> This is the Markdown of a Backed Help Centre page, https://admin.backed.giving/help/applicant/applying-for-a-grant.md. Every page is listed at https://admin.backed.giving/help/llms.txt.

> This page uses Backed's default terms, such as Funding Round and Application Template. An organisation may rename them, so read each as your organisation's own term if you've renamed it.

You apply from a grant's Landing Page, or from the `Grants` section of your `Dashboard`. Your
registration needs to be approved first; see [Registering](registering.md).

Labels that name `Grant`, `Application` and `Eligibility` use your organisation's own term if
you've renamed it.

## Find the grant

- On your `Dashboard`, under `Grants`, select `View Grant` to read a grant's Landing Page, or
  `Apply for this Grant` to start straight away.
- A Landing Page link the organisation shared opens the same page. If you aren't signed in,
  `Apply` takes you to sign in first.

The Landing Page shows when the grant closes (`Closes` and the date, or `Always open`). A grant you
can't apply to says `This round is closed` or `This round is not available to your account`. If
the grant isn't open to your type of applicant, it says so: the grant is not open to your applicant
type.

## Preview the form before you start

Many grants let you read the whole application form before you apply. Under the Landing Page,
select `Preview the form` to see every page, section and question, with:

- `*` on each required question, and its limits, such as `Up to 250 words`;
- `Asked only if "<question>" is "<answer>"` on a question that depends on an earlier answer;
- `You can add up to <n>` on a section you can repeat.

The preview is blank and read-only: nothing you do there starts an application. Select
`Download blank form (PDF)` to save the same form as a PDF. If it says `Preparing your PDF…`,
wait a moment; if it is still preparing after a minute, select `Try again`. You don't need to be
signed in to preview a public grant's form.

## Ask about this round

Some grants let you ask questions about the round. This appears only when the organisation has
turned it on for the round. Look for `Ask about this round` under the Landing Page, and beside the
application form while you fill it in. If you aren't signed in, select `Sign in to ask` first.

1. Type your question under `Your question` and select `Ask`.
2. The answer comes from the round's published Landing Page and guideline documents only. Under
   `Sources` it lists each document and section it came from, with the passage, so you can check
   the answer yourself.
3. If the documents don't answer it, the panel says so and shows the funder's email address, or
   asks you to contact the funder through the Landing Page.

Beside the application form you can also select `Check my answers against the guidelines`. You
get hints, each marked `Hint — not a decision`, that point to a published criterion. Your answers
are sent with the check only if you tick `Include my current answers`.

Every answer and hint says `AI-generated from the published guidelines; it is not a decision`.
Only the organisation decides your application. You can ask up to 30 questions a round each day,
and the panel shows how many you have left. If the panel says `Help is unavailable until
tomorrow.`, try again the next day.

## Answer the eligibility questions

Some grants ask eligibility questions before you can start an application. Selecting `Apply` opens
`Eligibility questions`. Your answers save as you go. When you submit them, you see one of:

- `You are eligible` — select `Start Application`.
- `You are not eligible` — your answers don't meet the grant's rules. `Answer again` lets you
  change them where the grant allows it.
- `Your answers are being reviewed` — the organisation checks them and emails you. If it finds you
  eligible, the email's link starts your application.

## Start from a previous application

If the grant allows it and your organisation has applied before, `Apply for this Grant` first asks
how you want to start:

- `Start a new Application` opens a blank form.
- `Start from a previous Application` lists your earlier applications with their title, grant and
  status (and number, if your funder shows numbers). Choose one and select `Start`.

The new application opens with a banner such as `Copied 12 answers from Creek planting 2025.`
Each copied answer is marked `Copied` until you change it. Some fields are never copied: fields
the funder marked not to copy, file uploads unless the grant copies files, and referee requests.
Check every copied answer before you submit.

## Fill in the form

`Apply for this Grant` starts your application and opens its form. If you act for more than one
organisation, the application is for the one named in `Applying on behalf of`: switch first if
you need to.

- Answers the funder links to your registration are filled in for you and marked
  `From your profile`. You can change them; the mark goes once you do.
- While the application is a draft, `Refresh from profile` fills those answers again from your
  current registration, for example after you've updated your details. It never replaces an
  answer you've changed, and says how many answers it refreshed.

- While a grant with a closing date is open, the top of the form shows how long is left, such as
  `Closes in 3 days 4 hours`, or `Closes in 42 minutes` in the last hour. If the organisation gave
  you late access, it counts down to your own deadline instead.
- The form may have several pages. Move between them with the page controls.
- Your answers save automatically. You can leave and come back: find the application under
  `Applications` and select `Edit Application`.
- Fields marked `*` are required.
- We check some answers as you leave the field, such as an email address. If one isn't valid, a
  message such as `Enter a valid email address` shows beside it, and goes as soon as you correct
  it. Your answer still saves, so you can fix it later, but you can't submit until it's valid.
- Where the organisation has turned the business registers on, a field for your `ABN`, `NZBN` or
  New Zealand charity number looks the number up when you leave it, and answers linked to the
  register fill in for you. [Registering](registering.md) explains the card it shows.

