Introducing our guest writer
Annie Warburton is a writer and creative director, specialising in craft and design.
Over two decades of her career, she has penned successful bids to support exhibitions, skills training and mentoring for creatives, most recently a £3.2m project to create a learning centre, craft garden and studios in Deptford, London.
Find her on Instagram and be among the first to subscribe to her new Substack: Kind Curious Bold

Baffling and overwhelming though it may be at first, grant-writing is a skill like any other. Which means it can be learned.
I asked Annie to share some of her expertise in this area, and she offered this beginner’s guide to grant applications:
1. Start with what you want to do.
Don’t warp it to fit what the funder wants. Like any relationship, if you twist to fit into what you think they want, you’ll both end up unhappy.
2. Read what the funding criteria are.
Then read them again. If your project fits: great. If not, move on (see 1 above). Make sure you say why your project fits those criteria. Also, like any relationship, it’s the art of good listening.
3. Do your budget.
Work out what the project will cost and what you want/need to pay yourself per day on the project. Do a real budget, not a made-up-for-a-funder one.
Many funders need a proportion of the costs ‘match-funded’. This means it can come from your own funds, from another funder, from sales (e.g. of tickets, books, works of art, Patreon)
4. Read the question.
And answer the question. Don’t answer a different question, one that you wish they’d asked.
5. Be yourself.
Speak in your own language, don’t try to write in ‘funding speak’. Get a friend who doesn’t know about art or funding to read it. Does it make sense? If so, great. If not, rewrite.
6. Be concise.
Say things simply, and to the point. Say what you mean.
7. Most funders want you to have an audience in mind.
Think about that. If you’re making something creative, you should have those people in mind too.
Some funders (but they’re rare) do fund you to develop work or your practice with no outcome. Even then, it’s easier to get that kind of funding when you have a track record of making work that reaches an audience (i.e. viewer, reader, listener or live audience)
8. Don’t do your first draft in the form.
Write out your answers for yourself first, not in the form. Some of the forms are monstrous (Arts Council England’s Grantium is one of those). It’s easier to edit in a Word or Google doc and then paste the answers in when you’re happy with them.
9. If you’re not successful, seek feedback.
Most funders are too overwhelmed to have time to answer, but it’s worth asking. If you get feedback, act on it the next time you apply.
10. Be prepared to fail.
If you’re not successful the first time, don’t take it personally. Many many good ideas don’t get funded, not because they don’t deserve it but because there is so much demand. Try again.
11. Respect deadlines.
But take your time. Plan ahead: its difficult/unlikely/impossible to get funding at short notice. Plan your project, then put your funding application in with plenty of time between when you expect to hear the result and when the project will start.
Many applications are rejected just because the lead time is too short for the project to be viable. E.g. if you’re running a circus festival in July, then you probably need to know (at the latest) by the preceding September that you have the funding in place.
12. Follow up.
Note the reporting requirements and respect them too. Especially if you want to be funded a second time!
13. Be delightful!
Remember funders want to support great ideas. They are your friend, not your enemy.
The person reading it is on your side. They’re just waiting to read something that fits what they have money for. Be clear. Delight them!
What do you think?