How to show evidence of need in a grant application

“We need money for a weekly club” describes your funding request. It does not yet explain why people need the club. Start with the people, place and barrier: for example, residents who want to take part in local activities but cannot reach the available evening sessions. Then explain how you know that barrier exists.

Read the actual programme questions before collecting more material. For example, Reaching Communities England asks applicants to explain whom they will reach and how they will remove barriers to participation. It also says it uses background statistics to understand need in a named area. These are that programme's expectations, not a universal evidence checklist for every UK grant.

Use the following as a working method, adapting it to the question and the scale of your proposal. You do not need to collect every type of evidence listed here.

• Your records: enquiries, waiting lists or referral logs can help describe demand. Record the period covered and distinguish individual people from repeat contacts.
• Community feedback: conversations, interviews or a short survey can explain what gets in the way and what people would find useful. Keep the question wording and response count.
• Published context: a relevant council needs assessment or official local dataset can help describe the area. Save the original source, geography, measure and data period.
• Existing provision: check what nearby organisations already offer, whom they serve and when. Record the specific gap your project would address, rather than claiming there is no support anywhere.

The Community Fund's evidence principles recognise both numbers and experiences, including existing research. They emphasise systematic collection and attention to negative as well as positive findings. That guidance concerns evidence and learning; use it to improve your method, not as a promise that a particular application will qualify.

Ask open questions before asking people to endorse a finished plan: What is difficult now? What have you tried? What would make taking part easier? Who might still be left out? Speak with people beyond your regular attendees where practical, and say whose views you have not yet heard.

Keep a short decision record: “People told us this; we changed this part of the plan; this question remains unresolved.” A decision to change the venue, session time or referral route tells the reader more than a general statement that you consulted the community. Reaching Communities England explicitly expects community involvement in designing, delivering and managing the project. Check how your chosen funder describes participation.

A survey of existing members describes those respondents; it does not automatically describe everyone in the neighbourhood. Write “18 of the 24 people who answered” rather than “75% of local residents”. Explain how you invited responses and when. If a published statistic covers a whole county, do not present it as a measured rate for your street.

Keep evidence of the problem separate from evidence that your proposed solution will work. A waiting list can show interest in your service, but it does not prove that a new timetable will improve wellbeing. Explain why you chose the approach and what you still need to test. If sources disagree, describe the difference and check whether their dates, populations or questions differ before choosing a figure.

This fictional example illustrates the structure. Its people, figures and findings are invented and must not be reused as evidence in a real application.

“Our residents' group wants to test a daytime social session for people on the estate who cannot attend our evening activities. In September, we invited all 40 people on our mailing list to answer three questions; 24 replied. Eighteen respondents said evening travel stopped them attending. In a follow-up discussion with eight respondents, people preferred a venue within walking distance and a session ending before school collection. We therefore propose six afternoon sessions in the estate hall. These findings describe our respondents, not the whole estate. Before finalising the timetable, we will speak with residents outside our mailing list and check other local daytime provision.”

The case connects a defined group, a dated source, a barrier and a delivery choice. It also leaves an honest task to complete. It does not claim that the consultation proves a long-term outcome or that everyone wants the same activity.

Draft one paragraph in this order: who and where; the problem; your strongest relevant evidence; what people helped decide; the proposed response; and any important limitation. Add the source and date close to each factual claim. Keep a fuller evidence note for your team, and follow the form's instructions about attachments and word limits.

• Can another person trace each number to a record or published source?
• Do you distinguish respondents, participants and the wider population?
• Does each piece of evidence explain a decision in the project plan?
• Have you described existing services and the gap accurately?
• Have you answered the funder's question without claiming more than you know?

Use our grant application guide to connect this needs statement to delivery and budget. For evidence collected after an award, see how to write a grant monitoring report. When finding a funder, begin with OpenGrant's Charity / VCSE and Grant filters, then confirm the programme's priorities and requirements on its own website.