Jargon Explained!
Some common funding terms are explained below.
If you would like to suggest a term for inclusion, please do so here.

Acknowledgement Letter – A letter from the funding agency confirming receipt of an application; it may also include information about the assessment process, date when you will be informed of the outcome and contacts for further information.

Acquittal Report – A type of report submitted to the agency supplying grant funds to a project. Acquittal Reports basically refer to those reports dealing with the financial management of a project and in particular how grant funds have been expended on the project. Acquittal Reports may be required to be submitted during the implementation of the project with Progress Reports (in which case satisfactory reports are often a condition for the supply of remaining funding granted) or, more commonly, at the completion of the project with the Final Report.

Announcement Letter – A name for the letter from the funding agency informing each applicant of the result of their application. It is normally sent following official announcement of funding determinations by the funding agency.

Angles - Angles are different ways of looking at a project. Most projects will have a number of ‘angles’ and different angles can be emphasised (within reason) to reflect the emphasis of a particular funding program.

Applicant - The party submitting the application.

Applicant Eligibility - The type of applicant that cab submit an application to a given Funding Program. Funding Programs often limit eligibility to certain types of applicants - these may include any combination of the following - individuals, incorparated associations, not for profit companies, for profit companies/businesses, partnerships, local governments, or government organisations. If you do not fit within the allowed categories of applicants you are ineligible to apply (in Ineligible Applicant).

Application Form – A structured form produced by the funding agency and providing the basis for applications to a particular funding program. Application forms normally provide spaces for entering details about your project for the purposes of assessment against the program criteria.

Application Guidelines – Also called Program Guidelines. They contain instructions for the completion of an application for a particular grant funding program. They normally also include key information about the program criteria.

Cocktail Funding – Cocktail funding is, as the term implies, mixing a number of funding ingredients to find the necessary funding for a project. It involves making applications to different grant funding programs for parts of the same project. It increases the complexity of the funding task considerably, but can be the only solution when no single funding program satisfies the funding requirement for a given project.

Eligibility - The ability to submit an application for a given project. Eligibility considerations relate to the type of applicant (Applicant Eligibility), the type of project, and even, to elements of a project (Project Eligibility). Eligibility requirements are normally stated in the Application Guidelines.

Final Report – A type of report submitted to the agency supplying grant funds to a project. A Final Report may be the only report required or may be the last of several Progress Reports. A Final Report is nearly always accompanied by an Acquittal Report and so is sometimes also called a Final Report & Acquittal. It is also sometimes called a Completion Report.

Funding Agency – The party administering the funding program.

Funding Announcement – Refers to the completion of application assessment and the announcement of application results. Many funding programs officially ‘announce’ their results by way of media releases and other public statements. In the case of government funding programs such announcements are normally made by the relevant Minister.

Funding Contract – Sometimes referred to as a Funding Deed or Funding Agreement. A document setting out the terms and conditions under which the funding agency agrees to provide funding to a project. It effectively amounts to a legally binding contract between the funding agency and the recipient of the grant funding.

Funding Limit - The maximum amout and.or percentage of funding provided under a given Funding Program. Funding Programs usually have an upper limit on the total value of funding that will be provided to any single application. Some Funding Programs also have a limit on the percentage of funding they will provide to any given project - common percentage limits are 50%, 66% and 75% - the remaining funding for the project must be from the applicant or from sources other than the given Fundin Program.

Funding Program – A formal scheme which provides funding for projects under certain terms or conditions to which applications can be made seeking a grant of funding.

Ineligible Applicant - An organization which does not fit within the Program Guidelines and which is excluded from making an application the the Program (if an application was submitted by an ineligible organization it would automatically be rejected). For example, some funding programs limit eligible applicants to incorporated groups - in that case, an individual or unincorporated group would be an Ineligible Applicant.

Ineligible Project - A project which does not fit within the Program Guidelines and which is excluded from funding (if an application was submitted for an ineligible project it would automatically be rejected). For example, some funding programs might limit eligible projects to capital works - in that case, an application for staffing would probably be ineligible. Another example might be a program which limits eligible projects to those that benefit to a particular Target Group such as children - in that case, an application for the project benefiting older persons would not be eligible.

In kind - A term referring to resources which are donated to a project which, if not donated, would have to be purchased (e.g. cash costs). For example, if your project involved hiring a new staff member and you were able to supply office space in your building for that new staff member, the value of the rent that would have to be paid if you could not provide that office space is the value of your ‘in kind’ contribution.

Leveraging - The use of funds from one source to help you gain funding from another source. You ‘leverage’ one program against another to meet the requirements of the different programs and meet your funding target.

Payment Milestones - Steps or stages in the completion of a project which are linked to payments of grant funds.

Program Guidelines – Also called Application Guidelines. Instructions for the completion of an application for a particular grant funding program. They normally also include key information about the program criteria.

Progress Report – A type of report submitted to the agency supplying grant funds to a project. Progress reports basically refer to the periodic reporting of the status of the project, normally in reference to agreed Project Milestones.

Project Eligibility - The type of projects that will be considered under a given Funding Program. Funding Programs often limit eligibility to certain types of projects, and in some cases to elements of projects. For example, a funding program may be limited to marketing or awareness initiatives but may specifically exclude payment of salaries for staff involved in that marketing project; or a funding program may allow a building project but may not allow furnishings and fittings; or a funding program might target particular beneficiaries such as children so a project mainly benefiting older people would be ineligible.

Project Milestones - Steps or stages in the completion of a project.

Retrospective Funding – Funding for items which have already been purchased or project elements that have been completed. You usually cannot make an application for an item which you have already paid for – even if you did so in anticipation of gaining grant funding to cover that cost item.

Sponsor – An organization submitting an application on behalf of another party. A sponsor is usually used to satisfy applicant eligibility criteria.

Sponsorship - Where one organization acts as the applicant for another organization or group doing a project this is called ‘sponsorship’. The sponsoring organization takes financial and administrative responsibility for the administration of the application and the conditions applicable to any funding granted. This is most commonly done where the group wishing to undertake the project is not eligible to submit an application.