Hey Reader,
A new funding program can create a sudden burst of activity.
Someone spots the opportunity, the deadline goes into the calendar and meetings start. People begin assembling evidence and working out whether an existing project can fit the criteria.
Sometimes that is exactly the right response. But a funding opportunity should inform an investment decision, not make it for you.
If you first need to sit down with the team or seek management approval to work out the scope or direction of the application, the project probably isn't ready. Sending staff in different directions for two or three weeks to chase an opportunity with uncertain prospects isn't a good use of anyone's time.
The stronger starting point is to already know the problem you are trying to solve, the investment you want to make and why it matters. Then, when a suitable funding opportunity appears, you can make a deliberate decision about whether it fits.
That's strategy. Reshaping a project around whatever funding happens to be available is hope.
Growing Regions Program.
Whilst not open yet, a new round of community infrastructure is set to open. Competitive grants from $250k - $15m will be available for councils and NFPs for place based, shared community infrastructure. Spaces that improve amenity, enhance liveability and support connection in regional Australia will be the focus of this round.
Guidelines are expected to be released late 2026, but that doesn't mean you can't start preparing.
https://www.Infrastructure.gov.au
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Before you pursue the opportunity
A useful funding decision starts with three questions.
Decide: Is this an investment we genuinely want to make, or are we being drawn towards it because funding is available?
Improve: Do we have the evidence needed to explain the problem, benefits, strategic fit and proposed pathway clearly?
Assure: If successful, can we actually deliver what we are proposing — including the co-contribution, governance, approvals, resources and ongoing commitments?
These questions can save a considerable amount of effort.
A funding deadline is rarely a good time to discover that the underlying project is still unclear.
One thing to take away
Don't let the funding opportunity become the strategy.
Use funding intelligence to identify opportunities that support investments worth making.
That makes it easier to say yes to the right opportunities - and no to the ones that would consume time without moving the organisation towards the outcomes that matter.
Better outcomes need better work behind them.
If an important project is approaching a funding or investment decision and the pathway is not yet clear, Grantus can help strengthen the thinking before the application begins.
Cheers, Simon.
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