How to Find, Secure and Use Grant Funding

What is grant funding?

A business grant is a sum of money awarded to a business with the aim of helping it achieve a certain goal.  

There are many different grants awarded for different things. These can range from large grants to support business expansion and job creation, to smaller ones that focus on specific areas of improvement, like making your business greener or helping with digital adoption. Many grants are also sector specific.

Business grants usually don’t need to be repaid, though if they have been awarded to help meet a specific goal (like creating a certain number of jobs or increasing turnover by a set amount) a follow up with the fund provider may be required. 

The good news is there are 100s of grants available in the UK, both at a national and regional level.

Am I eligible for a business grant?

The grants available to your business will largely depend on a variety of factors, including the location of your business, its size, the sector it operates in and the type of support you are looking for. 

Typically, you won’t find a grant that will just inject money into your business so your bank balance looks healthier. Grants are designed to invest in business improvement, like de-risking a new project.  

Sometimes, financial backing only represents a percentage of the support a business receives, and it is rare a project will be 100% funded.

Some grants require the business to match the funding being offered. With most grants, you will not receive funding until the business improvement has been completed, so initially you’ll need to spend the money yourself. 

Are grants worth the effort?

Chasing grants can be demanding and time-consuming, so why bother?

Grant funding isn’t just about a financial boost; they're about validation, PR opportunities, and setting the stage for attracting further funding while enhancing your exit strategy. They can de-risk growth and innovation projects, help you adopt new technology, and become more sustainable.

So much can be achieved using grant funding, making them worth the effort.

How do I find grant funding?

Grants usually exist to achieve a specific goal. These can range from broad objectives such as ‘to support business expansion’ to more focused aims like ‘making your business greener’.

With over £118bn dispersed annually across approximately 1,900 schemes in the UK, identifying the ideal grant for your business might seem like finding a needle in a haystack.

Fortunately, the UMi Funding and Grants Finder serves as your compass, summarising all the local and national support available, ensuring you're on the right track to propel your business further.

Some of the major national schemes it covers, includes:

• Innovation grants: provided by a variety of funding bodies such as Innovate UK to support innovation and business growth.
• R&D tax credits: cash payments from the government to encourage companies to carry out research and development projects.
• Local Enterprise Partnerships (LEPs): there are 38 LEPs across England that provide business funding, support, and guidance in their local areas.
• New Enterprise Allowance: funding and support for those looking to start or develop a business. You need to be aged 18 or over and either you or your partner must receive Universal Credit, Job Seeker’s Allowance or Employment and Support Allowance, or you must get Income Support and be a lone parent, sick or disabled.
• The Prince’s Trust: support for young people aged 18 to 30 who want to start and run their own business. As well as providing funding and resources, the Trust also provides training and mentoring.

Alternatively, you can speak to our UMi Get Funding Business Funding Advisors, who can help you look at the whole funding market available to you.

How do I secure grant funding?

After you’ve found a suitable grant, the next step is securing it. This can be a meticulous process that requires planning and careful execution.

Knowing how to structure an application can make all the difference. Here are seven steps from UMi Grant Funding Specialist, Phil Sly, that pave the way for a successful grant funding application:

You can also see these points explained, along with some bonus tips, in the video below.

1. Do your homework: understand the criteria to see if you’re eligible. Then you can structure your application to prove why you're the ideal candidate.
2. Get 'grant ready': prepare all necessary documentation to streamline the due diligence process, including company accounts, business plans, profit forecasts, payroll data, and HMRC records. There’s a lot to think about here, so it could be worth getting a financial health check, which is free for Sat Nav subscribers, to better understand your finances.
3. Craft an outstanding application: answer questions clearly and concisely, avoiding jargon. This step is easier said than done, but there is support out there if needed.
4. Set out your plans: articulate your goals and strategies clearly, outlining how the grant will impact customers and align with the grant provider's objectives.
5. Nail the financials: transparency is key. Align your financial requests and costs, making sure they are accurate and ideally are supported by real-world quotes.
6. Triple check: proofread rigorously to avoid any errors, ensuring your information is accurate and answers the questions asked. Everyone makes mistakes sometimes.
7. Time matters: Don't miss the deadline! Submit your polished application on time, ensuring you've portrayed your business as an appealing investment opportunity.

Can I get help to write a grant application?

The UMi Get Grant Ready programme offers one-to-one support and grant writing services.

Whether you opt for support or writing services, UMi’s experts will follow a tried and tested process to appraise your application and provide detailed feedback.

If you write the application, or we do, the feedback and support will be provided at every stage until our Funding Experts are satisfied the application will have a strong chance of being considered for funding.

After submission, your adviser will help to answer any questions the funding organisation might have and give advice right through until they make a decision.

I’ve received my grant – what now?

Once you’ve been through the process and successfully secured the grant, there’s still some work to be done.

Many grants come from public funding or charitable donations, so the awarding organisation has a duty to be transparent in its use of the funds and to demonstrate it has delivered value for money – and that you haven’t been for an all-inclusive holiday to Barbados with it. Therefore, you’ll usually be asked to measure and provide evidence on the performance of your project.

A top tip is to prepare for monitoring when you are researching and applying for your grant. From the outset think about how you could measure the types of outputs the organisation providing the grant specifies.

A few useful things to look out for are:

• An indication of how many outputs they require, or if they allow you to decide.
• Definitions for the outputs and when they should be reported.
• Instructions for what evidence you must provide to show that you have achieved required outputs.

From here, start to get organised with where you’ll find information and how you’ll record it. There are two main elements to monitor and record:

Outputs – The organisation providing the grant may supply a template for recording or reporting outputs, but if not it’s a good idea to create your own. An Excel spreadsheet usually works best, and you should always record the date the output was achieved.

Spending – How you do this depends on your set up, from a simple Excel spreadsheet to using accounting software with a project code to help identify that the costs belong to that project. You should monitor your spending against the budget and note any variances such as price increases. Funders will expect you to explain, so it’s better to record as you go than try to remember later.

How can I make this easy? 

You can also draw on the support of an UMi business funding advisor. They will have in-depth industry knowledge and experience of assessing your requirements, the options you are eligible for, and which you have the best chance of securing. This will allow you to optimise your time and energy and give you the highest level of confidence in going for your goals.

Now you’re brushed up on all things grants, take a look at our essential guide to business funding to discover which other funding options are available to you.