The Grant Application Process
1.
Determine if you meet our criteria
See What we fund to ensure you meet our eligibility criteria. If you don't meet our criteria, you might find you align to other funders priorities and you are welcome to use our resource section for tools that may help you shape your application. You are welcome to give us a call to discuss eligibility.
2.
Online organisation registration
In order to apply for funding, your organisation must be registered in our online system. You will need to complete an eligibility quiz prior to registering your organisations details. Registration information is stored for future applications and can be amended at any time.
For everything you’ll need to register click here
Once you have registered you will be provided with a user account that gives you access to your Grantee Portal, allowing you to make applications and manage your grants for the organisation you represent.
3.
Online pre-application
When you are ready to start the grant application process, you will need to submit a short pre-application questionnaire in your Grantee Portal..
Once received, our grants team will then call you to discuss the details of your project or programme and explain our application process relevant to the scope of your request.
HANDY TIPS: There are handy tips for the grants portal and an in-depth printable guide to using the portal
4.
Project Plan
For relevant grant requests (generally for larger applications), the main component of our application is a Project or Programme Plan. This document, completed in MS Word, outlines the details and purpose of your project and is designed to be your case for funding. It can become a resource for you to use beyond this application.
Our team will provide you with the appropriate template, tailored to your organisation and project/programme, and we can give you advice and feedback as you prepare it. You can find an example of our project plan templates here.
5.
Final application submission
When your plan is ready, let us know and we will invite you to submit your final application online. You will upload your plan, other required documents, and complete a few questions specific to your Central Lakes Trust grant request.
We are here to help at any point through this process, please contact us. You can take as long as you like to work on the application by saving it in the online system, and when it is ready, submit it to us.
6.
Application Assessment
Allow two months from the time of submitting your full application for a final decision. (Please note over the Christmas holiday period, the office closes, which may extend the length of time to process applications.)
Please note: We do not fund retrospectively, so we cannot provide funds for any cost that has been incurred prior to the grant start date.
7.
Grant Application Outcomes
The outcome of your grant application will be communicated to you promptly after it is reviewed at the relevant Trustee meeting.
You can access your grants decision letter via your grantee portal.
8.
Acknowledging Your Grant
We want people to know where Central Lakes Trust's funding is being spent in the community.
Remember by accepting your grant you have made a commitment to acknowledge our support publicly.