The Life of a Grant Writer

Co-written by Zoe Dark, Team Leader and Erica Daniel, Intermediate Advisor - Grant Program Office

Over the past few months, Peak’s Grants Team has grown exponentially to accommodate demand. Our small team has doubled its numbers to now nine full and part time team members. In the last six months, we have written 69 grant applications and Expression of Interest submissions.

In the first four months of this year, we’ve secured over $17 million in funding for organisations across Australia, with many of the major grant programs still pending a decision. Considering the success of secured funding over the past few months, we decided to explore what a day is like for a Peak Grant Writer.

The Peak Services Grants Team are passionate about their work, with skills and experience that have an accumulated total of over 60 years across many varied areas of expertise. There is a depth of knowledge within the team that is shared and applied to the grants process for our clients, from infrastructure and energy, to arts, tourism and the environment.  Our team is dynamic, and with the awareness that our work makes a difference to communities across Australia, our focus is on developing the best possible applications every time. 

Information gathering is at the centre of our activity and once collated, we apply our crafting skills to put forward a case that “cannot be refused”! Time is always a challenge, because deadlines are immovable. No two grants are the same and translating and reviewing the requirements is one of the core elements of our work. Grant preparation is a team sport, we rely on each other and our clients to work in synergy to build strong cases and create compelling submissions. 
With every grant application we write, we’re deepening our connection and understanding of the challenges our clients and their communities face. There is nothing more satisfying than submitting a grant we know will make a difference for these communities. 

No two days or grant submissions are alike. At any one time, we need to draw on a range of skills from research to technical specifications, and persuasive writing skills - it is always the detail that matters most when submitting an application. We love to see the innovation and purpose of the projects our clients are proposing. Our role is to ensure we tell your story with clarity and accuracy to make your vision a reality. 

Writing the grant application is only one aspect. It follows careful planning and preparation, passing from one technical expert to another and factoring in variable response times. There is preliminary information to gather, reports to read, statistics, and data to collate. 

The core components for a successful grant are supplied by our clients. The earlier we receive this key information, the more time we can give to constructing a convincing and persuasive case. It all comes back to teamwork. Clients provide us with detailed plans for their projects, supporting evidence and information about budgets, costings, contributions, approvals, land use agreements, contractors they may use, and their own relevant experience in delivering similar projects. We need to draft letters of support for clients to send to various stakeholders, and we need to find relevant threads that support the project in clients’ asset management, operational, and corporate plans. We demonstrate strategy alignment with the grant program as well as local, regional, state and national policies. The grants team use all of this to build your argument and create your case. 

We work with our specialist economists and researchers to quantify and qualify project benefits. Our project planners help demonstrate good governance, capability and capacity to deliver on time and within budget. This all takes time; economists need to conduct their own research, and project plans are intricate and detailed. Invariably we need to wait for information to come back from them to finish addressing the criteria and round off the application. 

The grants team must also continue communicating with our clients, asking more questions, and gleaning the information we need to support your case. Then it’s time to upload the submission; technical glitches, troubleshooting and access issues can present themselves unexpectedly, meaning that we strive to get all applications uploaded as early as possible. We have more than one client at a time, more than one grant application and more than one type of grant. It is invigorating and challenging, and the grant team thrive on these dynamics.   Underneath all this, however, is the burning desire for you to be successful. To help you submit an application that will ultimately triumph, for you, and for your community. 

Contact Peak Services Grant Program Office, Team Leader, Zoe Dark by email zdark@wearepeak.com.au or phone 0427 139 988