How to find grants for training courses
Jan 30 2003
Eligibility for grants is usually dependent on the size of your company, where it is based and what you want to use the money for. Grants are available from organisations in the UK and within the EU. A good place to start is by looking at j4b, a website with free access which contains information on business grants currently available.
“Grants are available for most businesses – the hard part is finding the right one and then completing the application procedure,” says Richard Wynne, communications manager for j4b.
The more information you give, the better your chances
By entering information on your location, sector, size and grant purpose (for example, training), you will then be given a list of all possible grants together with contact details.
“By putting as much criteria as possible in our online research facility, you can find out what is relevant to your specific situation. There are lots of grants available for training purposes, but criteria for eligibility is pretty different for each case,” advises Wynne.
J4b also offer a service whereby if they can quickly answer your funding query, they will do so for free.
Another good source for help with grants or funds is the Prince’s Trust, which offers development awards and grants to help people kickstart their business or to access training courses. At present the Trust offers development awards of between £50-£500 for UK residents aged between 14 and 25, who are looking for funds to help with training. At present, the development awards are not available in the South East or London regions.
The Trust also has other funds available (generally in the region of £1,500 for individuals and £3,000 for groups) for people who may have had difficulty arranging funding from other sources, such as through a bank loan. Those eligible are UK residents aged 18-30.
How to increase your chances of success
Filling in grant application forms can be a laborious and time-consuming process – check out the following tips to help make the process easier.
- Talk to grant providers before applying. Find out as much as you can about success rates and what criteria decisions are based on
- The key is to plan in advance – don’t bank on the money being made available straightaway, as it takes a while for the application to be processed
- Make sure you have a project or training course in mind that the grant will be used for.
- Don’t underestimate the time you will have to spend doing research and completing the application
- Don’t rely on getting it – grants are very competitive
- Grants rarely pay for more than half of a project/training course, so think about how you are going to cover the rest of the cost
- Read the small print, and get someone else to double check the application to ensure it is thoroughly and clearly completed.
For more information visit www.j4b.co.uk or www.princes-trust.org.uk.
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