1. Approaching the National Lottery and Trust Funders
By Kathy Roddy
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

2. Why do applications fail?
Some reasons relate to the way applications are written (good ideas, poorly presented)
Others have nothing to do with the way the application is written
Asked to talk about the former, not the latter, but need to touch on this.
ASK THEM:
No relationships
Accounts: reserves
Don’t fit criteria
Miss deadline
Wrong postage!
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

3. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
Researching funders
Guide to the major trusts, Volumes 1 and 2 (Directory of Social Change)
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

4. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
The rest of this workshop will look at how applications are written, including:-
What you say
What you don’t say
How you say it
Hand round ‘bad’ application.
They do exercise.
Tone is negative
Aspirational language: ‘hope’
No clear ask
No evidence of need
No evidence of benefit
No personalisation
They’ve left it too late!
Compare with ‘good’ letter
10.15am
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

5. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
EXERCISE
You will be given two letters to compare – share your thoughts about them with your neighbour
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6. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
Much of what you write should be based on RESEARCH
No amount of writing skills will conceal the fact that you don’t have an answer to a question
E.G. Why is horse-riding a good thing? What are the benefits?
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

7. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
You must write about your RECIPIENTS (beneficiaries, users, clients….)
You must describe their NEEDS
You must describe the OUTCOMES of your work
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8. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
3 COMMONS ERRORS
One of THE most common errors is not answering ALL the questions on the form (Awards for All estimate that 2/3rd of applications fail on this alone!!)
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

9. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
Another common writing error is answering the wrong question: e.g. the funder asks about OUTCOMES and you write about OUTPUTS
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

10. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
Not backing up assertions with evidence (this is more commonly a research failure rather than a writing failure)
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

11. The most difficult questions
What is the need for your project?
How have you established this need?
What difference will your project make to your beneficiaries?
How will you know you are making a difference?
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

12. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
Writing about need
Don’t make bald statements like
“There is a desperate need for youth facilities in Newtown”
“Many Gypsies and Travellers suffer from mental health problems”
“There are no facilities in Newtown for disabled people to ride a horse”
First statement is meaningless
Second statement – says who? How do you know? Where is the evidence for this claim?
So what? Stating that something doesn’t exist is not a case for saying that it should! (note 2nd letter – paints a picture of social exclusion – George)
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

13. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
Writing about need (2)
Back up assertions with facts:
“Newtown is in the top 5% in the Government’s scale of deprivation (no. 577 out of 32,482). Education deprivation is also one of the highest in the country (no. 495 out of 32,482). This means that we see children of eleven who lack basic skills in reading and writing.”
Evidence plus what YOUR experience is (OR give a case study – George)
Tomato example
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14. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
Writing about need (3)
“Research published in the Journal of Psychiatry shows that Gypsies, Roma and Travellers suffer a greater level of depression when compared with the settled population. The suicide rate amongst this group is also significantly higher. This is attributed to…..” (Professor X)
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

15. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
Writing about need (4)
You need to find and cite the relevant statistics
You need to find and cite the relevant RESEARCH
You need to boost this data with your own findings / experience
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16. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
Finding the research
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17. Evidencing outcomes (1)
OUTCOMES are not the same thing as OUTPUTS
OUTPUTS tend to measure how busy you are
OUTCOMES refer to the difference you make to the lives of your beneficiaries
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

18. Evidencing outcomes (2)
Outcomes may be soft or hard:
80% of students passed the exam (Hard outcome)
Students reported a greater sense of self-confidence and esteem (Soft outcome)
Again, you need EVIDENCE of outcomes
10.50am
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

19. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
Don’t just say…
“Horse-riding makes the children feel better.” “Our clients enjoy the basket-work therapy sessions.” “Our group-work sessions are very positive.”
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

20. Say instead (or as well)….
“The results of this study suggest that hippotherapy has a positive effect mobility, co-ordination and mood in children with cerebral palsy.” Journal of Neuroscience….
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21. Tools you might want to mention
The Rickter Scale
The Outcomes Star
The Spirit Level
The SOUL Record
All these tools measure ‘soft’ outcomes
Talk about the Reaching Communities bid
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22. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
So…
“After 8 weeks, the clients engaged in group work reported an improvement in personal motivation. This was measured using the Rickter Scale. Clients were asked to rate their motivation on a scale of 1 to 10 and after 8 weeks had improved their score by an average of 5 points.”
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

23. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
Writing style (1)
Use plain English
Avoid jargon, acronyms and abbreviations (or define them first)
Do not waffle
Use short words, sentences and paragraphs
Break up the text with headings, bullet points, paragraph breaks etc.
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

24. Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy
Writing style (2)
Use active language (“we plan to…” NOT “we hope to…”)
Tell a story (use case studies)
Include a picture
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

25. Structuring a letter (1)
Project title (make it interesting!)
Summary box
Introduction – Who you are
About your project
The need for your project
Who your beneficiaries are
What the beneficiaries needs are
How you have established their needs
2 sides of A4 – but check guidance notes!
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

26. Structuring a letter (2)
The outcomes of the project
Who will benefit
How many will benefit
How they will benefit
Describe hard and soft outcomes
How you will run the project
Main phases of work
Timescales
Who will do the work
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy

27. Structuring a letter (3)
Monitoring and evaluation
Cost of the work (budget)
Where the funding will come from (amount already raised)
The “ask”
Why you are asking this funder
Thank you and invitation to visit
Kathy Roddy Research and Consultancy