How to Write Grant Applications That Actually Resonate
A UK Guide for Purpose-Driven Brands
Why storytelling and structure must work together in purpose-driven fundraising
It's Not Just What You Do, It's How You Make Them Care
Every day, purpose-led organisations across the UK are doing essential, life-changing work. From alternative provision schools supporting excluded young people, to fostering agencies stabilising homes for children in care, their impact is clear. However, too often, that impact gets lost in the noise when it comes time to apply for funding.
Grant writing for charities has become one of the most competitive aspects of running a purpose-driven organisation. Applications are increasingly data-heavy, time-sensitive, and stacked up against hundreds of others that look and sound the same. The organisations that secure funding aren’t necessarily the ones doing the best work, they’re the ones telling their story in the most compelling way.
At Louise, we believe the key to successful grant applications is learning how to combine the emotional clarity of storytelling with the strategic structure funders expect. This blog explores how to do that ethically, impactfully, and without losing the core of your mission.
Why Emotional Storytelling Matters in Grant Applications
Many UK charities avoid using emotion in grant applications because they fear it sounds unprofessional or manipulative. However, when done with care and respect, storytelling in not-for-profit communications becomes a way to humanise your work, centre lived experience, and cut through the formality that often makes applications forgettable.
A powerful story provides context for the data that follows. It allows funders to connect with the people behind the statistics and understand why your work matters, not just what you deliver.
A compelling application doesn’t open with your organisational bio. It opens with a narrative that positions your service as urgent, necessary, and deeply human.
What Funders Really Look For
Most UK-based funders are looking for applications that demonstrate:
- Clear Articulation of Need
Why now? Why does this work?
- Strategic Alignment with Local or National Policy
For example, trauma-informed education, early intervention, or youth violence reduction.
- Measurable Impact
Can you prove your model works with data and evaluation?
- Organisational Capacity
Can you deliver at scale?
Increasingly, they’re also looking for authenticity, meaning organisations with a clear mission, consistent messaging, and values-led communications.
The UK’s Charity Excellence Framework offers tools and feedback that suggest charities benefit from clarity in narrative and measurable outcomes. Its users often report that improving communications, transparency, and clear reporting helps them build trust with funders and stakeholders. This is where charity marketing strategy and bid writing intersect: framing your work through real people and clear evidence.
Structure Still Matters: Balancing Narrative with Evidence
You need to be able to balance moving people emotionally while also maintaining clarity, logic, and structure. Here’s how to balance both:
1. Start with a Story, Then Zoom Out
Open with a real (anonymised) case study that represents your impact. Then zoom out to show how this story fits into national trends.
For example, data from the Department for Education shows persistent pupil absence has more than doubled since pre-COVID. This type of systemic context matters in impact communications.
2. Quantify Your Results and Humanise Them
Pair data with story. It's a powerful tool in any not-for-profit fundraising strategy.
For example:
“Last year, 85% of young people referred to our programme re-engaged with school within 6 weeks. One carer said: ‘For the first time, they felt like someone believed in them.’”
3. Mirror the Funder’s Language
Use keywords from their funding brief, such as “trauma-informed,” “early help,” or “youth safeguarding”, where relevant as it signals alignment.
4. Back Up Every Claim
If you claim success, show your method by including links to impact reports, monitoring systems, and evaluation tools.
Where Marketing Intersects with Grant Success
You might not think of your marketing as part of your funding strategy, but it is.
Funders routinely check your digital presence, from your website to your social channels. If your grant says one thing, but your online presence lacks clarity, consistency, or credibility, it can undermine your application.
According to the 2025 Charity Digital Skills Report, 63% of UK charities made digital progress last year, but only 28% say they are confident in their online storytelling. That gap matters when it comes to funding bids for charities.
Your digital marketing strategy should reflect the same narrative clarity and impact as your grant.
The Louise Approach: What We Do & How
At Louise, we support purpose-led brands, from youth services to fostering organisations, in building strong, coherent narratives that serve both public and professional audiences. While we don’t write grant applications directly, we do:
- Clarify value propositions before funding cycles
- Build impact case studies to support grant applications
- Improve charity websites for strategic visibility
- Create emotionally resonant brand messaging that also meets funder criteria
When you get your not-for-profit storytelling right, funding becomes more than possible, it becomes repeatable.
Your Mission Deserves to Be Funded and Heard
The work you do changes lives. However, in a saturated and underfunded sector, good intentions aren’t enough. Funders need to see and feel your impact, and that takes more than a form.
When storytelling and structure work in harmony, your organisation doesn’t just apply for grants, you become a movement worth backing.
Tell the Story That Gets Funded
At Louise, we help purpose-driven organisations get clarity on their value, consistency in their messaging, and confidence in their visibility, so their work doesn’t just matter, it gets funded. Let’s build your next successful grant bid from story to structure.
