September Funding Round-up

September 8, 2011 Leave a comment

Here’s a round-up of some of the recent funding that has become available or with deadlines coming up in the next few months:

People’s Postcode Dream Fund: Applications for 2012 are now open! This funding exists to give organisations the chance to  deliver a project they have always dreamed of, but never had the opportunity to bring to life. In order to make the most of resources available, all applications must come from a collaboration of one or more organisations.  Registered charities and community organisations in Scotland can apply for up to £100,000 to deliver a new and innovative 12-month project that meets one of the following funding criteria: Helping Communities Lead an Active Life; Helping to Involve Volunteers; Helping to Tackle Climate Change. The deadline for all applications is 5pm on Friday 2nd December 2011.

SITA Trust – Enhancing Communities Programme: Up to £60,000 is available to projects that will make physical improvements to community leisure facilities and historic buildings / structures. Not-for-profit organisations including not for profit organisations, community groups, parish councils, local authorities and charities can apply. Check their website for eligibility (you need to be based within a certain range of a SITA site). The next funding deadline is 28th November 2011.

Heritage Lottery Grants are available providing more than £50,000 for projects that relate to the national, regional or local heritage of the UK. To receive a grant your project must: help people to learn about their own and other people’s heritage; and do either or both of the following: conserve the UK’s diverse heritage for present and future generations to experience and enjoy; help more people, and a wider range of people, to take an active part in and make decisions about heritage. The next funding round closes on 17th October 2011.

Young Film Fund UK: First Light Moves – which provides grants to projects that enable young people to participate in all aspects of film production – has announced that its Young Film Fund has re-opened for applications. Funding is available to organisations such as; schools; youth services; community and voluntary groups that work with young people aged between 5 and 18. Two types of funds are available: Studio Awards – up to £30,000 for between two and four films of up to 10 minutes; and Pilot Awards – up to £5,000 for one short film of up to five minutes in duration. Application deadline is 22nd November 2011.

TalkTalk Digital Heroes Award: these will be given to outstanding individuals working within a group, charity or organisation (as long as it isn’t a commercial enterprise) to use digital technology to solve a social problem or improve peoples’ lives. The winners will receive £5,000 in prize money for their project plus free broadband for 12 months. The deadline for entries is midnight on Sunday 11th September 2011.

The Architectural Heritage Fund: Funding is available to voluntary organisations building preservation trusts to regenerate historic buildings to create community and education facilities, workspace and homes. The project must also involve a change of ownership and/or a change of use. Previously funded projects include turning run down historic buildings into community theatres, resource centres, community learning centres, workspaces and meeting places, etc. The next closing date for applications is the 26th October 2011.

UK mammals grants: Applications are welcomed from voluntary conservation organisations, scientific researchers, individuals and consortia for financial support for work that relates to the conservation of mammals in the British Isles and Eire. Acceptable fields of work for funding include scientific research, practical habitat management work, reintroduction and monitoring programmes and educational projects. Priority will be given to work likely to further the aims of Biodiversity Action Plans and similar initiatives. Individual awards are unlikely to be more than £30,000 or less than £250. To date, the average amount granted per project has been about £9,000. Applications are considered by an advisory group in December and funding decisions are confirmed by the trustees in January. The next deadline for applications is 1st November 2011.

Community Radio Fund: The second round for funding applications in 2011/12 will open on 19 October and close at 5pm on 16 November 2011. The Community Radio Fund Panel will meet to consider applications on 30 January 2012. The Community Radio Fund has been established to help fund the core costs of running a community radio station.

Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge Fund: 2012 marks Her Majesty The Queen’s Diamond Jubilee and this Challenge, operated by Fields in Trust, is a new campaign to protect 2012 outdoor recreational spaces in communities all across the country as a permanent living legacy. From sports pitches to woodlands, children’s play areas to gardens and bicycle trails to parks, the Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge will protect a diverse range of outdoor spaces ensuring that there is something to appeal to everyone. The Queen Elizabeth II Fields Challenge will give communities an opportunity to vote for an outdoor space in their area to become part of the scheme and be permanently protected as a tribute to the Diamond Jubilee. Grants of up to £5,000 are  available and the next deadlines are 28th October and 21st November 2011.

