How to get grant funding for your business
Obtaining grant funding is easier than you might think. Whether you’re a business owner or advisor, free funding isn’t something you should ignore!
A government report earlier this year showed that there has been a 9% drop in the number of UK companies actively innovating. This trend coupled with the drop in privately funded R&D is not good news for UK growth and productivity. One of the key statistics is the number of businesses receiving financial support from the UK central government for innovation activities, which saw a fall from 6% in 2021 to 4% in 2023. Grant funding should be an engine for reversing this trend. If businesses were more aware of the grant funding available to them and also had the support in place to access that funding, the picture could be so different. By looking at the following 3 elements of the grants ecosystem you can play your part in bringing grant funding onto the agenda of UK plc.
Awareness of grant funding
Many business owners simply aren’t aware of grant funding and if they are aware of it, there is often a perception that there won’t be a grant that they are eligible for. Grants are available for most purposes, so there is a good probability that there will be funding available for your business. If there isn’t funding available immediately there could be a new grant that is right for you in the near future as schemes open and close all the time.
There are over 3000 schemes across the UK worth nearly £4bn, which means that grants are available nationally and locally, provided across a wide range of sectors and for a number of purposes. By getting the message across to business owners and advisors that “there will be a grant for you” it becomes a powerful message as it’s essentially free money. Business and Financial Advisors, Banks, Accountants and Industry bodies could all play a role in increasing awareness of grant funding to their clients and members.
Finding the right grants
As there are thousands of providers and schemes, searching for the right one could be viewed as onerous. Also, keeping tabs on new grants coming onstream is also a difficult task. There are, however, new resources that make this task much easier such as getbusinessgrants.com. This is a database that combines all the UK grants into a single source and uses a matcher (essentially a series of drop down boxes) to narrow down a search to a set of relevant grants for a particular business. It also has a set of tools such as alerts that make sure new grants are notified to users. Sometimes you will find more than one grant that you are eligible for so you need to decide on your strategy – do you prioritise into a single application or can you make multiple applications. Your resources to devote to the application and timing will play a part in this process. Matched funding
Applying for grants
Once you are clear on what you are applying for then you need to consider whether you use external resources, whether this is a grant consultant or a business advisor such as your accountant or bank relationship manager. There are also many templates and resources available to help with your application. Each scheme will have criteria that enables you to structure your application to get the best results. Make sure you read all the supporting information in full. If you use a grant writer then you will need to pay a fee so shop around to get a good deal and ensure that they understand your sector and the type of scheme you are applying for. Also consider any matched funding requirements. Most grants need matched funding of some sort to complement the grant itself, with the most common matched funding required in the 40% to 50% range. Typically this is provided by a financial institution but it can also be through other means such as your savings.
Finally, when you secure grant funding, ensure you understand the terms of the grant so you can fulfil your obligations. Evidencing the spend and also noting any deadlines are key considerations.
