Grant Writing for Sports Clubs: The Complete Guide

Most grant applications fail because they're written in a rush the week before deadline.

That's not an opinion - it's what assessors say, consistently, across every grant program I've seen. The applications that succeed aren't necessarily the ones with the biggest need or the most deserving club. They're the ones that answered every criterion clearly, included the right supporting evidence, and submitted a budget that didn't fall apart under scrutiny.

The clubs that win grants consistently aren't better writers. They start three months before the deadline. They have their documentation in order year-round. They read the selection criteria like an assessor, not like an applicant. And when they get the money, they acquit it properly - which means they get funded again the next year.

This guide covers the full lifecycle: finding the right grant, understanding whether your club is eligible, reading the criteria, writing the application, building a budget that makes sense, preparing your supporting documentation, avoiding the mistakes that get applications rejected, and managing the acquittal process after the money arrives.

It's written primarily for Australian sports clubs and community organisations, because that's where most of TidyHQ's members are. But the principles are the same in the UK and New Zealand, and I've included the equivalent programs and resources where they differ.

1. Grants aren't free money

Let's start with the thing nobody tells you at the information session.

A grant is not a gift. It is a contract. When your club receives a $15,000 grant to build a storage shed, you are entering into an agreement with specific obligations: spend the money on exactly what you said you would, complete the project within the stated timeframe, keep receipts for everything, submit a milestone report or final acquittal, and in some programs, allow the funding body to inspect or audit your records.

Break any of those conditions and several things can happen. The funding body can ask for the money back. Your club can be blacklisted from future rounds. In extreme cases - particularly with federal grants - there are legal consequences.

This is not meant to scare you off applying. It's meant to make sure your committee goes in with eyes open. I've seen clubs accept grants they weren't ready for - they didn't have the project management capacity, they underestimated the co-contribution requirement, or they simply didn't realise they'd need to submit a 20-page acquittal report six months later. The secretary ended up spending more time on the acquittal than the grant was worth.

Before you apply for anything, make sure your committee can answer yes to three questions:

1. Can we actually deliver this project? Not in theory - in practice. Do you have the people, the skills, and the time to manage a building project, a program, or whatever you're proposing?

2. Can we fund the gap? Most grants don't cover 100% of the project cost. If the grant is $15,000 and the shed costs $25,000, where is the other $10,000 coming from? If the answer is "we'll figure it out," you're not ready.

3. Can we manage the reporting? Someone needs to track spending, keep receipts, take progress photos, and write the acquittal report. If your committee is already stretched thin, adding grant reporting might tip someone over the edge.

If you can say yes to all three, grants are one of the best things your club can pursue. If you can't, it's better to know now than after you've signed the funding agreement.

2. Where to find grants

The first problem most clubs face isn't writing the application - it's knowing what's available. Grant programs are scattered across federal, state, and local government, plus private foundations and corporate programs. Nobody publishes a single list. You have to know where to look.

Federal government

The Australian Government funds community sport primarily through Sport Australia (formerly the Australian Sports Commission). The main programs change names regularly, but the consistent funding streams are:

Community Sport Infrastructure Grant Program. The big one. Funds facility upgrades, new builds, and equipment. Grants typically range from $5,000 to $500,000, though the exact thresholds change each round. Competitive - you'll need a strong project plan and evidence of community need.

Sporting Schools Program. If your club delivers programs in schools, this is a reliable funding stream. It funds sporting organisations to deliver sport-based activities in primary schools during and after school hours.

Move It AUS. A broader participation program that funds initiatives to get more Australians physically active, with a focus on underrepresented groups - women and girls, people with disability, Indigenous Australians, culturally diverse communities.

Grant Connect (grants.gov.au) is the central register of all Australian Government grants. Bookmark it. Set up alerts for your sport and your region. It's the single most useful tool for staying across what's available.