First Light 90 Second Comedy Shorts Grant: First Light has recently become a YouTube partner and to celebrate, is launching a ‘90 Second Comedy Shorts’ round. People all over the world are watching billions of videos every day on YouTube, which is increasingly becoming an important outlet and means of online interaction for young people.  This popular genre of filmmaking can enable your films to be seen by more people and it could also help us inspire even more young people from across the UK to share and create their own First Light films. Organisations can apply for up to £20,000 to make between 3-6 comedy shorts up to 90 Seconds each in duration. 50 applications will be accepted for 90 Second Comedy Shorts grants. Application deadline is 12th October 2011.

Bank of Scotland Foundation Small Grants Programme: the Foundation accepts applications up to and including £20,000 from charities registered in Scotland to help with: developing and improving local communities; financial literacy and financial inclusion. The next deadline for applications is 14th October 2011.

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August Funding News

August 8, 2011 1 Comment

The Scottish Government have announced the launch of two significant funds which will provide funding of £7m for the social enterprise sector in Scotland – Just Enterprise and the Enterprise Growth Fund.

The People’s Postcode Lottery Dream Fund is a new initiative developed by the People’s Postcode Trust team to give organisations the chance to deliver the project they have always dreamed of, but never had the opportunity to bring to life.  The Dream Fund will offer £600,000 over two years, with £300,000 available for 2011, and £300,000 for 2012. Registered charities and community organisations in Scotland can apply for up to £100,000 to deliver a new and innovative 12-month project that meets one of the following funding criteria: Helping Communities Lead an Active Life; Helping to Involve Volunteers; Helping to Tackle Climate Change

The Wellcome Trust have recently announced their People Awards – where organisation’s can apply for up to £30,000 in funding towards projects that introduce biomedical science to the public.  If you have a project that will encourage public debate and understanding of biomedical science, take a look at their website to see whether you are eligible for funding.  The next deadline is 28th October 2011.

The Wellcome Trust also has an arts awards programme that seeks to engage the public in biomedical science through creative arts programmes and again, awards grants of up to £30,000 imaginative and experimental arts programmes.

Flytipping Small Grant Scheme – The flytipping small grant scheme is being administered by Keep Scotland Beautiful on behalf of Zero Waste Scotland to support landowners/managers  and community groups in Scotland who have experienced persistent problems of flytipping. The total grant fund is £50,000.

The Sita Trust’s Enhancing Communities programme funds community improvement projects that make physical improvements to community leisure facilities and historic buildings / structures with grants of up to £60,000 available.

Coastal communities across the United Kingdom will receive a multi-million pound boost each year from a new Coastal Communities Fund, financed by the Government through the allocation of funding equivalent to 50 per cent of the revenues from the Crown Estate’s marine activities.  This new fund is designed to support the economic development of coastal communities and will support a wide range of projects, including those that support charities, the environment, education and health. Examples could include support for developing renewable energy, improving skills or environmental safeguarding or improvement.

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Developing a Fundraising Strategy

May 19, 2011 Leave a comment

I wrote this post for Arts Professional and thought it would be a good one to share with those of you that might not work in the arts.  After all, if you’re fundraising, you should consider developing a fundraising strategy, regardless of which sector you’re in.

Developing your Fundraising Strategy
The recent cuts have meant that many organisations have either recognised they need to fundraise or to increase their reliance on fundraising in light and with this comes the need to develop a strategic approach to fundraising – rather than just a panic, scatter gun, ‘fill the gap left by public funding’ approach.  However, if you’re already fundraising you may question the need for a strategy in the first place.

Obviously, I am an advocate for developing a fundraising strategy that complements your organisation’s vision and creates income sources that will allow you to achieve those objectives in your business plan, as a properly developed strategy will:

  • increase the chances of success for your fundraising;
  • enable you to assess the options available to you for funding;
  • allow you to plan your fundraising – which projects will appeal to which donors and when do you need to start to think about fundraising for them;
  • clarify your fundraising goals and objectives – when a few months down the line you’re asked why you’re pursuing a particular course of action, you’ll have the background to make your case.

Every fundraising strategy has different aims.  Some organisations want to continue to deliver the same services they always have but now need a strategy because the economy has changed or other funding sources have ceased to exist.  Other organisations want to develop and expand their work and need to assess where additional funds may come from; how they fit with your current plans and, of course, how this expansion will impact on your organisational fundraising resources.
In the current climate, more organisations want to diversify income streams so they’re not overly reliant on one or two sources of income in the future, while others want to increase their long term income to get on a more secure footing and plan better in the future.

