1. Tips for a Successful Funding Application
Your county, your voice our support
Tips for a Successful Funding Application
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2. Overview of this session
Charitable Trusts, special funds and the lottery have always been an important source of funding for community projects. There is a lot of competition for this funding which means to be successful, Parish and Town Councils have to be very good at:
Evidencing the need
Demonstrating they have consulted and involved the beneficiaries
Identifying the outcomes (change) expected
Measuring the impact achieved
This short session will provide some guidance and tips to confirm what you may already be doing or be encouraged to start working to make your applications successful.

3. Are you ready to apply?
I assume most Parish and Town Council are on top of the basics:
Governance
Accounts and finance
Land ownership or leasing
Have all appropriate policies (approved with renewal date)
Up to date with monitoring reports for existing grants
Other key points:
Is the Parish/Town Council the best body to apply for funding. Should or could it be lead by a local community group or charity?
Can you help local community groups with their applications?
If the funding is replacing statutory funding it is unlikely to be successful.

4. Many smaller funders like to be First or Last Bricks!
Know your funder:
What are their:
Aims and objectives
Priorities
Track record of what they have funded, average grant size
You will need to show them:
How you have identified the need? – consultation and research you have done
How you have involved stake holders and proved there is a demand
Why your the project is the best way of meeting the need
How your project fits in with local, regional or national plans/strategies
How your project compliments existing services/provision or fills gaps?
Many smaller funders like to be First or Last Bricks!

5. What funders are looking for:
A real need and a real change – Your project has to focus on the need and outcomes of the funder. Better sports facilities – so what! Now it is:
People are more active
People are healthier (physically and mentally)
Less isolated
Developing the next community activists
Involved and consulted with the community meaningfully.
Their voice is present
Solution designed around them
There is a clear demand
An impact/outcomes focused solution
Don’t assume it’s obvious!
It has to meet the need (make sure your solution meets the need identified).

6. Tips Be prepared: Do your basic research now and keep it up to date
Know where to find your statistics
Have a local strategy
Know how it links to the district, county, regional or national strategy
Be a listening Council by going out, asking and be open to hear new things:
Make consultation part of your culture (encourage, value and welcome it)
Develop the tools (Newssheets/ meetings/ informal chats)
Record and share the feedback
Build Partnerships:
With and between community groups
A big advantage to start now rather than wait for the funding opportunity
Start monitoring now:
Develop your base line (who uses park and for what and how often)
Future proof it. Design it so it can capture the change when it happens

7. Evidence of need The Big Lottery Fund (BLF) defines need as:
 “the term we use to describe a problem or issue, or situation where something needs to change to make things better, for a person, a group of people, an environment or an organisation.”
What funders are looking for is confirmation that your organisation has thought carefully about need when designing your project, and that you are confident that that your service users want the services you are offering.
They will expect you to show evidence that demonstrates
There is a need that is not being met or not in a way that people find helpful
That this can be proven through statistics and consultations
That what you are planning meets the needs identified?
That people want the solution you are offering

8. Finding Evidence http://cambridgeshireinsight.org.uk/
Gov.UK Statistics:
NOMIS Official Labour Market Statistics
Employment/unemployment, wage rates, qualifications etc.
Public Health England
Health profiles by district

9. Proving Demand
Asking people (e.g. through door-to-door surveys, postal questionnaires, informal/formal interviews or public consultations)
Records of unmet demand (waiting lists, letters from agencies who want to refer people)
Existing research (NB this should be recent as peoples needs change and new services may have been set up since the research was carried out)
Evaluation of existing services, which should include recognition of whether other organisations are carrying out similar services or targeting the same service users in your local area or not.
Letters of support from existing or potential stakeholders
Statistics showing the needs within the target community.
Strategies which show that your project fits into wider needs for services - The Joint Strategic Needs Assessment (JSNA)

10. Partnerships
Partnership development begins long before any project gets off the ground.
There are many different types of partnerships, and many different reasons that you might want to develop them.
To help you generate ideas, or develop content
To help you to design your engagement activity
To share their skills and knowledge to ensure the activity is a success, and others may be prepared to put resources into the activity
To help you develop relationships with different audiences.
However before you get started it is important to think through why you want to work in partnership, and why partners might want to work with you.
Tip:
Invite involvement at the start. When you are developing your ideas. Partners may be able to advise you on potential difficulties or on the logistics; and they may have ideas that you might never have thought of. Involving partners at the start ensures that their needs and expectations are considered. It also means that you get a diverse set of views about how to move forward.

11. Monitoring and evaluation
Plan and design at the start of your project. Funder will want to know what you will monitor and how.
To Start
Establish your base line (where change is measured from)
Involve volunteers and members in collecting information
Get other organisations on board will collecting/sharing information with you
Data protection. Ensure people know what information collected is going to be used for and that it will be anonymised
Attend a CCVS/Support Cambridgeshire workshop on monitoring and impact
Will your monitor show:
Did the activity or project achieve what we wanted it to?
Who benefited from it?
What did people think of it and did it make any difference to them?
Could we have done it better?

12. Designing your monitoring Framework
Cambridge Council for Voluntary Service
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Evaluation Framework Example – Adapted from NCVO charities evaluation service
Outcome
Outcome indicators
Information collection method
When and by whom
How to report and use
People in the community have increased levels of activity and social interaction
People are aware of what activities are available
Number of people who visit the park
Number of people attending various organised activities
One to one interviews
General questionnaire in newsletter
Facebook comments 
Register of attendance at activities
Volunteers on set days in park carry out count and questionnaires
Responses from newsletter and Facebook collated by clerk
Returns from organised groups using park . Clerk
Evaluated by recreation and sports committee
Key findings published in newsletter and used for planning.
Existing grant monitoring
Impact
Output indicators
Information collection method
When and by whom
How to report and use
People are healthier (physically and mentally)
Nos attending lunch club
Nos referred to lunch club
Questionnaire for general public
Feedback from activity members
Feedback from GP practice
Volunteers on set days in park.
Activity organisers
Recreation and sports committee
Clerk
Evaluated by sports and recreation committee
Key findings published in newsletter
Used in grant monitoring

13. What next?
Support Cambridgeshire:
CCVS:
Hunts Forum: ACRE: