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

2. Submitting a Quality Application
Writing Better Bids
Submitting a Quality Application

3. 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?

4. 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?

5. 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

6. 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

7. 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

8. 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

9. 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.

10. 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.

11. 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

12. Deciphering the Jargon
Funding Jargon Worksheet

13. 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

14. 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.

15. 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.

16. Resources Staffing Premises Volunteers Materials
Administrative support

17. 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.

18. 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

19. 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

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

21. 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

22. 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

23. 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

24. 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.

25. 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.

26. 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

27. Keep Language and Layout Simple
Use Clear English
Keep Language and Layout Simple
Use short sentences of 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.

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

29. Bid-writing Workshop
Common Mistakes
Scoring Exercise

30. 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!

31. 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

32. 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!

33. 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