Grant info for Montessori

Hello,

I'm currently embarking on project of setting up a montessori...I just wanted to ask a bit of basic advice of anyone who has gone down this road before. When it comes to writing up business plan and applying for grant, how do you budget for premises if you don't have them yet? What I mean is I want to rent premises rather than buy, but how do you know what to fill out regarding premises expenses if you don't have them yet!!

Also, do you need to have much capital in order to set up business?

As I said, I'm at very beginning stages of all this, absolutely any advice would be greatly appreciated!

Thanks

Deb27 said:

... but how do you know what to fill out regarding premises expenses if you don't have them yet!! ...

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Contact an estate agent local to where you want to set up and enquire what lease costs are for a suitable premises.

Deb27 said:

... Also, do you need to have much capital in order to set up business? ...

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Your money needs will fall out from the business plan; sourcing money is the next stage.

Thanks for your reply. So it's ok to apply for a grant etc before you actually have the premises? Do you have any idea how long it takes before you find out if you are being given a grant or not?

Thanks again

I cant advise specifically in relation to Montessori - but in making any grant application you should first look at the funding guidelines of the funding agency and see whether you are eligible, whether you meet all the requirements and in relation to budget estimates what costs/expenses does the grant allow you to claim for.... some include rent, electricity, insurance etc. Costs for premises can be done on an average estimate as the previous poster said and got from estate agents. You should determine from the funding agency whether they are likely to consider an application if you dont have a premises - not all grant applications are sucessful - and you dont want to spend time doing an application if you are not eligible to apply. Also, explore other avenues of funding available to you - sometimes funding agencies respond more positively to an application if the project supported by match funding (ie. two or more funding agencies). You should also determine what type of supporting documentation/information that you require to accompany your application - governing document (constitution, articles of association), Status (registered charity & number, Ltd company and Company Registration Number), Tax Number and Tax Clearance Certificate (this is generally required by most public sector grants). Alot of information on available grants for particular sectors and the closing dates can be got from www.fundingpoint.ie you will have to register - and there is a small fee attached - but if you are setting up business - the small outlay can be worthed. It might also be helpful if you havent already done so to contact your county childcare committee ltd.