I recently wrote about the top 5 areas to take into account but there are more aspects to consider:

  • Background – has previous fundraising been successful?  How much income comes from
    fundraising?
  • Vision/Mission – where is your organisation headed and how can fundraising help you to achieve this?  Your vision might also help you to identify potential funding sources interested in investing in this type of work.
  • SWOT Analysis – love them or loathe them, it’s a good idea to write down your Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats, specifically as they relate to fundraising, as this can help you to identify gaps and help you see where the strengths in your organisation may lie.
  • Resources – what resources do you have?  Are these likely to change?  Many organisations discover they don’t have additional resources and that doesn’t fit with their need to increase fundraising income.  You don’t need to spend huge amounts on brochures or expensive databases, but good fundraising takes time – that of staff, board and volunteers.  Often though it’s just a question of adapting resources to suit your needs.
  • Potential Funding Sources – once you’ve identified your aims and objectives, along with income targets, it’s possible to begin the process of identifying potential sources of income.
  • Monitoring – all good strategies should be a living document and you should have opportunities for monitoring and reviewing your strategy, ideally quarterly with the Board, if possible.  This gives you the chance to review what you might need to change or what needs more resources dedicated to it.

Developing a fundraising strategy takes time but without one, you’re setting your fundraising up to fail as you won’t have a clear idea of the fundraising landscape – both internally and externally.  A strategy greatly improves your  chances of success; enables you to plan long-term and gives you the tools to adapt to opportunities and challenges as they arise.

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Facebook preferred Social Media for Fundraising

May 17, 2011 Leave a comment

The result of our recent poll on LinkedIn showed that Facebook used more for fundraising than other social media. Having read Pamela Grow’s blog on yesterday’s SOFII post, this is perhaps an area that more organisations should look into, as one charity has enjoyed phenomenal success using the basic Facebook platform effectively.

No matter what the media, I’ve always said that fundraising doesn’t have to be expensive to work.  You don’t have to have heavyweight paper, embossed in gold with expensive print and design any more than you need a database that can do everything but make the tea (although you do need a database!).  Often you can adapt what you already have to reach donors by thinking creatively and using a bit of imagination.  I think that Pamela’s blog outlines this beautifully, as the Soi Dog charity shows how it harnessed Facebook properly, using a little bit of work and imagination – without breaking the bank!

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Funding Update

May 15, 2011 Leave a comment

New charitable funds that have recently been announced or with deadlines coming up include:

Esmée Fairbairn Foundation Museum Collections Fund – a collaboration with the Museums Association, this fund focuses on time-limited collections work outside the scope of an organisation’s core resources. There are two deadlines this year – 31st May and 31st October 2011.  Through this fund the MA will award approximately £800,000 per year to museums, galleries and heritage organisations.  Organisations can apply for sums between £20,000 and £100,000.

EventScotland – The National Funding Programme complements the International Funding Programme and plays an integral role in developing domestic tourism across Scotland. By supporting events which take place outside the cities of Edinburgh and Glasgow, EventScotland is also growing Scotland’s wider events portfolio which forms the backbone of our events industry.  The deadline for the next round of funding is 3rd June for events from January 2012.

The Institute for Small Business & Entrepreneurship – Research and Knowledge Exchange (RAKE) fund is an initiative that aims to encourage and support research  activities from academics, third sector organisations, consultants and  practitioners with the ambition of drawing together and generating an  entrepreneurial community of practice to facilitate knowledge exchange  and transfer.  Funds of up to £12,000 are available and the next funding deadline is 3rd June.

Voda Grassroots Funds -The Grassroots Grants programme is to make £51,180 available to North Tyneside groups.  The Government has made a one off sum of £168,648 available to grassroots community and voluntary groups in Newcastle, North Tyneside and Northumberland. Grants are available for constituted groups that have a turnover over of less than £30,000, have been going for over a year and have a full set of accounts. Applications for equipment and summer activities are particularly welcome, but all funding awarded must be spent by the September 2011.  The deadline for submitting applications is Friday, 27 May 2011.

Cashback for Communities – The Small Grants Scheme has been established to support local volunteer led groups, who may not previously have had access to external funding, to enhance their programmes for young people and get positive projects off the ground.  Funding of up to £2,000 is available and the next round of funding closes on 1st June 2011.

Clore Social Leadership Programme – This programme is a unique, offering fully-funded Fellowships tailored to meet the individual development needs of aspiring leaders in the social sector.  Applications to the 2012 Fellowship programme opened on 18th April 2011.

