London Cold Spot Collaboration

Contents Need Aim of collaboration Overview for collaboration Benefits for charities and social enterprises Benefits for funders Who are The Fore and how will it work Timetable for pilot Looking longer term Next steps

Need Funders are finding it hard to get grants into London “cold spots” (outer London Boroughs). We know: There is significant need within communities Many excellent community organisations already exist But Hard to attract good applications Lack of resources to undertake due diligence needed Hard to provide the tailored support the organisations need

Aim of Collaboration To provide tailored funding and skills support to high quality community organisations based in London “cold spots”. Partners and roles so far: London Funders – convening and advocacy The Fore – grant-funding, due diligence, M&E, coordination of impact measurement Mayors Fund for London – convening, advocacy, fund-raising Other Funding Partners tbc – grant-funding, expertise, advocacy

Overview of Collaboration Partners commit in principle to London Cold Spots collaboration. All partners “market warm” through their own channels. The Fore assesses all applicants through its due diligence process. Grantees selected Funders “bagsy” grants which meet their specific criteria All grantees access The Fore’s “venture philanthropy” support

Benefits of collaborative approach Charities and Social Enterprises: Single application point offering exposure to multiple funders Reduced barriers to access Access to skills support and training Feedback on applications Impact measurement support

Benefits of collaborative approach Funders: Increased ability to fund in “cold spots” across London and to build the capacity and potential of community organisations in these areas Ability to match grants to individual funder criteria whilst taking in collaborative effort Ultra-low-cost (For pilot The Fore will undertake all DD and M&E at no cost) Ability to provide all grantees with skills support and training Opportunity to publicly demonstrate collaborative working while retaining autonomy over funding decisions

Who are The Fore? Early-stage grant-maker for small (income >£0.5m) SPOs in the UK Set up to simplify the pathway to accessing funding and skills Launched in 2017 after successful 4 year pilot Unrestricted grants of up to £30,000 offered over up to 3 years £2m distributed as 76 grants since launch Average grant £28,000 Access to skills and impact management support 89% success rates in grantee organisations achieving transformational change

Assumptions and Intentions of Cold Spots Fund Applicants are operating with extremely limited resources Applicants are more expert in their field than we are Applicants are best placed to identify the opportunities to transform their own organisations— although assessors can be instrumental in facilitating this The funding process is designed to: Encourage applicants to undertake basic overview strategic thinking Request information that, if not readily available, once produced will be useful in future Level the playing field – no advantages for experienced fundraisers Use as little of applicants’ time as possible

What the cold spots fund will be looking for Transformational Impact of Grant on Organisation Strength of Leadership Strength of Organisation Financial Situation X-factor

How we will find the best grantees The assessment process is rigorous: Team of highly-skilled, strategic professionals with a minimum of 15 years experience e.g. former , exited entrepreneurs Assessors sift, interview and work with applicant organisations to find the best leadership, draw out and articulate the impact the grant will have and how this can be measured. The assessor produces a single page report for the panel including KPIs for the organisation and skills gaps. Assessors advocate for the applicant at the panel.

Application Process – 12 weeks 1000+ per year 30% ~ 5% ~3% Review of pitch document (max 3 pages) Interview and due diligence with Consultant Grant Assessor Funding Panels of funders, corporate Members and small SPOs experts Grants and skills support awarded Feedback to all applicants “The process was more valuable than funding.” Unsuccessful applicant

Case Studies of funding in Cold Spots JAGS Foundation – London Borough of Croydon Grant Autumn 2017 – £20,000 Year 1 £10,000 and Year 2 £10,000 Wellgate Community Farm- London of Barking and Dagenham Grant Summer 2017 – £24,276 Year 1 £12,138 and Year 2 £12,318

Potential Timetable for Pilot June Funders confirm participation in theory July Market warming Funders collectively spread word about the fund Mayors Fund for London convenes The Fore targets “Application Preparation Workshops” in cold spots – pre-registration available 29th July Registration for funding round closes. Applicants given 5 weeks to submit application document Sept-Nov Applicants work with The Fore assessors Mid Nov Assessors present best applicants to panels – funders welcome End Nov Funders convene to choose which grants to take on (or through portal) Jan 2020 Evaluation of Cold Spots pilot collaboration

Funding model can be white-labelled if required Looking Longer Term Funders may wish to continue the “cold spots” fund as part of their regular grant making strategy. Funding could be offered three times per year, in line with The Fore’s regular funding rounds. Funding model can be white-labelled if required Potential to promote local-collaborative model nationally Due diligence and support costs c.15-20% in addition to funding

Next steps: What would be needed from Funders Commitment in principle to participate and idea of individual funders decision- making timeframes. Indication of level of funding available for “cold spots” fund – suggested minimum £30,000 Indication of any likely restrictions on funding e.g. children, Barnet only etc

Let’s collaborate!