Why You Need a Grant Content Library

If you’ve been around grants, tenders or communications for a while, you might have heard people talk about a content library.

So, what is a content library and why should you have one?

Just as a library is a central location for books, a grant content library is a central location for all the things you might need to respond to grant applications. It’s the one source of truth for your grant writer.

We’re talking information about your organisation and its programs, data about the effectiveness of your service delivery, evidence of need and images or other collateral. It’s all approved, consistent, hopefully well labelled, and in one place.

A grant content library will take a bit of effort to set up but once it’s done, it’s easy to maintain and is going to save you so much time, effort and stress as you approach that deadline.

Why should you have a grant content library?

A grant content library saves time. Lots of it. Imagine having everything you might need in one place without having to dig through thousands of files or pester your already-overloaded team members. Basic information is all in one place so you can spend your time working on the finer details to make your application stand out.

With a grant content library, nothing gets missed. As a grant writer, I do my research and interview my clients when I work with them but if that client forgets to tell me something that is not easily findable, it’s not going to be included. That could be the difference between success and failure.

If you intend to change who is responsible for grant writing within your organisation, or you’re considering outsourcing, a grant content library is essential. Your grant writer needs to know who you are, what you do, why you do it and how well you do it straight away to write an accurate, clear and compelling grant application. Without that background, they’re just writing generic fluff.

The bonus of a content library is that it’s useful for other purposes like annual reports, websites, capability statements, submissions and white papers, and other public-facing documents. Having to scratch around for a good photo or a case study at the pointy end of annual report season is stress you don’t want and don’t need if you have a grant content library.

What should you include in a grant content library?

So you know you need a grant content library but what should you put in it? The short answer? Anything that helps your grant writer tell the story of who you are, what you do, why you do it and the impact you’ve made.

Think about including what’s relevant from the following:

• Details of your organisation:

  • a brief but detailed description of your organisation

  • values and strategic goals

  • service footprint

  • the size of your workforce

  • assets and equipment

  • funding and revenue streams

  • your workforce, their skills and qualifications

  • basics like tax file numbers, ABNs and key contacts.

• Key documents:

  • your constitution or company rules

  • your board composition

  • relevant policies (eg health and safety)

  • strategic plan

  • most recent annual report, financial statements and audit.

• Programs and service delivery

  • your program structure, who it helps and evidence of need

  • details of partnerships you have with other organisations

  • case studies and data

  • evaluations and reviews

  • impact reports

  • testimonials and feedback

  • images and infographics.

What’s next?

Once you’ve figured out what to put in it, the only thing left to do is figure out who is responsible for managing the library and encourage your team to contribute to it regularly. It’s much easier to maintain a content library as you go than to try and reverse engineer it near the due date.

Take the time to set it up, maintain it and your grant applications will be so much easier to manage.