State and territory government

Every state and territory runs sport and recreation grant programs, and they're often less competitive than federal grants because fewer clubs apply. The administering body varies:

• NSW: Office of Sport NSW
• Victoria: Sport and Recreation Victoria (within DJCS)
• Queensland: Department of Tourism, Innovation and Sport
• Western Australia: Department of Local Government, Sport and Cultural Industries
• South Australia: Office for Recreation, Sport and Racing
• Tasmania: Communities, Sport and Recreation (within Communities Tasmania)
• Northern Territory: Department of Territory Families, Housing and Communities
• ACT: Sport and Recreation ACT

For a detailed breakdown of every state program, see our guides to sports club grants in Australia, NSW, and Victoria.

Each state typically runs two or three grant rounds per year. Some have rolling applications (no closing date - assessed as received). Set calendar reminders for when each round typically opens.

Local council

This is where most clubs should start, and where most clubs underperform.

Every local council in Australia runs community grant programs. Most run two rounds per year - commonly opening in February/March and August/September, though this varies by council. Grant amounts are typically $500 to $20,000, though some metropolitan councils go higher.

Council grants are less competitive than state and federal programs. The assessors are local - they may already know your club. The application forms are shorter. And councils often fund things that other programs won't: operational costs, coaching development, volunteer training, strategic planning workshops. The unglamorous stuff that keeps your club running.

Three tips for council grants:

Talk to the grants officer before you apply. Every council has one. They can tell you what they're prioritising this round, what's been funded before, and whether your project fits. This conversation takes twenty minutes and can save you from writing an application that was never going to succeed.

Acquit your previous grants properly. Councils track this. A properly acquitted grant from last year gives your next application real credibility. A grant you never acquitted - or acquitted late - can make you ineligible. See our section on acquittal and reporting below.

Apply regularly. Council grants reward consistency. The club that applies twice a year, delivers its projects, acquits on time, and comes back with something new will outperform the club that appears once every three years with a desperate ask.

Private foundations and trusts

Private philanthropic foundations are an underused funding source for sports clubs. Many clubs assume foundations only fund health, education, or the arts, but several specifically fund sport and community infrastructure.

Foundation for Rural and Regional Renewal (FRRR) is the standout for regional clubs. It's Australia's only national foundation specifically focused on rural and regional communities, and it regularly funds sport and recreation projects. Grants typically range from $5,000 to $25,000.

Community foundations operate in many regions - the Bendigo Community Bank's foundation model, local community foundations in major regional centres, and corporate foundations attached to businesses with local operations. Philanthropy Australia maintains a directory of giving programs.

In the UK, Sport England's Community Investment Fund and the National Lottery Community Fund are the primary sources. The Football Foundation funds facilities for football clubs. Many local authorities run their own community grant programs.

In New Zealand, Sport NZ's Community Resilience Fund supports grassroots sport organisations. The Lottery Grants Board (now part of the Department of Internal Affairs) funds a wide range of community projects, including sport facilities and equipment.

Corporate grants and sponsorship crossover

Some corporate grant programs sit in the grey area between grants and sponsorship. Major banks, energy companies, and retailers run community investment programs that fund sports clubs - sometimes as straight grants, sometimes with a branding or recognition component.

These programs tend to be easier to apply for than government grants, but the amounts are smaller and the criteria less transparent. They're worth pursuing as part of a broader funding strategy, but don't rely on them. For a deeper look at corporate funding, see our sponsorship guide.

3. Understanding eligibility

Before you write a word of your application, confirm you're eligible. This sounds obvious. You'd be surprised how many clubs spend days on an application only to be rejected because they didn't meet a basic eligibility criterion.

Most Australian government grants require your club to have:

Incorporation. You must be an incorporated association under your state or territory's Associations Incorporation Act (or equivalent - companies limited by guarantee also qualify). An unincorporated group of people who play tennis on Saturdays does not qualify.

An ABN. Your Australian Business Number. If your club doesn't have one, registering is free through the Australian Business Register. Some programs also require GST registration, particularly for grants above $75,000.

Public liability insurance. Almost always required. Typically $10 million or $20 million coverage. If you're affiliated with a state sporting body, your insurance may come through them - check whether the certificate of currency names your specific club.

