How to write a grant application: the sections funders ask for, and how to answer them

If you write funding bids for a charity, community group or social enterprise, you'll know the feeling: every funder has its own form, but the questions are mostly the same. Each one wants to know what problem you're solving, what difference you'll make, how you'll do it, how you'll know it worked and what it costs.

There's no single official framework, and every funder words things a little differently. Always read their guidance first: it tells you exactly what they'll score. But if you write strong, reusable answers to the common sections, each new bid becomes a job of adapting, not starting from a blank page.

The sections most funders ask for

• The need. What problem are you addressing, for whom, and how do you know?
• Outcomes and impact. What will be different because of your work?
• Activities and delivery. What will you actually do, when and by whom?
• Monitoring and evaluation. How will you measure progress and know it worked?
• Budget and value for money. What will it cost, and why is that good value?
• Sustainability. What happens when the funding ends?
• Your organisation. Why are you the right people to do this?
• Involving the people you serve. How have they shaped the project?
• Safeguarding, and equality, diversity and inclusion. How will you keep people safe and make sure the project reaches everyone it should?

The need

Show the need with evidence, not adjectives. Combine local data (from your council, public health reports or national statistics) with what you've seen yourselves: waiting lists, referrals you've had to turn away, what people have told you. Then say why your project is the right response.

Outcomes, not just outputs

The most common mistake in grant writing is describing outputs as outcomes. Outputs are what you deliver: 40 workshops, 200 people reached. Outcomes are the changes that result: people feel less isolated, young people gain a qualification. Funders fund outcomes. Make each one specific and measurable.

Monitoring and evaluation

Explain what data you'll collect, how and when, and who's responsible. Keep it proportionate: a simple before-and-after survey and attendance records are often enough for a small grant. Say how you'll use what you learn, not just how you'll report it.

Budget and value for money

Make sure the budget matches the activities you've described, line by line. Include a fair share of running costs, like rent, management and finance, if the funder allows it. If you have other funding or in-kind support, say so: it shows the project is valued beyond this one bid.

Sustainability and your organisation

Funders want to know the work won't stop the day the money does. Show how you'll continue, scale down gracefully or hand over. For your organisation, give your track record in two or three concrete results, and how you're governed.

Save each section as its own answer once it's strong: your organisation description, your safeguarding approach, your EDI statement. They change little between bids, and your need and outcomes sections can be adapted from the last bid for the same project.