### Ask for help

If the organisation uses conversations, each page of the form has `Ask for help` under it. Select
it to open your application's `Conversation` with your message already started, such as
`About page 2 — Budget:`. Finish your question and select `Send`. The organisation sees which page
you asked about and replies in the same conversation, which we tell you about.

You can ask while your application is still a draft. Once you've sent a message, `View
Conversation` on your application opens the conversation too.

### Placing an address on the map

Some address questions show `Place on the map` under them. Enter the address first; until you do,
it says `Enter the address before you place a pin on the map.` Once the address is saved, the line
under it says where the address was found, and:

1. Select `Drop a pin`, or `Move pin` if the address already has a point.
2. Drag the pin to the right place and let go. It saves straight away and says `Pin saved.`
3. Or type the `Latitude` and `Longitude` and select `Save pin`. This also works with a keyboard,
   and in a browser that can't show the map.

Your pin is used instead of the point found from the address. Select `Close map` when you're done.
You can't move the pin once the form is locked or submitted.

### Saving your work

Your answers save a moment after you stop typing, and the bottom of the form says
`All changes saved` once they have.

If your internet connection drops, it says `Offline — your changes will save when you reconnect`.
Keep going: nothing you've typed is lost, and your answers save themselves as soon as the
connection is back. Leave the page open until it says `All changes saved` again, because answers
waiting to save are held on this page, not on your device. You can't submit until they've saved.

### If your draft will be withdrawn

Some organisations withdraw a draft nobody has edited for a while. If yours will be, you're sent
`Your application will be withdrawn` seven days before, and the application and its form show a
message such as `This application will be withdrawn on 15 March 2027 because it has not been
edited. Save a change to keep it.` The date is in the organisation's time zone. Saving any change
keeps the application, and the message goes as soon as the change is saved. If the message is about an information request, respond to the request
instead.

### Files you upload

A file you upload shows its name, which downloads it, and under it:

- `View` opens the file full screen without downloading it. A PDF or an image (PNG, JPEG, GIF or
  WebP) shows in the viewer, with `Zoom in`, `Zoom out` and `Fit to screen` for an image. Other
  files, such as Word or Excel documents, say `Preview not available`: select `Download` instead.
  Very large files (over 8 MB) don't offer `View`; download them.
- `Version 2 of 2`, for example, once you've replaced a file. Select `History` to see each
  version, who uploaded it and when, with `Download` for each.
- While the application is a draft, `Restore this version` on an earlier version makes a copy of it
  the current file. The earlier version itself doesn't change. If the file changed since you
  opened the page, you're asked to reload.

## Submit

1. Select `Submit` at the foot of the form. Until everything required is answered, `Submit` is
   unavailable and the form says `Complete every field marked * before submitting.`, with
   `Still to complete:` and a link to each page.
2. Select `Double-check my Application` to read your whole application as it will be submitted,
   or `Back to Application form` to change something.
3. Select `Submit`, then `Submit Application` to confirm.

If the first page asks an eligibility question, a `No` can hide the remaining pages and `Submit`,
and the form shows a message about why you can't apply. Change the answer to `Yes` to see the rest of
the form and `Submit` again. Anything you already typed on those pages is kept.

You see `Your Application has been submitted` with your `Application Number`, unless your funder
doesn't show application numbers, and we email you a confirmation. Select `View Application` to
see it.

## If the form asks for referees

Some forms ask you to name referees, or an organisation that agrees to auspice your application.
See [References, for applicants and referees](references.md).

## If Submit is unavailable

- `This Grant is closed.` — the grant's closing date has passed.
- `Confirm your email address to submit` — enter the code from the confirmation email we sent you
  in `Verification code` and select `Confirm my email address`. No email? Select
  `Resend confirmation instructions` for a new code. You stay on the page, so select `Submit` again
  once it's confirmed. Signing in with a link we email you confirms it too. If you joined with your
  mobile number, your account has no email address yet: select `Add your email address`, add it
  under `Email and password` in your account, confirm it with the code we email you, then come back
  and select `Submit`.
- `Your late submission window has closed.` — the organisation gave you late access after the grant
  closed, and the date it set has passed.
- No `Submit` at all, and only the first page — your answer to the eligibility question on the first
  page means you aren't eligible, and the form shows the funder's message. Answering `Yes` brings the
  other pages and `Submit` back.

## See also

- [After you submit](after-you-submit.md)
- [Frequently asked questions for applicants](faq-applicants.md)