Financial statements. Most programs want to see your latest annual financial statements - at a minimum, a profit and loss statement and a balance sheet. Some want audited or independently reviewed financials for grants above a certain threshold. If your treasurer hasn't prepared the annual statements yet, this is your nudge.

A constitution or rules. Your governing document. It needs to be current and lodged with your state regulator. If your constitution hasn't been updated since 1994, now is the time.

Good standing with your regulator. Your annual returns need to be up to date with whichever body registers incorporated associations in your state. Overdue annual returns can make you ineligible - and in some jurisdictions, your incorporation can be cancelled for non-lodgement.

Some programs have additional requirements:

• Affiliation with a recognised state or national sporting body
• A current strategic plan
• Evidence of child safety policies and working with children checks for relevant personnel
• Demonstrated governance standards (e.g., a minimum number of committee members, regular meetings)
• Specific demographic targets (women and girls' participation, disability inclusion, Indigenous engagement)

In the UK, you'll typically need to be a registered charity, a community interest company, or an unincorporated association with a formal constitution. Sport England requires organisations to meet their Code for Sports Governance. The Charity Commission registration is the UK equivalent of incorporation.

In New Zealand, you'll need to be an incorporated society under the Incorporated Societies Act 2022 (the new Act replaced the 1908 version). Sport NZ has its own governance standards.

If your club isn't eligible: don't give up. You may be able to apply through an auspicing arrangement - where a larger, eligible organisation applies on your behalf and manages the grant funds. Your state sporting body, a local community foundation, or your council may be willing to auspice. It adds a layer of administration, but it gets you access to funding you'd otherwise miss.

4. Reading the criteria like an assessor

Here's the single most important piece of advice in this entire guide: read the selection criteria from the assessor's perspective, not from your own.

When you read the criteria as an applicant, you're thinking: "How do I make my club sound good?" When you read them as an assessor, you're thinking: "I have 87 applications and 3 days. How do I sort them?"

Assessors use a scoring rubric. Each criterion is worth a certain number of points. They read your application with that rubric in front of them, looking for specific evidence against each criterion. If you don't address a criterion, you get zero for that section. If you address it vaguely, you get a low score. If you provide specific, verifiable evidence, you score well.

Here's how to decode what assessors are actually looking for:

"Demonstrate community need." They want numbers. How many members does your club have? How many people in your area play this sport? What's the waiting list for your junior program? What does the demographic data say? "Our club needs a new scoreboard" is a statement. "Our club has 340 members, 180 of whom are juniors, playing across 22 teams in a competition with 6 other clubs and 1,400 registered players. Our current scoreboard has been inoperable for two seasons, which means parents and spectators cannot follow games" - that's evidence of need.

"Demonstrate organisational capacity." They want to know you can actually deliver the project. Have you delivered similar projects before? Do you have a project manager? What's your track record with grants? If you've successfully acquitted grants in the past, say so. If you haven't managed a grant before, be honest but show you've thought about it - name the committee member who will manage the project, describe your financial controls, mention any external support you'll draw on.

"Alignment with program objectives." Every grant program has stated objectives - increasing participation, improving facilities, supporting inclusion, building community resilience. Your application needs to explicitly connect your project to those objectives. Don't assume the assessor will make the connection. Spell it out.

"Value for money." They're comparing your $15,000 ask against the other $15,000 asks. How many people will benefit? What's the cost per participant? Is there co-funding or in-kind support? A club that's putting in $5,000 of its own money plus $8,000 of volunteer labour alongside a $15,000 grant ask is showing more commitment than a club asking for $15,000 with nothing else behind it.

"Sustainability." Will the benefit last beyond the grant period? A one-off event is fine, but assessors score higher when the project creates lasting impact. A coaching development program that produces qualified coaches who continue coaching for years scores better than a coaching clinic that happens once.

A practical exercise: print the selection criteria. For each one, write down exactly what evidence you would want to see if you were the assessor. Then build your application around providing that evidence.

