A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations March 2014
Introduction Since 2008, economic and political factors have brought about significant changes in the funding available to charities, community organisations and other not-for-profit organisations. The effect of these changes has been to make fundraising more competitive, more time-consuming and much more challenging. Fundraising remains a wide field, involving anything from a car boot sale to the major sums and complex applications of the BIG Lottery Fund and the competitive tendering processes of the public sector. There are many sources of funds that can be developed, each with its own particular characteristics. In the first part of this guide we look at these various sources, where to find information on them, how to choose which to develop and what is needed to gain funds from them. The second part looks in more detail at the processes and requirements of voluntary sector funders, including the BIG Lottery; public sector tendering and some practical ideas on fundraising in the community and from individuals.
Peter See Senior Consultant
Part One Sources of funding and how to find more information… The sources that will be considered are:
Voluntary sector grants o Trusts and Foundations o National Lottery o Children in Need o Comic Relief
Public sector o Local Authorities o Central Government
Business sponsorship and donations
Events and community fundraising
Income generation
Individual donations
Social Investment
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Voluntary sector grants Grants are typically funds paid up-front, or annually in the case of longer-term projects, for a proposed project or package of work. In most cases they reflect a funder’s longstanding interests; decisions on funding applications may be made anything from monthly to annually. Although there will be requirements for monitoring and reporting as part of the agreement, funding is not normally conditional on achieving any specific targets. Sources of grants include national, regional and local Trusts and Foundations
Trusts and Foundations Grant-making Trusts and Foundations have been around for hundreds of years; many have historically awarded grants from the interest generated by endowments, i.e. sums of money that the funder may invest in order to earn interest. The drastic reduction in interest rates in the wake of the banking crisis of 2008 saw many of these funders faced with a corresponding drop in the funds available for distribution. The changes in public sector funding, which we consider in more detail in the next section, have resulted in ever greater demand on the voluntary sector. The result is increasingly stringent and demanding application processes, along with reductions in the value and/or the number of awards made.
Sources of information There are many on-line directories of Trusts and Foundations. Some directories also include Local Authority contract opportunities. Some relevant examples are:
http://www.fundingcentral.org.uk/ Funding Central – managed by NCVO and funded by the Government, it is free to use and includes loans and contract opportunities as well as grants. There are three levels of search options, from a single keyword to an advanced menu driven process. There is also a weekly newsletter and an update service available.
http://www.trustfunding.org.uk/ Trustfunding, from the Directory of Social Change. Has a modest annual subscription and carries information on a comprehensive range of grant funders – hence it can be helpful in finding e.g. smaller local funders. Searching is via a series of drop-down menu options.
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http://www.grantfinder.co.uk/ GrantFinder is a frequently updated professional directory, with a dedicated support team and a fairly expensive annual subscription. A number of voluntary and community service groups subscribe to GrantFinder and will offer to run searches on behalf of members.
http://www.grantnet.com/ GrantNet is a service from the providers of GrantFinder. GrantNet has an online questionnaire-based search facility and is offered free of charge to users in qualifying areas. The GrantNet home page has a postcode-based eligibility check.
https://www.grantsonline.org.uk/ Grants Online has a search facility and latest funding news including weekly Funding Insight newsletter.
Key to searching any directory service is to think about the various ways in which your project or organisation can be described. As well as the principal arts focussed activities, think about the area in which you work, who you work with and the activities you deliver. Do beneficiaries gain access to employment or education as a result of taking part? Are your projects a response to a lack of opportunity for young people or to the level of street crime? Do you bring together different age groups or different sections of the community?
Voluntary and Community Service organisations Many of these offer fundraising advice and support services; as mentioned above some subscribe to GrantFinder and can run searches on behalf of members. They may also hold copies of published funding directories, some of which are devoted to specialist topics. For details of VCS organisations, see the National Association of Voluntary and Community Associations, NAVCA, website http://www.navca.org.uk/
Though not directly related to funding, the recently launched NAVCA Essentials, a package of business services dedicated to small not-for-profit organisations, may be of interest http://www.navca.org.uk/navcaessentials
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Community Foundations Community Foundations are county-wide organisations which typically manage a number of small local funds. Community Foundation staff offer a good deal of knowledge about the voluntary sector in their area. They are well worth approaching for support and may suggest funds which are not openly advertised. For an introduction to the work of Community Foundations and for details of the Foundation in your area, see http://ukcommunityfoundations.org/ Community Foundations also manage the Comic Relief UK Small Grant scheme.
