Bid Writing Workshop Market Warming Steve White – T.A. Manager Sheena Vella – T.A. Officer

Submitting a Quality Application Writing Better Bids Submitting a Quality Application

Finding the Right Funding Before you begin decide on your project idea What does your project wish to achieve? Who will the beneficiaries be? What services will you offer? What area will you work in?

What do you know about these? Types of Funding Grant-making Trusts and Foundations Statutory Funding Community Fundraising Lottery Funding Companies What do you know about these?

Grant-Making Trusts and Foundations Specifically established to distribute funds to good causes Must be charitable activity and within the criteria in their trust deed Mostly small, one-off grants often not including core costs Increasingly funding employability projects

Grant-Making Trusts and Foundations Prefer projects which make money go further by levering in other funds Larger trusts may be prepared to take risk and support “hard-to-fund” projects www.trustfunding.org.uk

Statutory Funding Includes government funds, local and health authority grants, European funds Grants are given to further the statutory funder’s objectives Larger and longer grants than trusts and more likely to fund core costs More bureaucratic and inflexible Application process may be complicated and drawn out with more than one stage Will be guidelines and support for applicants

Statutory Funding Contact your local and health authorities Opt-In Organisations (OIO), DWP, GLA, Skills Funding Agency, and London Councils European Funding – Regional and National

Lottery Funding Distributed by a number of organisations: Awards for All Arts Council Lottery Heritage Fund Big Lottery Fund Sport England UK Film Council and others. www.lotteryfunding.org.uk

Community Fundraising Money organisations raise themselves Activities could include: Trading – sale of services, publications etc. Sponsored activities Fundraising events Consider what is right for your organisation and the kinds of people who would be sympathetic to your work.

Companies Not particularly useful for small VCS groups Often only small amounts of one-off grants Many companies only give to well-known charities Some companies can provide help in-kind e.g. free legal advice, second-hand furniture, free use of premises/rooms. Need to contact individual companies www.companygiving.org.uk

Deciphering the Jargon Funding Jargon Worksheet

Aims To enable To improve To empower To increase To reduce e.g. The aim of …… is to enable long-term unemployment adults to gain the necessary skills to secure permanent employment

Objectives Must be SMART Specific Measurable Achievable Relevant Time-bound e.g. To provide five 12-weeks training courses in ESOL to assist 60 refugees with their English skills.

Activities Description of individual steps required to achieve objectives. e.g. Five 12-weeks level 1 ESOL courses each comprising 12 3-hours guided learning sessions, 4 1-hour job search, 4 1-hours tutorials and 4 6-hours open learning with access to IT facilities.

Resources Staffing Premises Volunteers Materials Administrative support

Outputs Activities Services Numbers Products Results The details here should be purely factual and quantitative and must relate to the objectives. e.g. 35 refugees completed CACHE level 1 course e.g. 36 weeks of NVQ training undertaken with an average attendance of 18 young people.

Outcomes Describe the expected changes that will take place for service users Qualitative changes Anticipated changes E.g. Reduction of unemployment amongst the target group in the targeted borough E.g. Increased English skills for 90% of refugees completing courses

Outcomes Your outcomes should reflect your aims You should be able to monitor and measure them in some way You should evaluate the outcomes of the project and use the findings to improve services

Submitting a Quality Application Key points to remember when submitting a funding application

Be Prepared Do you need to register your interest? Read the prospectus/guidelines carefully Ensure you have suitable systems in place Apply for a budget you can cope with

Clarity Explain fully how project fits with funder’s priorities/target groups Answer all parts of each section clearly Quantify outputs clearly Use bullet points

Good Practice Read the whole form before you start Fill in the straightforward sections first Ensure all those involved with the delivery and monitoring of the project have a hand in writing the application Ensure managers have ownership of project

Good Practice Share your first draft with colleagues Test the clarity of the aims & objectives by presenting them to colleagues If you have answered the question fully, stop writing! You are not obliged to fill up each text box.

Planning & Organising Ideas Use Clear English Planning & Organising Ideas Consider what your reader already knows Think about what you want to achieve Plan key points in logical order and leave out unnecessary information Check spelling, grammar and punctuation Ask colleagues for comments on drafts.

Keep Language and Layout Simple Use Clear English Keep Language and Layout Simple K.I.S.S (Keep It Short and Simple) Avoid jargon, pompous expressions and unexplained initials and abbreviations Use layout to improve clarity Use lists, charts and tables to present complex information

Keep Language and Layout Simple Use Clear English Keep Language and Layout Simple Use short sentences of 15-20 words Use headings to signpost the document Use active rather than passive verbs (e.g. We will deliver 10 courses not 10 courses are to be delivered) If English is not your first language seek help.

Cross-cutting Themes In the application you will be asked about one or more of these 2 themes: Equal opportunities Sustainable development

Bid-writing Workshop Common Mistakes Scoring Exercise

Common Mistakes Huge number of funding applications are ineligible Mostly due to not reading the guidance properly Applications take a lot of time and energy Don’t waste it through carelessness!

Community Grants 203 applications out of 534 were ineligible in 2006 137 were due to not providing the correct financial information – Incomplete last annual account No bank account given Other reasons included – Organisation not eligible (staff/turnover too high) Asked for too much money Didn’t state project actions

Awards for All 74% of applications are ineligible Main problems are missing information – Bank statements Bank account details Referees Constitutions Contacts’ dates of birth Almost all eligible applications are funded!

LSC London North In one co-financing round 145 applications of which 48 were funded 18 ineligible for following reasons: Missed the deadline Incorrect supporting documentation Activity didn’t match criteria Requested too much money