News and Events

While pockets of funding do crop up it always important to be ready for these with a fully worked up project, rather than being reactive. This way your project will have the greatest chance of success. Another aspect of funding to consider is the fact that you need to make sure that the projects you apply for are really what you want to do. This sounds silly, but often people fall into the trap of going for funding without really knowing what they want to achieve with their project.

If you do happen to be successful with an application and it’s a project that you haven’t defined properly, you do run the risk of not being able to acquit it properly, which can lead to the most cardinal of all funding sins - having to give the money back!

So first step is to get a clear idea of the project. Rather than doing a dummy run on a funding application, I think it’s a good idea to write down in your own words what you want to do.

Record things like what your project will achieve (in funding speak, the outcomes) and what will be the steps in your project (these are a bit like the outputs).

Write down estimates for costs of each project item and get started on getting some quotes from suppliers. A good project is one that involves a number of partners. Think about who might be able to help you out with what you are looking to do. Even if it’s just a bit of advice or someone that can promote what you are doing, involving other organisations is a great way to value add to your project and increase its reach.

Gone are the days when a nice little local project that only benefitted one or two landholders could succeed. Now you need to have layers and show that what you are doing has implications for the wider district or even the catchment.

Another crucial element of any project these days is the monitoring and evaluation – often called MERI. You really do need to be able to show how you will measure the impact of what you are doing. There are some great people in the CMAs who can help you out with ideas for this. Invariably the bigger the chunk of money that you are looking for the more MERI requirements there will be – so be aware of this when you are eyeing off some of the big funding buckets.

Sometimes it is better to target the smaller funding so that you don’t get lost in the paperwork.

And prior to project commencement, take some before photos. We all forget to do this and get some great after shots, but these mean nothing if there is no benchmark to compare the changes to. You will also need to properly plan out how you will spread the word about your project. Think laterally here – you may be able to have a group of schoolkids come for a visit – or you might be able to submit some photos to the local paper or to a Landcare website – locally here we have a heap of ways to promote for you – ranging from Facebook to Twitter, website, radio and this column!

Next week – more on planning your project!

Have a Happy Elvis festival and until next week, happy Landcaring!