I suddenly find myself in the position of having to apply for funding for a community writing project. I have never done this before and haven't a clue about how best to approach it. Is it best to go for small amounts of money from different sources or large amounts from one? Is it better to describe a project in modest terms or make it sound ambitious? Advice from anyone who has gone through the labyrinth before would be much appreciated. :huh:

I do have a lot of experience of applying to bodies such as the Sports Council for grants for sports clubs, and if that's anything to go by, your best bet is always to ask for the full cost of the event, equipment or whatever. You probably won't get it, but there's always a chance that more than one funding source will come up trumps. In particular, I've often been successful towards the end of financial years - other projects fall through, or whatever, and they then try to get rid of the funding before it's taken back by central Government.
As far as describing the project is concerned, I'd stress ambition (and they particularly appreciate any ongoing legacy that the project might create), but be realistic too.
Of course, this may all be completely different with arts bodies...

Thanks Matt, that's very helpful!

I'd second what Matt says (my experience is mostly with the Arts Council). In particular make sure you over-cost as much as possible. Just make sure you read their rules very, very closely - very often applications which don't fulfill their criteria, or which have errors in budgets, for example, will be automatically discarded even if they're really strong otherwise.