double with a grant. They acquit grants and achieve the outcomes they claim their projects will have, so funding bodies have faith in their ability to realise projects successfully.
Clifton, QLD
Clifton is a small rural town. Their Chamber of Commerce applied for a grant to secure $20,000 (with no matching funding) in order to write
A tourism development strategy
A plan for a new event
A 12-month marketing plan
Their application was the highest scoring application in that round. Potential reasons why include
The town was so drought-impacted they had to truck in all the water the town was using (their bore had run dry)
Every community group in the town was collaborating and supporting the project
We directly answered the questions asked
We backed up claims made with statistics e.g. showed the need/disadvantage in the community using Census data (link)
The community then used the strategies to apply for more funding. They secured another $20,000 in the next round of the Building Better Regions Fund one year later to hire a coordinator/marketer to help the community groups realise their new event.
The tourism development strategy identified projects that they sought and secured funding for:
$5,000 for a business development consultant to help local businesses improve their offering (retail and dining) to improve the experience for visitors
$5,000 for a marketing agency to deliver a three-month destination marketing campaign
$5,000 to put up a mural to tell the town’s story of when megafauna roamed the region
Next they will apply for $5,000 for a landscape architect to develop a plan to beautify the main street, and they’ll use the plan to apply for funding to implement it.
Where to find suitable grants
Find open grants by looking through these grant finders. Be sure to subscribe for updates by email to monitor what grant opportunities become available.
Austrade’s tourism grants page (national and state tourism grant opportunities)
Your local Regional Development Australia (sign up for newsletter)
Your state tourism organisation (sign up for industry newsletters)
Your regional tourism organisation (sign up for industry newsletters)
Your Council
Community Grants for not-for-profits
Funding Centre for not-for-profits
Learn more
What makes a good grant application?
Developing regional tourism through grants
Help with grant writing
Would you like help to write a grant application for tourism development?
Learn how Tilma Group supports destinations, businesses and events with grants
Over to you
What do you wish you knew about writing grants for tourism development?