National Lottery There are currently twelve Lottery distributors, including the Arts Council England and the British Film Institute and the BIG Lottery Fund. http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/ The biggest of the Lottery distributors, like all grant makers, the BIG Lottery Fund (BLF) is seeing increased demand. Its application processes can be quite extensive and demand careful thought and planning. Note that the BIG Lottery Fund will not fund any project it regards as proper to the activities of another Lottery distributor, e.g. the Arts Council England for dedicated arts projects. BLF does seek to fund projects which address issues and needs identified by local communities and people, e.g. they will fund a wide range of community projects aimed at developing skills, improving health, revitalising the local environment and enabling people to become more active citizens.
All BIG Lottery Funded projects must address one or more of the following outcomes: •
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People have better chances in life, with better access to training and development to improve their life skills, Stronger communities, with more active citizens, working together to tackle their problems, Improved rural and urban environments, which communities are better able to access and enjoy, Healthier and more active people and communities
Demonstrating that there is local need for the project/work, that the community is engaged with planning and delivering the project and that extensive consultation has taken place are all key elements of a Reaching Communities application. It is common for charitable organisations to underestimate the level of preparatory work that is needed and strong projects are denied funding as a result. BLF does from time to time offer smaller funding programmes focussed on very specific issues –worth checking the website regularly– however, its two principal programmes are:
Reaching Communities This is a major programme for awards in excess of £10,000. The application process is in two parts, the first – which is quite extensive - is intended to identify those applications which have a realistic chance of success at Stage 2. Key to this programme is evidence of community demand and engagement in the proposal.
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If considering an application to Reaching Communities read the guidelines and questions carefully, ring the BLF help desk for clarification if anything isn’t clear and then collect all the information required. Only proceed with an application once you are satisfied that you can answer all the questions and meet the qualifying criteria.
Awards for All
Organisations with annual turnover below £30,000 get some concessions on what they may apply for. Key once again is establishing that the proposal is something the community has identified as a need. Proposals that are simply good ideas are unlikely to succeed; solutions to a need from the community have a much greater chance. Note that Awards for All will not support salary costs.
Awards for All is for small Lottery grants of between £300 and £10,000. The Lottery’s guidelines state: “We will pay for activities that will benefit the community, including: putting on an event, activity or performance buying new equipment or materials running training courses setting up a pilot project or starting up a new group carrying out special repairs or conservation work paying expenses for volunteers, costs for sessional workers or professional fees transport costs. You must read the guidance notes carefully before filling in the application form. We have very clear criteria as to what we can and can’t fund.” http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/englan d/globalcontent/programmes/england/awardsfor-all-england
BBC Children in Need is the BBC's UK charity. Since 1980 it has raised over £600 million to change the lives of disabled children and young people in the UK. The Small Grants programme is open to charities and not-for-profit organisations, for sums less than £10,000. Details at http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008 dk4b/features/cin-grants-small-index It supports organisations working with children and young people of 18 years
and under experiencing disadvantage through: 1. Illness, distress, abuse or neglect 2. Any kind of disability 3. Behavioural/psychological difficulties 4. Living in poverty or situations of deprivation “We fund organisations working to combat this disadvantage and to make a real difference to children and young people's lives.” So if you are working with young people with disadvantages or disabilities, perhaps building self-confidence or community inclusion, this may be worth considering.
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Comic Relief’s aim is to tackle the underlying causes of poverty and social injustice. Hence it seeks projects that will bring about lasting change in the target community. https://www.comicrelief.com/apply-for-a-grant/uk/whatwe-fund Comic Relief has a UK Small Grants programme which is managed on a local basis by members of the Community Foundations network. For the fund criteria and application process, contact your local Community Foundation. Comic Relief does have two further funding schemes, its Main Grants and Special Initiatives. It is unlikely that an arts project alone would attract funding, but it might form part of a wider project to address issues faced by disadvantaged young people. Themes in the UK are:
Better Futures - Improving the lives of vulnerable young people, Healthier Finances - Tackling financial poverty, and enabling economic resilience in families and communities, as well as supporting enterprise and employment. Safer Lives - Reducing violence, abuse and exploitation. Stronger Communities - Empowering people, organisations and networks to play an effective role in their communities and society, as well as nurturing talent and leadership. Fairer Society - Helping people overcome inequality and have a say in decisions that affect their lives
Public Sector Local authorities funding is focused towards front line services, so there is very little money for the arts. Invariably public sector arts funding will go to established organisations in an area e.g. a wellestablished museum or for a one off event. The best approach to seeking public sector funds would be to talk to the service lead for sport and recreation at the local council to find out what is available, as advertising of contracts for arts projects may be minimal. Also consider partnering with a big provider who is delivering frontline services and who wants to offer something innovative, such as an arts project, alongside their work, for any tenders they submit.
