Grant writing for community building

Across the Pacific, grant funding sustains the work of non-government organisations, social enterprises and government departments. However, training in how to write applications for grant funding is not easily accessible. Apai Rokotuni, Australian Volunteers Program Deputy Regional Director, Central and North Pacific, says his team became aware of a need for capacity strengthening in grant writing through the team’s close working relationships with local organisations. This was the inspiration for the grant writing training.

‘The topic of grant writing was locally initiated, and the program supported its facilitation,’ explains Apai. The training was then developed by Australian volunteer Grant Writer Trainer Janet Dawson, in partnership with the Australian Volunteers Program’s Central and North Pacific staff teams, and the program’s Naarm / Melbourne-based Learning and Development team.

Overwhelming interest

Aiming to ensure broad access for organisations across the Pacific, Janet first facilitated a grant writing training series online, alongside partner organisation Empower Pacific. This series was a huge success, with more than 200 representatives registered from NGOs in more than seven Pacific countries. Each session in the training series welcomed an average of 70 participants. Significant interest from organisations in Tonga and Samoa led to plans for in-country grant writing training, to further strengthen grant writing capability through tailored workshops.

Teamwork in Tonga

Janet delivered a tailored follow-up grant writing training program in Tonga in March 2025. She worked alongside partner organisation Ahopanilolo Technical Insitute (ATI), and fellow Australian volunteer Training Mentor Sosefina Fineanganofo, who has Tongan heritage.

‘What made the assignment so special was being partnered with Sosefina,’ says Janet. ‘Sosefina is someone who has both the understanding of what was expected and needed from an Australian perspective, but just as strongly, the perspective of the participants and what was going to be meaningful and useful in the local context.’ Sosefina translated between English and Tongan and frequently provided Tongan examples which further tailored Janet’s training to the local context. ‘As a sidekick to Janet, in Tongan I was able to explain in mother tongue. That gives a broader understanding,’ says Sosefina.

Workshop participants included representatives from grassroots organisations, women’s groups, the private sector, and government ministries, such as the Red Cross, NRL Tonga, and Tonga Swimming. Sosefina says the support of the Australian High Commission was crucial to the success of the workshops. 

‘We... had staff from the High Commission sitting in, and they were able to help out with advice and guidance about the [Australian Government’s] Direct Aid Program (DAP) application process,’ she says. ‘I think that’s why our training was very popular, because participants went away with a greater understanding of what the grant application process requires.’

Naitilima Tupou, a workshop participant from local women-led initiative Ladies Connect, says the ‘training was both insightful and practical. It gave me clarity on how to structure proposals, align them with funders’ priorities, and communicate impact effectively.’ 

'The training has strengthened my ability to seek and secure resources for Ladies Connect’s programs.’

Positive outcomes

Sosefina and Janet recently learned that one of their workshop participants, Tonga Swimming, was successful in its DAP funding application. Programs run by Tonga Swimming include a focus on teaching children to swim. ‘Their programs bring little children out, they get on a boat, they go to this resort and there are the volunteers and the team teaching them how to swim,’ says Sosefina. Tonga High School was also successful in its DAP funding application.

Beyond practical grant writing skills, the workshops were an opportunity for connection amongst local organisations. Naitilima Tupou of Ladies Connect says ‘beyond the technical skills, the workshops created new connections with like-minded people who share a passion for community-building and women’s empowerment. These relationships have already led to discussions on collaborations and joint initiatives, widening our network and creating a stronger foundation for future impact.’

Success in Samoa

In June 2025, Janet travelled to Samoa as a volunteer Grant Writer Mentor to deliver another grant writing training series, this time tailored to the Samoan context.

As in Tonga, Janet says that ‘flexibility and adapting as we went was really important.’ She describes her reflex as a facilitator to cut out small group discussion when a workshop in Samoa was running over time. Janet consulted her counterpart at partner organisation Samoa Umbrella for Non-Governmental Organizations (SUNGO) who explained how important small group discussions are in the Samoan learning context. ‘Of course, I had no idea how important that was to the participants,’ reflects Janet. 

‘From the feedback I realised how critical small group discussion was, and from then on, I started building in much bigger small group discussion and feedback sessions. It really evolved, the whole thing,’ she says.

Ane Moananu, Australian Volunteers Program Country Manager, Samoa, says that workshop attendees benefitted from ‘representatives from donor partners who came to speak to the participants, which gave the participants an opportunity to learn from these donor partners and understand how to fill out the proposal application forms.’

She says a highlight was ‘the final certificate ceremony where all the participants came together to receive their certificates. The Australian Deputy High Commissioner was the guest speaker, and she handed the certificates to all participants.’

A skill for sustainable locally led development

Grant funding is crucial for community and social programs in the Pacific. Janet says she learned through her volunteer assignments that ‘grant writing is a way that mostly NGOs but also other organisations such as government and social enterprises secure funding for their important programs. And because most NGOs don’t really have any core funding, they can’t survive without funding from grants.’

Sosefina has been volunteering with ATI since 2020 and says that grant funding has enabled the Institute to improve outcomes for tertiary students living under the poverty line. ‘Most of the students are not academically inclined, but their hands are magic, and we are able to turn their mindset so that by the end of the year… they become very entrepreneurial thanks to the skills they have learned in cooking, hairdressing, fashion and design,’ explains Sosefina. ‘ATI has moved forward because of all the financial help they’re given.’

Next steps

This grant writing training is the second in a series of online training developed in partnership with local organisations for NGOs in the Pacific. Other recent training topics have included governance and gender equality, social inclusion and disability (GEDSI), with a new training commencing in late 2025 on data management and cyber security.