5. Writing the application

You've found the grant. You've confirmed your eligibility. You've decoded the criteria. Now you write.

The good news: grant writing is not creative writing. It's structured, evidence-based communication. If you can write a committee report, you can write a grant application.

Structure that gets funded

Most applications follow a standard structure, even when the form doesn't explicitly require it. Use this as your framework:

Executive summary or project overview (1 paragraph). What you want to do, how much it costs, how much you're asking for, and what the outcome will be. An assessor who reads only this paragraph should understand the entire project.

The need (1–2 paragraphs). Why this project matters. Use specific numbers: membership figures, participation rates, waiting lists, demographic data, condition assessments, safety concerns. Reference external data where possible - ABS statistics, state sporting body participation reports, council plans.

The project (1–2 paragraphs). What you'll do, step by step. Include a timeline with milestones. Be specific: "Install six LED floodlight towers to Australian Standard AS 2560.2.3 for community-level competition" is better than "upgrade our lighting."

Who benefits (1 paragraph). How many people, from which demographics, and how you'll reach them. If the program prioritises specific groups - women and girls, people with disability, Indigenous communities, culturally diverse populations - explain how your project serves those groups, with numbers.

Your capacity to deliver (1 paragraph). Your track record, your project team, your governance structure, and any previous grant outcomes.

Budget summary (table). A clear breakdown of costs and funding sources. More on this in the next section.

Sustainability (1 paragraph). How the benefits will continue after the grant is spent.

Writing tips from assessors

I've spoken to grant assessors across several programs. Here's what they consistently say:

Answer the question that was asked. If the criterion says "demonstrate community need," write about community need. Don't write about your club's history, your founding members, or how dedicated your volunteers are. That's all lovely, but it doesn't answer the question.

Use the language of the criteria in your answers. If the program talks about "increasing physical activity participation," use that exact phrase in your response. Assessors are scanning for keyword alignment, especially in large programs where each assessor reads dozens of applications.

Be specific, not superlative. "Our club has experienced significant growth" means nothing. "Our junior membership has increased 34% over the past two seasons, from 96 to 129 registered players" means something. Numbers, dates, names. Specifics are persuasive because they're verifiable.

Short sentences. Short paragraphs. Assessors are reading fast. Dense paragraphs get skimmed. Break your writing into clear chunks. Use headings and subheadings even if the form doesn't require them.

Don't pad. If the word limit is 500, you don't need to use all 500 words. A tight 350-word answer that directly addresses the criterion will outscore a 500-word answer that wanders. Padding dilutes your strongest points.

Get someone else to read it. Someone who doesn't know your club. If they can understand the project, the need, and the ask in five minutes, your application is clear enough. If they have questions, the assessor will have the same questions.

6. Budgets that make sense

A weak budget will sink an otherwise strong application. Assessors have seen thousands of budgets. They can spot unrealistic costings, inflated figures, and missing items instantly.

What a good budget looks like

A good grant budget has three columns:

Item	Cost	Funding source
LED floodlights (6 towers, supply and install)	$78,000	Grant: $50,000 / Club: $28,000
Electrical connection and switchboard upgrade	$12,000	Club funds
Site preparation and civil works	$8,000	In-kind (volunteer labour - 200 hours @ $40/hr)
Project management	$3,500	Club funds
Contingency (5%)	$5,075	Club funds
Total	$106,575	Grant: $50,000 / Club: $48,575 / In-kind: $8,000

Notice what this budget does:

It includes quotes, not guesses. Every dollar figure should be backed by an actual quote from a supplier or contractor. Assessors may ask to see them.

It includes co-contribution. The club is putting in its own money. This shows commitment and financial capacity. Most programs explicitly require co-contribution - typically 20% to 50% of the total project cost.

It includes in-kind contributions. Volunteer time, donated materials, use of council equipment. These are real costs that someone is absorbing. Including them shows the true scale of the project and your community's investment in it.

