How to create a winning entry! 

Here are a few top tips on how to make your application stand out from the crowd.

1. Get the basics right

While this may seem obvious to mention, you would be surprised by how many applications we receive with typos and jargon. Keep it simple and write in plain English.

2. Back up claims and be clear about objectives

Be clear about fundraising objectives and provide context to these so that your performance can be judged on something other than just the scale of the final amount raised. This is especially helpful to enable smaller organisations to be judged fairly against larger organisations. Pack in the information, indicate ROI, amounts raised and dates. Be clear about specific, quantified financial objectives for your campaign and report on how well you performed against these.

3. Be honest

Don’t try to hide low fundraising performance under a comfort blanket of social engagement data. If you have non-financial objectives (social shares etc.) as well as financial objectives then feel free to include them as they help illustrate the full value generated by your campaign.

4. Keep it clear and simple

Bullet points, paragraphs and sub-headings can help give a clear line of description and argument as well as help judges read your submission and analyse your key strengths quickly.  Be concise, you don’t have to use the maximum word count, (3000 characters / aproximately 300 words) fundraising excellence can still shine through in well-chosen words.

5. Don’t leave it to the last minute

Don’t wait until the day before deadline day to start writing your nomination – give yourself time to get a colleague/friend’s feedback and ensure you haven’t left anything out.

6. Preparation is key 

Prepare your entry in a Word document so that you can spell-check, ensure you are within the word count and edit easily. This will also help in the event that the nomination portal crashes as you are typing out your entry and you haven’t saved it! Thankfully you can save your application on the portal and then go back to it later. You don’t have to submit your entry all in one.  

7. Get an outside perspective

Get someone else to read through your entry, just as you would with a grant application. A fresh view could help highlight where it can be made clearer. Having someone not directly involved in your campaign read your submission before you finalise it, will also help ensure that it makes sense to someone outside your campaign.