Online portals such as CompeteFor enable searching of tender opportunities and you can sign up to email opportunity alerts, see https://www.competefor.com/
Funding directory services can also include details of these schemes, but it is essential to check Local Authority websites, get to know your local councillor and the Cabinet Member for the arts and ensuring that they know of you – who you are and what you do.
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Business sponsorship and donations Business support, especially from local businesses is down to individual approaches. There are few directories of business sponsorship or donations. Our approach is to look at the websites of businesses with local or regional interests, find those with suitable Corporate Social Responsibility, CSR, or community engagement policies and make an approach business by business. It is also worth searching for members of Business in the Community, www.bitc.org.uk/ a network of businesses that have pledged to support the community. Within that holders of the “Community Mark” have demonstrated their commitment with funding and / or resources, http://www.bitc.org.uk/services/awardsrecognition/communitymark/aboutcommunitymark Support from businesses can be about more than cash; in-kind support such as staff volunteering is popular with many businesses – read their websites to gain an indication of what they like to support. If they can re-design your website, write a suite of employment policies or offer any service which would be expensive to you but cheap to them, they are worth an approach. Business sponsorship is a two-way deal; the business gains something in return for its support. Acknowledgment in publicity is a given, but can you go further and offer complimentary tickets for performances or previews of an exhibition for the directors, staff and guests of a sponsor or perhaps loan art works for the boardroom or reception area.
Many businesses will combine a team building event with fundraising and look for a suitable recipient. Keeping your details in front of businesses means they may consider you as a beneficiary.
Fundraising in the Community Fundraising in the community is one of the growing sources of funding in the voluntary sector. It can not only generate income but also raise awareness of who you are and what you do. Fundraising events can be great opportunities to get friends and wellwishers involved – those people who say they would love to help but don’t wish to attend regular meetings. Ideas for events are almost endless, see https://www.charitychallenge.com/pdf/a -z_fundraising_ideas.pdf for an A-Z of ideas (there are more than 26!)
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Income generation
Equity Foundation, pef.org.uk/
What skills or assets do you have that others would value? Could you hire out your premises? Could you offer arts workshops to schools, community groups or even businesses as a teambuilding event? Do you charge admission for performances or exhibitions? Could you give talks about the history of theatre or music to service clubs or community groups in return for a fee?
Individuals
It can be difficult to identify income generating ideas when you have been closely involved in an organisation for some time; try asking someone who understands what you do to contribute.
http://impetus-
This is an evolving and emerging source and smaller investors may well emerge. One organisation worth checking is the European Venture Philanthropy Association, EVPA, at www.evpa.eu.com
People generally only give if they are asked. Who to ask? Anyone who has an interest: audiences, visitors to exhibitions, former participants, well-wishers. A simple flyer can invite a donation, carry a Standing Order instruction for their bank and include a Gift Aid declaration for any taxpayer.
It’s OK for charities to earn income, though if it becomes a significant proportion of turnover it would be wise to consider setting up a trading subsidiary.
Social Investment Social Investment is included here for completeness. Although the approach has been around for some time, central Government and a number of major Trusts and Foundations are increasingly looking to business-style cash plus skills investments. Think about Dragons’ Den and you are not too far away. They are looking for financial as well as social returns and tend to look at the whole organisation, not just a project. Thresholds for these investors are high, typically £1M - £1.5M turnover. If you do wish to pursue this, seek specialist advice. The Government-backed Social Investment Business Group, www.sibgroup.org.uk/ would be a starting point, or for an independent body try Impetus-Private
Keep careful records of those donors – taking the requirements of the Data Protection Act in to account – they might give a bit extra for a one-off appeal or be willing to help in fundraising events. Make it easy for people to give – think about a Click to Give option on your website and get your details on online giving websites such as: • Bmycharity • Everyclick • Justgiving • MyDonate • Virgin Money Giving Saying thank you isn’t just good manners, it can be an opportunity to encourage further donations. Offer to include donors on your newsletter distribution and send invitations to all your events.