It includes contingency. Things go over budget. A 5% to 10% contingency is realistic and expected. An application with no contingency looks like it hasn't been thought through. An application with 20% contingency looks like the costing is unreliable.

It accounts for GST correctly. If your club is registered for GST, quote all amounts excluding GST. If you're not registered, quote including GST. Check the program guidelines - some explicitly state whether to include or exclude GST. Getting this wrong is surprisingly common and frustrating for assessors because it makes your budget look careless.

Co-contributions

Most grant programs require your club to contribute something. This can be:

Cash co-contribution. Money from your club's reserves, fundraising, membership fees, or other grants. Yes, you can stack grants - using a state grant and a council grant towards the same project - as long as each program allows it. Check the conditions.

In-kind contributions. Volunteer labour, donated materials, free use of equipment or facilities. These need to be valued realistically. More on volunteer valuation in the next section.

Third-party contributions. Donations from businesses, funding from your state sporting body, contributions from other clubs sharing the facility.

A strong co-contribution ratio tells the assessor two things: your club has skin in the game, and the grant money goes further because it's not the only funding source.

7. Valuing volunteer time in grant applications

This deserves its own section because it trips clubs up constantly, and because getting it right can significantly strengthen your application.

Volunteer time is a legitimate in-kind contribution. When your club members spend a Saturday painting the clubhouse, those hours have an economic value that belongs in your budget.

How to calculate it

The accepted approach in Australia uses the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) Average Weekly Earnings data. The commonly accepted rates, as of 2025, are:

• General volunteer work (painting, cleaning, setting up, basic labouring): $30–$35 per hour
• Skilled volunteer work (carpentry, electrical, plumbing, accounting - where the volunteer has relevant trade or professional qualifications): $45–$60 per hour
• Professional volunteer work (legal, architectural, engineering - where the volunteer is contributing services they'd normally charge for): at the volunteer's professional rate, supported by a letter from them stating the value

For a deeper dive into methodology and current rates, see our article on how to value volunteer time for grant applications.

Rules for including volunteer time

Be realistic. If you claim 500 hours of volunteer labour, the assessor will ask: how many volunteers, doing what, over what timeframe? Twenty volunteers working two Saturdays (8 hours each) is 320 hours. That's credible. Five volunteers doing 100 hours each over three weekends is not - that's 33-hour days.

Keep records. If the grant is approved, you'll need to verify volunteer hours during acquittal. Use a sign-in sheet. Record who was there, what they did, and how long they worked. TidyHQ's volunteer tracking can manage this for you, but even a clipboard and a spreadsheet will do.

Check the program's rules. Some programs cap in-kind contributions at a percentage of the total project cost (commonly 30% to 50%). Some specify which valuation methodology to use. Some won't accept volunteer time at all. Read the guidelines.

Don't double-count. If a qualified electrician volunteers their time for the electrical work, you can't also include the cost of an electrician in the cash budget. It's one or the other.

Volunteer time matters beyond the budget calculation. When an assessor sees a club contributing 400 hours of volunteer labour to a project, it tells them the community is invested. That's stronger evidence of need and commitment than any amount of prose.

8. Supporting documentation

Here's where preparation separates the clubs that win grants from the clubs that scramble.

Every grant application requires supporting documents. The specific list varies by program, but these are the documents you should have ready before you start writing any application:

Always required:

• Certificate of incorporation
• ABN confirmation
• Certificate of currency for public liability insurance (current - not expired)
• Latest annual financial statements (profit and loss, balance sheet)
• Bank account details (usually a signed letter from the bank or a recent statement showing BSB, account number, and account name)

Frequently required:

• Current constitution or rules
• Evidence of affiliation with your state or national sporting body
• Letters of support (from council, state sporting body, school, community partner)
• Quotes from suppliers or contractors for all budget items
• Photos of current conditions (if applying for upgrades or repairs)
• A strategic plan or similar planning document
• Minutes from the committee meeting that approved the application (yes, this is a real requirement for many programs - get a motion on the record)
• Working with Children Check or child safety policies
• A project plan with timeline and milestones

Sometimes required:

• Audited financial statements (typically for grants above $50,000)
• Risk assessment or risk management plan
• Environmental assessment (for construction projects on public land)
• Evidence of land tenure or landowner approval (if building on council or Crown land)
• Disability access and inclusion plan
• Previous grant acquittal reports

The golden rule: gather everything before you start writing. If you sit down to write and realise halfway through that you need a letter of support from council, you've just added two weeks to your timeline - because council doesn't move quickly. If you need quotes and it's December, you're waiting until January because every tradie in Australia is at the beach.