First Light’s Young Film Fund opened on 3rd May – funding is available for Pilot Grants (up to £5,000) and Studio Grants (up to £30,000) to projects that enable young people to participate in all aspects of film production.  Deadline for this round of applications is 14 June 2011.

The Wellcome Trusts Arts Awards – support imaginative and experimental arts projects that investigate biomedical
science.  The scheme aims to: stimulate interest, excitement and debate about biomedical science through
the arts; examine the social, cultural, and ethical impact of biomedical science; support formal and informal learning; encourage new ways of thinking; encourage high quality interdisciplinary practice and collaborative partnerships in arts, science and/or education practice.  Small grants of up to £30,000 are available while the large project programme is for applications of £30,000 or more.  There are various deadlines throughout the year with the next on 29 July.  All art forms are   covered by the programme: dance, drama, performance arts, visual arts, music, film, craft, photography, creative writing or digital media.  The Trust invites applications for projects which engage adult audiences and/or young people.

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How to Develop a Fundraising Strategy

April 14, 2011 4 Comments

Your board and management team has recognised that your organisation needs to fundraise.  Or perhaps you’ve already enjoyed some success with your fundraising from various sources but want to begin to take a strategic approach to your fundraising.  Where should you start?  It’s a question I’m often asked and there are a number of areas to consider – my top 5 are:

Business Plan – do you have one?  If not, there’s not much point in developing a fundraising strategy, as the whole purpose of your strategy is to look at your business objectives over the next planning period (be it 3, 4 or 5 years) and establishing how your fundraising can support these.  So, if you don’t have a business plan, get one.  If you do, what are the objectives of your organisation – and what areas have you identified in the business plan that fundraising could support?

Resources – these cover everything from staff to databases, marketing & communications to senior management and, of course, volunteers.  Look at the resources available and how they can support your fundraising.  Do you need to invest more in your fundraising resources to enable you to reach target or do you have resources that you’re not utilising effectively?

Donors – what has your fundraising looked like over the past 3 years?  A fundraising audit should happen before you put pen to paper with your fundraising strategy i.e. assessing who has given; what they’ve funded; and how much has been given.  What campaigns were successful and which failed?  Do you have particular success in raising income from trusts or perhaps companies flock to sponsor your organisation?  Or maybe no-one has ever given anything?  You need to look at all of these areas and start to question why your fundraising looks the way that it does in order to establish the potential your organisation has to fundraise successfully in the future.

Board – never underestimate the importance of your board.  If they are keen advocates for your organisation, their support with your fundraising is vital but equally, if they are negative about fundraising or refuse to support your work, you’re going to have a hard time raising any income.  Getting your Board on board and encouraging them to take a proactive approach in fundraising, is key to introducing new networks to your organisation.

Objectives – what do you need to fundraise for?  And where is the potential for raising funds for these areas?  Are some of your organisational objectives likely to appeal particularly to the Lottery or trusts – perhaps because they have a social dimension or are taking a new, innovative approach to addressing a social need?  Similarly, an objective that is likely to raise the profile of your organisation significantly and attract interest from the press and general public may appeal to the corporate market.  Look objectively at what you need to fundraise for – i.e. where your organisation is going for the next 3 – 5 years – and establish where the potential is to raise those funds.

Those are just my top 5 areas to consider when shaping a fundraising strategy and, of course, I’ve just touched briefly on each of them.  Is there anything missing?  What would you take out?

Related Articles

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Diversifying your Income

April 11, 2011 2 Comments

Any client I’ve ever worked with could testify to the fact that I often ‘bang on’ about diversification of income streams.  Trying to ensure that your income comes from a number of sources – preferably a mixture of earned income – from commissions or training that you offer, philanthropic income, sponsorship and perhaps statutory funding.  Within that, I’m also keen to encourage that organisations diversify their philanthropic income to include a mixture of Lottery, trusts, individuals, corporate giving – and perhaps EU and third sector grant funding.  The more you can diversify your income, the greater protection your organisation has if and when one of your income streams dries up or reduces.  It’s basically common sense and the old ‘don’t put all your eggs in one basket’ theory but it’s easy to see how an organisation, particularly with the limited resources that many charities have, can focus on the one source of income that works for them to the detriment of other funding – until it’s too late. 

So try to broaden the net and move outside your comfort zone or away from the obvious or usual suspects when researching potential supporters for a new venture.  Is there an element that could be self funding or could generate income for your organisation?  Or similarly, is there an aspect that you simply cannot deliver without the support of the Lottery or trusts but which will add considerable value to what you are trying to do.  Try to look at your project from all angles – not just the tried and tested perspective.  What do other organisations do that you could adopt?  Look beyond your own niche area to organisations that you admire – or envy!  And involve others in the organisation in helping to assess the potential for your products and services. 

