Grant Solutions is genuinely interested in achieving results for clients. Below are some reasons who you should consider working with us.
13 reasons to choose Grant Solutions for your next grant application
- We either get you a grant or you don’t pay us the Success Fee
- We don’t waste your time
- Success leaves clues. Successful grants applications leave templates
- We meet with you or do the project remotely – you decide
- We’re experts in what we do
- Commitment and dedication
- Leadership and innovation
- Awareness of our responsibility
- Designed with YOU in mind
- We know the rules
- We achieve win-win-win-win outcomes… so everyone benefits
- Advantage Gold VIP Program
- Something Special
1. We either get you a grant or you don’t pay us the Success Fee
That’s good to know when you’re applying for highly competitive grants. Why risk spending your valuable time, jumping through legislative hoops and filling out mountains of paperwork only to find out that you were “unsuccessful” in obtaining the grant.
Doesn’t sound too good … does it?
Why do it the hard way when Grant Solutions can do most of the work and and secure you the grant.
It's also nice to know that: If you don’t get you the grant, you don’t pay the Success Fee…
If you don’t get money, why should we get a Success Fee?
Generally we require a small "On-Submission" Fee to ensure clients are serious (as our team typically spends 50+ hours per application).
2. We don’t waste your time
Black magic is not required to secure grants – but legitimate, growing businesses are. The key to our success is identifying businesses who are already successful and can get the grant given the right advice.
We don’t deal with struggling businesses nor do we set unrealistic expectations – after all, 90%+ of our revenue comes from Success Fees rather than On-Submission fees. For grants we specialise in, we know the selection criteria backwards and can tell you within 5 minutes if your applications has a high probability of succeeding.
3. Success leaves clues. Successful grants applications leave templates
Grant programs take substantial time to establish and (because of this they also) tend to exist over a long period of time. This means that once we’ve secured a grant from a funding source, the process of applying becomes easier.
Templates transform complicated grant applications into a series of “fill in the blanks” which takes days instead of weeks. Importantly, this allows the majority of time to be spent on refining applications rather than on creating them (which is significantly more effecient than starting from scratch).
4. We meet with you or do the project remotely – you decide
We don’t schedule meetings for their own sake. If practical, we don’t even need to meet in person as Grant Solutions has the capability to complete the whole grant application remotely. As long as you have a phone and an Internet connection, we'll be able to help you no matter where you are in Australia. What works for you is what works for us!
5. We’re experts in what we do
Our consultants have worked across many Industries including blue chip Australian and international companies – allowing us to bring lessons from one industry into another. We have also worked in multiple government departments and understand how they think. Apart from substantial work experience, our consultants hold impressive academic credentials from world class educational institutions (which assists us in marketing our clients).
We are fully committed to the success of your project. Each day (including weekends and public holidays) the executive team meets (in person or via teleconference) for at least 30 minutes to:
- Discuss the status of each project, openly raise any issues and develop strategies to deliver projects on time… so our clients successfully ‘get the money’.
- Share the insights from a business book read during the day (this keeps the team sharp and develops additional capabilities).
- Come up with 1 original tip to increase the likelihood of an application being successful. That’s 30 different tips a month, month after month. This innovative initiative started from 1st January 2010.
The above may seem unusual for a grant consulting company (or for any company)… and explains why we’re able to achieve exceptional results for our clients.
7. Leadership and innovation
We have created a number of highly acclaimed reports which were published and quoted in the Australian media. These reports are not ‘peanut gallery’ opinions about ‘flavour of the month’ issues that disappear within weeks. They’re also not ‘copy and paste’ information about grants currently available. On the contrary, these reports provide businesses with real value, discussing ‘money getting’ fundamentals our consultants use to get government grants.
The quality and the comprehensive nature of these reports have significantly raised the profile of Grant Solutions, opening many doors – including being invited to appear on National television and to guest lecture at Monash University. Grant Solutions have also developed unique concepts (including the grant funding pyramid) which have significantly contributed to the industry’s understanding of government grants.
8. Awareness of our responsibility
A government grant is usually the major factor that determines if the project goes ahead (or gets scrapped). At Grant Solutions we fully understand the value that we deliver and the responsibility that we have to our clients. We don’t just get government grants, we touch people’s lives by making projects happen, which provides jobs for Australians and financial security for their families.
None of this is possible if the grant application is rejected. In all cases, the ‘buck stops’ with Grant Solutions… and we do anything humanly possible (obviously within legal boundaries) to ensure that our clients get results (i.e. their grant applications get accepted).
9. Designed with YOU in mind
While many companies make this statement, a lot are just lip service and corporate propaganda. Their websites and ‘sophisticated’ style of communication makes it clear that it’s MORE about them… and LESS about you. This is not the case with Grant Solutions where you’re treated as a future partner… as that’s what our clients invariably become. Our “No B.S. communication style” cuts through the clutter… respecting your time, by not wasting it.