I recommend keeping a "grant-ready folder" - physical or digital - that contains current versions of all your standard documents. Update it once a year, after your AGM. When a grant round opens, you're not chasing paperwork. You're writing.

Letters of support

A quick note on letters of support, because they're worth more than most clubs realise.

A strong letter of support does three things: it confirms the need for the project (from someone other than you), it demonstrates community backing, and it addresses a specific concern the assessor might have.

The best letters come from:

• Your local council (particularly if the project is on council land)
• Your state sporting body
• A neighbouring club or a school that will also benefit
• A community health organisation, a disability service provider, or an Aboriginal community organisation - depending on the project's demographics

Don't ask for a generic "we support this club" letter. Give the letter writer a brief: what the project is, what you'd like them to specifically mention (the need, the impact, any partnership), and the deadline. Make it easy for them and the letter will be stronger.

9. Common mistakes that get applications rejected

I've compiled this list from conversations with grant assessors, program managers, and clubs that have learned the hard way. If you avoid these, you're already ahead of most applicants.

Not answering the criteria. The number one reason for low scores. The applicant writes about their club's history, their dedication, their great community spirit - and never actually addresses what the criterion asked for. Every criterion needs a direct, evidence-based response.

Applying for the wrong program. A club applies to an infrastructure grant for a coaching program, or to a participation grant for a building project. Read the program objectives. If your project doesn't align, don't try to make it fit - find a program that does.

Missing the deadline. Online portals close at 5pm on the closing date. Not 5:01pm. Not "we had technical difficulties." At 5pm. Submit at least 24 hours early. If the portal crashes on the last day - and they do - you need time to contact the grants team.

Unrealistic budgets. Assessors have seen enough budgets to know what things cost. If your quote for a $80,000 building project comes in at $40,000, they'll question whether you've scoped the project properly. If your quotes are two years old, they'll wonder if you've accounted for cost increases. Get fresh quotes. Include contingency.

No evidence of need. "We need this because our facilities are old" is not evidence of need. Participation data, waiting lists, condition assessments, safety reports, demographic projections - that's evidence. Use data from your membership system, your state sporting body, ABS Census data, and your council's community profile.

Applying for the maximum amount when you don't need it. If the grant offers up to $50,000 and your project costs $20,000, apply for $20,000. Assessors notice when clubs inflate projects to hit the maximum. A modest, well-scoped project scores better than a bloated one.

No co-contribution. Even if the program doesn't strictly require it, showing that your club is contributing something - cash, volunteer time, donated materials - demonstrates commitment. An application that relies entirely on grant funding raises questions about the club's capacity and investment.

Identical applications across multiple programs. Assessors at different levels of government sometimes talk to each other. More importantly, each program has different objectives, different criteria, and different language. Submitting the same application to three programs without tailoring it to each one means it's a poor fit for all three.

Poor acquittal history. If you've received a grant from this program before and didn't acquit properly, the assessor will know. Fix your outstanding acquittals before you apply again.

Spelling and formatting errors. Harsh but true. An application full of typos, inconsistent formatting, and garbled sentences signals that it was thrown together at the last minute. It doesn't need to be perfect prose, but it needs to look like you cared enough to proofread it.

10. Acquittal and reporting - what happens after you get the money

Congratulations, you got the grant. Now the work begins - and I don't mean just the project itself.

