I recently found out that two SEDI grant applications I worked on were successful. I'm named in both as a capability building provider, so I'll be working with two women-led social enterprises on their commercial growth over the coming months. I was also part of a successful SEDI application a couple of years ago, when I was leading social enterprise growth at The Social Studio.
Looking back across all three, the same things kept coming up. I've written them down here for social enterprises preparing a SEDI grant application, but most of it applies to any capability building grant.
What is a SEDI grant?
Social Enterprise Development Initiative (SEDI) grants are Australian Government grants of up to $120,000. Social enterprises use them to buy capability building services from specialist providers, which the program calls intermediaries or capability providers. The grants are administered by Impact Investing Australia (IIA) and assessed on a rolling basis by an expert panel. A separate SEDI First Nations Grants stream offers $50,000 to $120,000 for First Nations enterprises.
Be honest about your numbers
People are often reluctant to put anything in a grant application that makes their organisation look less than perfect, so they leave out the financial deficit, the gap in staffing or the impact data they don't have. In my experience, assessors understand how hard it is to run a social enterprise. They don't expect perfect financials or perfect impact data. They do expect honest numbers, an explanation of what's behind them and a plan for what happens next. A strong application answers their questions before they think to ask them.
Call out deficits and declines. The application asks for your profit and loss statement, balance sheet and cashflow statement. If any of these show a deficit or a drop in income, say so in your written responses, explain why it happened, and set out your targets for the coming year and how you'll get there. An applicant who has clearly diagnosed their own numbers comes across as more capable, not less.
Make your written answers and your financials tell the same story. A financially literate assessor will often learn more about your social enterprise from your numbers than from your written answers. Check that the two match, and where something in the numbers looks odd, explain it in your answers.
Check that every number would make sense to a stranger. Assume the panel knows nothing about your social enterprise. The application asks for a lot of figures, and it isn't always obvious what each one precisely refers to. For each number, check that it's clear which period it covers, which program or business unit it relates to and whether it's cumulative or not. Then check that it all adds up and is consistent throughout the application.
Back up your impact claims with evidence
If a question asks what impact you had in the last 12 months, with metrics and evidence, answer it with 12-month numbers and give outcomes, not just outputs. Outputs are what you did, for example "supported 40 people into education and employment". Outcomes are what changed as a result. Of those 40 people, how many enrolled in training, how many finished, how many got jobs and how many were still employed three or six months later? What kind of work was it, and what did it mean for their income? Partial data is better than none, and it's fine if you only have it for some programs. A smaller number with an outcome attached is worth more than a bigger number without one.
Give every figure context. "Skills increased by 25%" needs to say which skills, measured how and across how many people. "12 participants moved into employment" needs a denominator, and ideally a benchmark, so the panel can judge whether it's a strong result. Saying how you collected the data (participant surveys or program records, for example) also shows the panel you take impact measurement seriously.
Additional impact has to be additional. One question asks about the additional impact you expect from the activities the grant will fund. Don't repeat your existing impact here. Think about what will be different because of this funding, and describe the outcomes for your target group. Include tangible outcomes (for example, paid work and income, skills and work experience, reliable access to fresh food) and intangible ones (for example, social connection, confidence, belonging, less isolation). Draw on the evidence you already collect and link it back to the baseline metrics you gave earlier in the application, so the panel can see the new impact sits on top of what you already deliver.
Show how capability will be built
SEDI is a capability building grant, so the panel wants to see what your team will be able to do at the end that it can't do now. Your capability providers need to work alongside your team, not just hand over a report.
The panel will also look at whether you have the capacity to take this on. Social enterprise teams are usually lean, and a large capability building project asks a lot of people who are already stretched. Show you've thought about how you'll manage it. Here are two ways you might frame this:
Capability building reduces key person risk, because knowledge is shared across the team rather than sitting with one person.
A provider can step in as a fractional leader for the life of the grant, building your team's capability while developing the strategies, frameworks, systems, processes and templates that stay with you afterwards.
Don't undersell your capability building providers
The grant exists to buy services from capability providers, so the sections describing your providers and their work carry a lot of weight. The panel uses them to judge whether the providers you've chosen can deliver.
A structure that works well is credibility first (experience, sector track record, previous SEDI work), then each provider's expertise matched to their row of the Capability Plan.
In the Capability Plan, the table where you describe the services you need and how they'll help you scale, the second part matters most. It helps to ask where your social enterprise would be without this work. The answer usually makes it easier to explain what the work will make possible.
Choosing a SEDI service provider. Look for a provider who has worked with social enterprises at your stage and understands the commercial side as well as the impact side. It also helps if they'll work with you on the application, because the scope of their work is part of what the panel assesses.
Answer the question you're asked
This sounds obvious, but it's where a lot of applications fall down. There's often something you really want the panel to know, and it gets squeezed into an answer whether it fits the question or not. I've read many grant applications that say a lot without answering the question. The assessors don't get the information they need, and the application is harder to read.
It helps to have someone outside your organisation review your draft critically. You're close to the work, and an outside reader will pick up gaps and assumptions you can't see.
Thinking about a SEDI grant?
SEDI grants are assessed on a rolling basis. IIA expects applications to stay open into early 2027, but there's no fixed closing date and funding is limited. The current round has around $2.6 million, which covers about 20 grants at the maximum value, so I'd encourage you not to wait.
Full eligibility details are on the IIA website. First Nations enterprises can also apply through the SEDI First Nations Grants stream.
Impact Practice is a SEDI capability building provider. I can help you work out whether SEDI is a good fit, scope the capability building work and provide feedback on your application. If it's successful, I can then deliver the work with your team, across strategy and business planning, commercial growth, pricing, market development, social procurement readiness and impact measurement.
You can read more about how I work with social enterprises on my social enterprise services page.
Book a free call or email olivia@impactpractice.au
Applying for a different grant?
I can also review other grant applications before they're submitted. If you'd like a second pair of eyes on an application, please get in touch.