We like to go on a journey with you by entering your world, experiencing your joys… but also camping outside your nightmares. That’s why before Grant Solutions can provide a solution, we need to fully understand the challenges you’re facing. This is what allows us to really connect with businesses looking for government grants. It’s not about telling you that ‘we live in your world’ … but rather ‘living there’ with you.
10. We know the rules
Did you know that there are official guidelines covering the management of all government grants?
That’s right… there is actually a framework for delivering grant programs in Australia.
The commonwealth Grant Guidelines (which came into affect on July 1st, 2009) are considered to be the ‘grant bible’ - covering all areas of grant activity including:
- Planning & design
- Selection & decision-making
- Making of a grant
- Management of funding agreements
- Reporting
- Review & evaluation
This means that:
- The government staff assessing your grant application are likely to be familiar with them
- You’re likely to be more successful by following these guidelines
When assisting clients with their grant applications, we don’t guess… metaphorically ‘throwing stuff against the wall’ … hoping it will stick. Unlike other consultants (who might not even know these guidelines exist!), we know them well and have even run seminars on them.
This in-depth understanding of what the government is 'looking for’ allows us to prepare targeted submissions … and get results our client can take to the bank.
11. We achieve win-win-win-win outcomes… so everyone benefits
You might be surprised … but the government is under immense pressure from Treasury to ensure public funds are allocated appropriately.
It turns out that by offering our services, we’re actually helping the government by:
- Screening the people who contact us for eligibility
- Assessing candidates on their chance of success… (so they don’t waste their time, our time or the government’s time)
- Working with ‘promising’ clients to ensure their submission shines and ‘ticks all the right boxes’ from the government's perspective
This means that everyone wins because:
- Our clients: - get the money to fund their projects
- Government Departments: - achieve their strategic objectives and outcomes
- The Treasury: – is assured that public funds are used responsibly
- The Australian Taxpayer: – gets positive national benefits from projects undertaken
12. Advantage Gold VIP Program
Once you’ve ‘got you the money’, Grant Solutions will still continue to provide ongoing assistance. This is important because your business remains liable (to the government) until the project is finished and you’ve successfully acquitted all your contractual grant obligations.
Unfortunately various issues do arise and need to be dealt with (or you’ll loose the money). Unlike other companies, we won’t disappear after ‘getting our cut’. Instead, Grant Solutions will look after you as part our 12 month ‘Advantage Gold VIP’ Program which includes:
- Providing on-going guidance with managing your grant
- Reviewing post-project documents you’ve prepared for government submission
- Providing 2 complementary 30 minute grant consultations (at 6 month intervals)
Advantage Gold VIP Program normally costs $1,000 – but it’s complementary for clients we’ve successfully helped get grants. (Advantage Platinum upgrade is available for $500).
13. Something special (described by Ross Turetsky, the founder of Grant Solutions)
While working within Westpac’s strategy unit, I was asked to develop the bank’s innovation framework. To fast-track this process, I was given priority access to the Westpac's vast research facilities – including to sensitive strategy reports being sold for thousands of dollars. Working late one night, I stumbled upon a report on Triz in a publication which was selling for $5,000 for a 15 page report.
TRIZ (theory of inventive problem solving) was developed by a reclusive Russian scientist, Genrich Altshuller, based on reviewing 300,000+ patents. While being in exile and persecuted by Stalin, he developed a systematic approach to innovation – Теория решения изобретательских задач or TRIZ. What made TRIZ unique was that it could be applied to areas outside of engineering (where it was originally conceived). Using TRIZ, I’ve developed a proposal which subsequently received recognition from Phil Coffey, who is now the current CFO of Westpac.
When I founded Grant Solutions, prospective clients were skeptical of using our services … especially using the ‘fee for service model’ where clients had to pay for work done. Prospective clients were only willing to pay for results – not effort, insisting that we work on a “No Win, No Fee” basis. With my back against the wall, I needed an edge that would give me an advantage when applying for grant applications… or close the company.
Going through 400+ business books, doing my $75,000+ MBA and spending thousands of dollars on professional development yielded nothing… until I accidentally remembered my experience at Westpac and using the TRIZ framework. Excited, I went back to my earlier research to see if Triz could improve my success rate with government grants. After over 2 intense months of R&D, I’ve developed a framework for using TRIZ in submitting grant applications. Some of this research included reading Russian manuscripts directly as the information was not available in English.
Specifically how Grant Solutions uses TRIZ in applying for government grants is kept outside the public domain (and forms part of our IP). While using MBA qualified consultants for grant applications, certainly gives Grant Solutions an advantage, I believe that it is how we apply our unique IP that makes the biggest difference to our client’s bank accounts.
By now you probably have a better understanding of who we are and how we work....which is a good time to Contact Us for a confidential discussion regarding how we can assist with your grant needs.