Today is a big day in the world of grants. Many grant writers will have woken up to a notification on their calendars marking the release of Perpetual Impact Funding’s 2021 round and will be hoping to put their best foot forward in their applications to secure funding through this renowned grant program.
So, what’s all the fuss about?
As an ASX listed financial company backed by the directional focus of its diverse clients, Perpetual distributes more than $100 million annually from the charitable trusts and endowments it manages. In addition to funding pilot and established projects across a diverse array of sectors, Perpetual also offers capacity building and operational funding, recognising the resourcing challenges facing the impact sector – a rarity in the grant-making world!
Yet with over 1,500 applications submitted and less than 300 funded in the 2020 round, ensuring you stand out from the crowd to secure your dream funds will require you to stop, take a breath and think carefully and strategically about your targeted ask.
Because of the uniqueness of Perpetual’s approach and the competitiveness of its annual program, we’ve identified four important things that you’ll need to keep in mind as you prepare your plan of attack. To ensure you’ve covered all bases in your application, we’ve also developed a checklist of items for you to refer to before you hit submit on your application. Download yours right here!
1. Perpetual seeks catalytic change:
Perpetual does philanthropy different from other donors. One of the aspects of Perpetual’s granting that elevates its status in the funding world stems from its innovative approach to giving. An industry leader in its adoption of catalytic philanthropy – a model that seeks to leverage funding to create continued, sustainable change – even beyond the project’s conclusion, Perpetual wants to know its investments are the catalyst for lasting change.
As modern changemakers, this is exactly what we like to see!
Our ability as a society to challenge the status-quo requires investments from those who recognise that not all projects are created equal and that, despite the good-will behind each project, many will only be able to temporarily improve matters at a particular time and place – with lasting reform that is so needed in society – left untouched.
Philanthropy garnered towards catalytic change thus integrates three bold practices:
Ambition to change the world and the courage the accept responsibility for achieving the results being sought
Engaging others in a compelling campaign and creating conditions for collaboration in innovation
Creating actionable knowledge to improve their own effectiveness and to influence the behaviour of others
Perpetual embodies all three practices within its philanthropic model. Knowing that Perpetual will be flagging those applications that stand out as drivers for transformative change, strategically communicating your mission so it hits the sweet spot of Perpetual’s value-driven clients will require you to:
Strongly emphasise data that backs your story of both need and organisational capacity
Demonstrate you’ll achieve robust and ongoing measurements of your successes
2. Perpetual seeks to ensure its investments align with sustainable goals
Heard of the 17 United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? Well, Perpetual sure has. They’ve also recognised that aligning programs or organisational activity towards a specific set of goals enables non-profits to place their often localised programs and projects to larger national and global contexts – linking the work they are doing towards greater global outcomes. However, in a recent article Perpetual recognised that Australian NFPs are falling short in aligning their activities to the SDG’s. Recognising this and acknowledging the transformative influence grantmakers can have on the non- profit sector, Perpetual has introduced as part of their application a question which asks you to identify up to three SDG’s your organisation – or the project you’re seeking funding for – aligns to. While the 2021 application only asks you to list the goals your project or program aligns to, you’ll need to make sure that these claims of alignment are integrated into other aspects of your application to ensure your project appears consistent, coherent and an evidence-backed.
3. Perpetual will dive deep into your organisational strategy and capacity
As a pioneer in catalytic philanthropy, Perpetual must be as cautious as they are bold. Key to being an enticing funding prospect for Perpetual and being able to show your ability to create lasting change, will be your ability to demonstrate your robustness as an organisation – with solid governance, leadership and reporting mechanisms. Given Perpetual’s desire to support those that can have transformative impact – significant weight is placed on your organisational mission, strategy, and performance indicators before even getting down to the crux of your project. Recognising that a sustainable project, requires a strong and sustainable social purpose sector turning its wheels, Perpetual will be sure to conduct a rigorous investigation of your organisational capacity and strategy to be confident in your capacity to deliver. Some examples of what you’ll be asked about include:
Your organisational strategic priorities for the 2020 - 2021;
Your KPIs and measurement tools in relation to how efficiently you use your resources
What your current performance is according to the above KPI’s; and
Your understanding external forces, trends and risks and how you respond to them.
Taking all of the above into consideration, your application as a whole will need to: Evidence the strong alignment between your project and your organisation’s strategic goals; Evidence how your project will further your organisation’s vision for change in the longer term and; Demonstrate a strong capacity for robust outcome and performance monitoring.
4. Perpetual loves to see your impact quantified and qualified
Given the emphasis placed on your ability to theorise, implement and sustain catalytic change, it becomes clear that Perpetual will be looking closely at your ability to collect, present and analyse comprehensive data that demonstrates your stated performance and outcomes. It is in this area that many organisations often fall short while a small minority rise above the pack. With limited financial resources available to expend to design and deliver effective outcome measurement practices, this may be one aspect of your application you feel requires a degree of elevation.
The good news? With applications due on the 4 th December, you’ve got time to work with your team to assess whether your data measuring capacities are at the expected level.
Think seriously about the questions you need answered with data. There will need to be a solid understanding of the purpose for which you are placing the effort.
Perpetual recognises the challenges facing organisations in becoming data-driven.
Earlier this year, they interviewed Kristi Mansfield, CEO of Seer Data and Analytics to give non-profits advice on how they can turn their data into impactful insights. Two insights from Mansfield: 1. Get curious about the questions your organisation needs to answer; and 2. Don’t be thrown off by how complex they seem.
GRANT’D TIP - Look inside your organisation and start to catalogue the data you already work with. There’s a good chance your organisation is sitting on a goldmine and may be able to use this to drive more qualified decisions about your future work and integrate this into your grant applications.
We highly recommend taking these insights on board and integrating them into your long-term workings and application for Perpetual funds. Without question, this is one of the key pillars upon which your success in securing Perpetual’s funding will stand, but it will also position you well for other grant opportunities that lay ahead.
A rigorous approach to granting is what makes Perpetual stand out from the crowd. The time and energy you spend polishing and perfecting your case for funding will similarly position you ahead of the pack, with a return on your investment evidenced by your ability to fund your dream project or program.
For those who would like assistance with your application, we’re specialists in navigating the grants landscape with our clients – taking them from strategy through to story. We’re by your side not only to identify your dream funding, but also to draft your applications and review your submissions. We’re currently offering a specialised review and feedback service for Perpetual Funding applications.