2021 Grant Trends

When I launched The Grants Hub back in 2013, the goal was to make it easy to find grants. The Grants Hub has grown so much since then.

Since finishing at the end of last year, I’ve been working on launching Australia’s only dedicated grants podcast, Grants Uncovered. I’m into the second month of episodes and am loving this new format of sharing grants information and trends through fun episodes and interviews with grant seekers and funding providers.

Both The Grants Hub and Grants Uncovered are aimed at helping you find and win more grants - it’s a perfect alignment! I’m excited to be combining what I’m seeing through the Grants Directory and Podcast in this new Grants Strategist role.

Recently I focused an episode on Five Grant Trends I’m currently seeing. Here’s what happening in the grants space in 2021:

1. Funders are getting back to their normal funding schedules

Significant funding schedule shifts happened in 2020 due to both the bushfires and COVID-19. Most funders focus on people and/or the environment, and both of those areas were hit hard last year. Hence, many funding program deadlines changed due to so much shift and uncertainty.

I’m now seeing most funders return to their normal grant program deadlines. For foundations, that’s generally the end of a quarter or the end of the financial year.

2. COVID-19 funding is moving from crisis/emergency to recovery

Early on, as with any emergency, funding is primarily focused on the initial crisis stage. Now, I’m seeing COVID-19 support increasingly moving to the longer-term social and economic recovery stage.

For example, LotteryWest has a Supporting the Most Vulnerable program currently available, which ‘supports prevention and early intervention programs that address the longer-term impacts and support social and economic recovery from the pandemic’.

3. Travel grants are being broadened, if they’re not postponed/cancelled

Last year, understandably, most travel grants were put on hold and anyone with an existing funding agreement received an extension.

This year, many travel grant programs are still being postponed or cancelled. However, I have also seen some funders continue to provide funding by broadening the scope of their program.

Sport & Recreation Victoria, for example, are allowing ‘additional items that contribute to athlete development’ in their current Athlete Pathway Grants Program round.

4. An increasing number of multi-step funding applications

More and more funders are moving to a multi-stage application process, such as an Expression of Interest (EOI), followed by a full application if the EOI is accepted. This trend itself isn’t new in 2021, however, the number of funders moving to this system is growing rapidly.

What is new, is seeing an additional step in this process. This year, the Snow Foundation has three stages to their Our Place Grants program:

1. An online enquiry due 16 April

2. A phone conversation with a Snow Foundation team member

3. If invited, a full application due 23 April.

Increasing grant application efficiencies is always welcomed. In an example like the Snow Foundation, if you’re a grant writer you will need to make sure you have the various deadlines in your grants calendar throughout 2021, and don’t miss the initial EOI or application deadline. That’s two deadlines for the one program. We’re working on ways to incorporate these multiple deadlines into The Grants Hub’s database so that you can make your grants calendar more valuable than ever.

Side Note: Kudos to the funders who are increasing their accessibility to grant applicants. I LOVE that the Feed Grants team have created a Facebook group this year to answer any grant application questions. Such a great idea!

5. The big funding focus for 2021: Food Grants

It was a close tie between grants for women and grants for food, but after doing the numbers, food grants came out on top. The Feed Appeal Grants program mentioned above is just one example.

There are a huge number of food-related grants available this year, including specific areas such as:

• Emergency food for crisis situations

• Increasing healthy food options in canteens/tuck shops

• Equipment to produce healthy food options

• Reducing food waste

• Composting

• Food security

• Food relief.

Notably, 2021 is the United Nations Year of Fruits & Vegetables. With more funders aligning to the Sustainable Development Goals, this is an important funding trend to be keeping track of.

Much of the funding mentioned above is state-based, so keep track of what’s available in your area. I would recommend spending 5-10 minutes setting up Tailored Grant Alerts for your various funding needs. That way, you will receive a grant alert every time a relevant grant comes up or a deadline changes. I personally do this for a not-for-profit I’m working with at the moment, which alerts me about new food grants available. It’s a huge time saver.

That’s it from me this week. I look forward to having you tune in to my Grants Uncovered podcast or otherwise seeing you here on the Blog again over the coming weeks.

Jessie