What acquittal means

Acquittal is the process of demonstrating to the funding body that you spent the money as promised and achieved the outcomes you said you would. It's not optional. It's a condition of the funding agreement. Failing to acquit properly has consequences: you may have to return the money, your club may be blacklisted from future rounds, and in some cases the funding body will report the issue to your state regulator.

What you'll need to submit

The specific requirements vary by program, but most acquittals require:

Financial acquittal. A statement showing exactly how the grant funds were spent, matched against your original budget. Every line item, every receipt. If the program gave you $15,000, you need to account for all $15,000. If you underspent, you'll usually need to return the unspent amount. If you overspent, you'll need to explain how the additional costs were covered.

Project completion report. A description of what was delivered, against what was promised. If your application said you'd install six floodlight towers by 30 June, the acquittal needs to confirm that six towers were installed by 30 June. If only four were installed, you need to explain why and what happened to the remaining funds.

Evidence. Photos are the minimum - before and after shots of a facility upgrade, photos of an event in progress, images of equipment being used. Some programs want participant surveys, attendance records, or evaluation reports.

Milestone reports. For larger grants, you'll submit reports during the project, not just at the end. These typically coincide with staged payments - you receive part of the grant upfront, part at a milestone, and the final payment after acquittal. Miss a milestone report and the next payment is held.

Volunteer time records. If you included volunteer time as an in-kind contribution, you need sign-in sheets or timesheets to verify the hours.

How to make acquittal painless

The clubs that find acquittal painful are the ones that leave it until the end. The clubs that find it straightforward are the ones that track everything from day one.

Set up a separate cost centre or account code for the grant. Don't mix grant funds with your club's general operating funds. Every dollar in, every dollar out, clearly labelled. Your treasurer should be across this - see our treasurer's handbook.

Take photos throughout the project. Not just at the end. Before, during, and after. Date-stamped. A folder on Google Drive or Dropbox that the project manager and secretary both have access to.

Keep every receipt. Every single one. If a receipt is lost, get a duplicate from the supplier. If you paid cash and there's no receipt, write a statutory declaration. Assessors understand that sometimes receipts go missing, but they need to see that you tried.

Complete the acquittal within 30 days of project completion. Most programs give you 60 to 90 days, but the longer you wait, the harder it gets. The details fade, the receipts get filed somewhere, the volunteer who managed the project goes on holiday. Do it while everything is fresh.

Use the acquittal to build your next application. Your acquittal report contains exactly the kind of evidence that strengthens a future grant application: completion photos, participation data, financial accountability, project management capability. Reference your acquittal track record in your next application.

11. Building a grant calendar and pipeline

The clubs that win grants year after year don't treat each application as a one-off. They run a pipeline - a rolling calendar of grant opportunities, with preparation timelines built in.

Here's how to build one:

Step 1: Map the opportunities

Spend a few hours - just once - identifying every grant program your club could be eligible for. Use Grant Connect for federal programs, your state government's sport and recreation website for state programs, and your local council's website for council grants. Add programs from your state sporting body, FRRR, and any local community foundations.

For each program, note:

• Program name and administering body
• Typical opening and closing dates (many programs follow the same calendar each year)
• Grant amount range
• What it funds (capital, equipment, programs, operational)
• Key eligibility requirements
• Whether you've applied before and the outcome

Step 2: Build the calendar

Put each grant round into a shared calendar - Google Calendar, Outlook, whatever your committee uses. For each round, create three entries:

1. 3 months before close: "Grant round [name] - begin preparation." This is when you check eligibility, gather updated supporting documents, get fresh quotes, and brief the committee.

2. 6 weeks before close: "Grant round [name] - draft due." This is when the draft application should be written, reviewed by at least one other person, and circulated to the committee for approval.

3. 1 week before close: "Grant round [name] - final submission." Submit. Not on the closing date. A week before. This leaves time for technical issues, last-minute document requests, or questions from the grants team.

Step 3: Match projects to programs

Your club should maintain a short list of projects that need funding - ideally from your strategic plan. When a grant round opens, you're matching a ready project to the right program, not inventing a project to fit the grant.

