Why do you need a grant/subsidy?
Funders want to use their money for the biggest possible impact and also want to use it where no other resources can be found. With this in mind some funders will ask the question; "Are there other ways that the project or activity can be financed?".
Essentially funders want to know that you have explored other ways of identifying the resources for the activity. Bear this in mind when looking for sources of funding, you may find that other funders do not fit your project, in which case make a note of these so that you can say you have explored these possibilities and say why they were not appropriate.
It can be very difficult to describe why you want a grant (a subsidy) rather than finding resources elsewhere. Mostly you believe it will be the only way to find the resources that you need.
However, when you are thinking about how to resource an activity you should ask yourself questions like:
Is it possible to find ways for the beneficiaries to pay for the project through a payment of services?
You should make a note of why you think that this is not possible. It may be that the beneficiaries are all on low income and or in position to pay but this may not always be the case. (You should also look at the section on Social Enterprise)
Can we pay for this ourselves?
You need to explain why it is not possible for you to provide the resources from within the group. Again this may not be a very detailed answer but it is important to explain a little about how the group's finances work so you can be explicit about why it is not possible to pay for the project out of existing resources or from fundraising or trading activities.
If you have a formal fundraising strategy you will be able to draw on this for your answers.