It’s also an adage that I’ve taken over into my business life – working with a range of organisations from across a number of sectors and offering a variety of different services – from fundraising to strategic planning; mentoring to staff training & development.  Everything from arts organisations to social enterprises, international aid agencies to local charities – and if I’m honest, that suits me just fine as it gives me the opportunity to work with an interesting range of very different organisations, while helping me to diversify my income sources too.

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Fundraising News and Mothers’ Day Ideas too!

April 1, 2011 1 Comment

I’ve just published April’s edition of Effective Fundraising, which announces the launch of Sharper Marketing & Fundraising – a great new service we’re offering with marketing consultants, Strategy Point, to help you gain more from your organisation’s marketing and fundraising.  There’s also info on new funding opportunities and a wee round up of how you can help charity while spoiling mum this Mothers’ Day (yes, it is this Sunday!).

If you’d like to receive our monthly news, ideas and fundraising tips, please subscribe.  And let us know if there’s any fundraising aspect that you’d like us to include in our regular updates.

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The Budget & Philanthropy

March 24, 2011 1 Comment

George Osborne’s second budget promised some real changes to aid philanthropic giving, particularly to the arts but with potential wide ranging effects for the charity sector in general.  So will it make a difference and encourage more people to give, more money and more regularly to charity in the UK?

Of course, time will tell but the Gift Aid reforms – essentially simplifying the system and enabling charities to ‘thank’ donors more effectively – certainly seem to be a move in the right direction that will help charities receive more money in without getting bogged down in too much administration.  A good thing for small charities in particular who often struggle with the complexity and additional layers of administration that Gift Aid can bring.  It will also help those who are perhaps not in receipt of major gifts but receive many smaller gifts, as the system will become more simple.

I am cautiously optimistic about these reforms and they are definitely a move in the right direction.  However, they are unlikely to have an immediate impact on giving and need to be supported by government investment. 

What do you think?  Can you see a potential difference to your organisation’s future philanthropic income as a result of these reforms?

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New Funding Opportunities

March 18, 2011 Leave a comment

New Funding Opportunities:

£1m Poetry & Literature Awards
The Clore Duffield Foundation has launched a new £1m programme to fund poetry and literature initiatives for children and young people across the UK. The Awards are will run from 2011 to 2015 and will allocate amounts up to £10,000 in two funding rounds a year. Schools, FE colleges, community groups, libraries and other arts/cultural organisations are eligible to apply.   

BIG Lottery have launched Improving Futures fund
Every child deserves the best start in life, but we know that some grow up in difficult circumstances. Some families experience multiple and complex problems – for example, to do with poor health, unemployment, debt or housing problems – which can affect their children’s wellbeing and life chances.  The Improving Futures programme aims to improve outcomes for children within these families.  The deadline for submitting “Expression of Interest is the 12th May 2011.  Partnerships successful at this stage will have until the 30th September 2011 to submit full applications.

Hilton in the Community Funds
Organisations that work with young people can apply for grants up to £30,000 per year for up to 2 years that meet one of the Foundation’s chosen areas of focus: disabled children; children in hospital; homelessness; and life-limited children in hospices.  The next closing date for applications is the 3rd May 2011.

Easi-Drive launched £60,000 Charitable Fund for 2011 in February
The ‘wheelsforgood’ community fund was created by Easi-Drive’s Managing Director Simon Bellamy in 2009, to give something back to the community in which the business operates. The award-winning company, which celebrates its 10th birthday this year, donated £60,000 in 2010 to a number of ‘wheel’ based projects, which ranged  from buying a new wheelchair wheel for a 2016 Paralympic hopeful to donating £10,000 to the  Motor and Allied Trades Benevolent Fund (BEN).  Commenting on the launch of the 2011 fund, Simon Bellamy said: “It’s been great to see the difference wheelsforgood made to individuals, groups and projects in 2010. We see this as a long term commitment and a key part of our corporate strategy, and are delighted to be pledging £60,000 once again this year.”

Make a Splash!
As well as running a series of training events, the Make a Splash! project also has a small grants programme, offering small voluntary groups in Scotland the chance to apply for between £250 – £2,000 so that you can try something new and help even more people discover how good it feels to take part in arts and crafts activity.

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