This matters because grant-driven projects - where you chase money without a clear plan - often end badly. You win the grant, but the project wasn't something your club actually needed, and the acquittal becomes a burden rather than a celebration.

Step 4: Track and learn

After each application - successful or not - record what happened:

• What you applied for and how much
• Whether you were successful
• If unsuccessful, why (most programs provide feedback if you ask)
• What you'd do differently next time
• Who wrote the application and how long it took

Over two or three years, this record becomes a knowledge base. You learn which programs fund your type of project, which criteria you score well on, and where your applications are weak. That's how clubs go from a 20% success rate to a 60% success rate.

12. Getting help

You don't have to do this alone. Most clubs don't have a dedicated grant writer, but there are several ways to get support.

Professional grant writers

Grant writers typically charge $1,500 to $5,000 for a standard application, or a percentage (5% to 15%) of the grant amount. Some work on a success-fee basis - they only get paid if you get the grant.

When to use a professional:

• Large grants (above $50,000) where the stakes justify the cost
• Complex applications with technical requirements (infrastructure, engineering, environmental)
• When your club doesn't have anyone with the time or skills to write a strong application

When not to use a professional:

• Small grants (under $5,000) where the fee would eat the benefit
• When you have a committee member who writes well and is willing to put in the hours
• When the application is straightforward and template-based

If you do hire a grant writer, make sure they understand your club, your project, and your community. A grant writer who's never worked with a sports club will write a generic application. Interview them. Ask for examples of successful applications for similar organisations.

State sporting bodies

Your state or national sporting body may offer grant writing support. Some employ grants officers who help affiliated clubs with applications. Some run grant writing workshops. Some will review a draft application before you submit. This support is usually free or heavily subsidised - and it's one of the most underused benefits of affiliation.

Ask your state body what grant support they offer. If they don't offer anything, suggest it. They want their affiliated clubs to succeed, and every grant won by a club is good for the whole sport.

Auspicing

If your club isn't eligible to apply directly - because you're not incorporated, you don't have insurance, or you don't meet a specific governance requirement - another organisation can apply on your behalf. This is called auspicing.

The auspicing body receives the funds, manages the financial reporting, and is accountable to the funding body. Your club delivers the project. It's a legal arrangement and should be documented in a formal auspicing agreement that covers:

• Roles and responsibilities
• How funds will be released
• Reporting obligations
• What happens if the project changes or the relationship breaks down

Common auspicing bodies: your state sporting body, a local community foundation, a council, or a larger club. Auspicing adds administration, but it opens doors that would otherwise be closed.

Our Community and other resources

Our Community maintains the largest grants database in Australia and publishes practical guides for not-for-profit organisations. Their GrantSearch tool is worth the subscription if your club applies for multiple grants per year.

GrantReady offers tools and templates specifically for Australian clubs and community organisations preparing applications.

Many local councils and regional development organisations run free grant writing workshops. These are often excellent and very practical. Check your council's events calendar or ask their grants officer.

Keep your systems in order

The truth behind every successful grant application is unglamorous: it's good record-keeping. Clubs that have their membership data current, their financial records up to date, their volunteer hours tracked, and their strategic plan on file spend their grant-writing time actually writing - not chasing paperwork.

That's what systems like TidyHQ exist for. When an assessor asks for your membership numbers by age group, you pull the report in two minutes instead of spending an evening counting rows in a spreadsheet. When they ask for evidence of volunteer engagement, you export a volunteer activity report instead of reconstructing it from memory.

It won't write the application for you. But it means that when a grant round opens, you're ready.

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Grant writing is a skill, and like any skill, it improves with practice. Your first application will take longer than it should. Your second will be better. By the fifth, you'll have templates, a document library, relationships with grants officers, and a track record of delivery.

The clubs that get funded aren't the ones with the biggest need. They're the ones that are organised, prepared, and persistent. Start small - a council grant for $2,000. Deliver the project. Acquit it properly. Apply again. Build the track record. Then go for the big ones.

Three months before the deadline. Not the week before.