Fundraising primer

Finding a funder:

How to find funders:

• Do an internet search.
• Ask other local groups, your networks where they have got funding from.
• Local CVS usually have a database - directory of social change have a search engine - https://fundsonline.org.uk expensive, can get 1 week access
• Local funders / Lottery Awards for All for small grants.
• Funding Central is an excellent website to register with, (it’s free for groups with income under 30k) – they have a good database and offer a range of services
• https://grantnav.threesixtygiving.org
• www.charityexcellence.co.uk/Home/FundingFindersResources
• Loads more places to look for funding at the end of this document.

Make sure you apply to the right funder / programme scheme:

• Read what they want, if it’s not a match - don’t waste their time and yours.
• Get in touch to have a chat beforehand if not sure if applicable to your project, for larger bids it can also be good to do this to build an initial relationship, but only do this if they offer it as an option.
• It's ok to shape project to their needs if possible, but don’t force a square peg into a round hole.
• From your research create a list of funders to apply to, with most likely and best fit at the top

Check whether you can apply:

• Read the entitlement criteria, before doing anything else, otherwise you could be wasting your time.
• You may need to be a registered charity / or other structure - might be able to partner with a charity that could host your project if this is the case.
• Annual income can also exclude you from applying, though for most groups I doubt this will be an issue.

Decide whether to apply:

Read the bid guidelines thoroughly before you begin and make notes of what they are wanting to see happen as a result of the funding, this is the essence of what you need to demonstrate to the funder. Once you have clarity on this:

• Use the collective intelligence of your group to identify how your project will do this.
• Have this in mind throughout the bid writing process, make sure it comes across coherently and concisely.
• Then get agreement from everyone, especially those who will be responsible for delivering it that they are willing to take it on if successful, especially if voluntary time is expected.
• Be realistic and check capacity: It can be useful here to just have a brief discussion on what time commitment will be needed and who will hold the main aspects of the project when delivering it. If no one is up for this then it may not be a good idea to apply.
• IMPORTANT: make sure the costs of the project can be covered in the amount being asked for, don’t underestimate the cost as this can cause a lot of problems in the future.
• The key is to sell your project by: Demonstrating the impact the project will have.

Writing the bid:

Put in appropriate effort for the amount applying for, small grants will often not want loads of information so be concise and to the point.

When answering application questions:

• ANSWER THE QUESTION, many people don’t and this is really annoying for bid assessors. Make their job easy, makes them happy, makes it easier for them to score your application, makes it more likely you will get funding a win win all round.
• Sometimes they will ask for a project plan / business plan and may not have specific questions about your project, thought this rarer these days, if this is the case you can use this generic structure:
  • Organisation aims/mission; background and summary achievements
  • Need for the project
  • Aims and objectives of the project
  • Activities, work the project will do, timescales
  • Benefits and beneficiaries
  • Outputs and outcomes, targets of the project
  • Budget
  • Summary of request
• Show your understanding of the question in the answer
  • Demonstrate how project will respond to the question
  • Add some extra understanding if appropriate, that shows you understand what they are asking about.
  • Demonstrate how the project will have an impact throughout the questions, not just in the impact question.
  • Think of your application like a story, your responses need to paint a very clear picture in the funders mind of what you are going to do and why it is important and amazing.
• A good process can be:
  • As the person writing the bid, go through the application’s questions - write everything you can think of that responds to the question.
  • As you are doing this, make notes on the information you don’t have and need to gather to answer the questions,
  • Get this information through doing research / meeting with your group or others to gather their responses and give them a chance to feedback on what you have written.
  • Then edit it, make every word count: Don’t waffle, especially if there is a limited word count. Mirror the language that they use when describing the project, so they can understand it in their terms.
  • Then go back and edit it again with the funders aims that you explored earlier in mind (have them beside you and tick them off as they appear in your application).
  • Then check that it is written in an active, exciting, decisive way. Always refer to your project and what it will do, don’t use hopefully it will, use it will do this, it will be amazing.

IMPORTANT: before submitting it make sure everyone involved in delivering it has read it, or at least understands it.

Get feedback:
If possible, get a professional fundraiser to have a quick look over it, or at the least get someone to read it who knows nothing about your project to see if they understand what you are proposing.

Transition Guides:

Reconomy guide to fundraising: http://reconomy.org/wp-content/uploads/2015/05/Transition-Core-Resourcing-FINAL.pdf
Funding primer:
Funding Primer v1.docx