Raising funds for digital projects Introduction

Sustainable funding: project to service Funding projects is relatively easy…...Compared with funding services How do you know when your project is a service? When you are trying to keep it going for the long term

Creating sustainable projects: key issues Think about the on-going costs and service issues before ever starting the project Cost for tomorrow, not just for today Think of a number and then double it … …but remember that some of the costs are almost unknowable, such as preservation Think of institutional implications of long-term projects/services

Creating sustainable projects: questions to ask Is this a project or deliverable that can just be signed off at the end? very few are … What are the long-term issues in technological support? In human support? Is this a resource that is useful for the long term? What are the long-term costs likely to be?

Institutional issues Many projects do not come with overhead costs Which means that they are a net drain on institutional resources This is perhaps not significant for a small number of projects But it can cause crisis if there are large numbers of projects

Costing digital projects Be realistic, even if it makes the project look expensive, and think of all the components we discussed this morning don’t undercost just to get the money. You will regret it later don’t promise what you can’t deliver Cost EVERYTHING, even if you don’t necessarily pay for everything staff time, overheads, rent, phone, etc etc Everything has a cost, even if you don’t pay money for it

Overheads These are hidden but very substantial costs they are usually calculated at a fixed level for an institution, to cover cost of buildings heating, lighting, phones, etc services: library, computing service, system support, networks they are costed in the region of 40%-100% on top of staff salaries (the UK’s Arts and Humanities Research Council has just increased overheads from 46% to 80% even with this, projects may cause financial problems for institutions

Sources of funding A good track record is the best guarantee of further funding So make sure that projects are well-run, and involve funders in them throughout Even if things go wrong, funders can be understanding and the project can still be a success Keep funders on your side!

Sources of funding Look to designing modular projects with components which can be funded by different funders Funders are more likely to give money to start a project than to finish one But components of projects which are new and innovative in themselves can be funded separately

An example: Forced Migration Online Started in 1997 as the Refugee Studies Centre Digital Library project Funded by Andrew W. Mellon Foundation $500,000 Followed by a project to create a major portal with $1,000,000 funding from Mellon The first project created the ideas for the second, bigger project

Sources of funding Public Government funding Higher Education Lottery/Heritage Lottery Fund Research councils European Union

Sources of funding Private Foundations (Mellon, Ford, Gates, etc) Individual donors (Rich People) a difficult area needing professional fundraisers can take a very long time Corporate the most difficult area to fundraise in companies will have fixed agendas may be compromising--tobacco funding, arms funding

Some key points Make sure you know what you want to do And only bid for funds to do that--don’t be diverted by calls for proposals that are not in your main path Try to create long-term relationships with funders or potential funders Build and keep a good track record Beware donor-driven projects

Some key points Fundraising is very time-consuming so be focused about it Be creative there may be sources out there that you don’t know about--find out and pursue them Make sure that all staff are aware of the need to raise funds

Some key points Create a culture of fundraising Digitization is a relatively new area, so there are few institutional imperatives to engage in it, but it does engage the imagination of many funding bodies