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Part Two Getting started
Plan ahead
All groups need some money to carry out their services or activities. So, although you would probably rather get on with the ‘real’ work of running your group, you also have to spend some time planning and raising funds. If everyone in your group, or on your committee, takes fundraising seriously and gets involved in thinking it through, then you are much more likely to be successful. Once the whole group has decided what money needs to be raised, by when, and how, then the actual job of raising it can be allocated to a smaller group. But make sure that they report back regularly on progress.
Raising money can take quite a long time. Community fundraising events frequently need to be planned a year, or even more, in advance in order to secure suitable venues, advertise in appropriate publications, book guests or celebrity speakers etc. Corporate sponsorship campaigns ideally should target businesses when they are preparing their budgets for the following year – which can be 6 months or more in advance.
Keep records Keep a record of all the funders you approach, with the dates that you approached them and the outcome. This is useful information for the future – giving you an idea of who you can go back to and when.
Funders can take a long time to respond and have their own timetables which might not fit with that of your project or organisation. For example: • Local authorities and government bodies may only invite applications once a year. • Some charitable trusts only meet once or twice a year • Some special funds only invite applications every three years So, as a general guide you would be advised to apply for money at least six to nine months before you actually need it. Once you get going you should get into the habit of planning your fundraising needs two years ahead. This is especially important if you are employing salaried staff.
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Some legal considerations Before you start applying for money you will need to consider whether you need any of the following: • A written constitution – most funders will require some sort of constitution or written set of rules • Registering with the Charity Commission opens up more funding opportunities. To become a Registered Charity you must normally have an annual turnover of over £5000. You should also have: • A committee, willing to become a Board of Trustees • A bank account with two independent signatories • Last year’s accounts • Insurances • Meet health and safety requirements
Equalities Ensuring equality of opportunity and access should run through everything you do and it is something that funders will ask about. Is membership of your group and access to your activities or services open to everyone in the community you are set up to serve? For instance, if you are running a drop-in centre can people using wheelchairs get into the building? If you are providing a service to clients in a diverse area, do you have workers or volunteers who can speak the relevant community languages? All of this should be documented in an Equalities Policy, taking note of the nine “protected characteristics” defined in the Equalities Act 2010.
Other policies There is an almost limitless number of policies that could be drafted; think about the way you work, what needs to be written down for the smooth running of the organisation and the safety of all participants. For example, working with children and young people (and with vulnerable adults) will require a policy on safeguarding and the Disclosure and Barring Service (formerly the CRB Disclosure). Model policies are available on most topics; Voluntary Action Islington has a comprehensive suite of model policies – commendably available free of charge, see http://www.vai.org.uk/services/modelpolicies-and-toolkits/
Keep up to date Whilst you do not want to be ‘money led’, you do need to keep up to date about funds and new pots of money. Some suggestions: • Get into networks with groups doing similar work. Subscribe to relevant journals, where they are available • Make sure that your group is on relevant mailing lists or email lists • Consider subscribing to sector press such as Third Sector, Professional Fundraising, Charity Times, Charity Funding Report
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Fundraising skills You may think that there is no one in your group, or not enough of you with the experience or skills to fundraise. Don’t panic – help is available. You could send people on a training course or get advice and information from local or county fundraising specialists, such as:
Cambridgeshire Cambridgeshire ACRE http://www.cambsacre.org.uk/ Cambridge, S.Cambridgeshire and Fenland: CCVS enquiries@cambridgecvs.org.uk East Cambridgeshire: VCAEC info@vcaec.org.uk Huntingdonshire: Hunts Forum info@huntsforum.org.uk
Norfolk Norfolk Rural Community Council http://www.norfolkrcc.org.uk/ West Norfolk CVA http://www.westnorfolkvca.org/
Peterborough Peterborough Council for Voluntary Service http://www.pcvs.co.uk/
Suffolk Community Action Suffolk http://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/ Think about working together with similar organisations. Trusts and Foundations and most public sector buyers are happy to support partnership or consortium applications; special requirements that arise are to ensure that there is clear agreement on who will do what and especially ownership of reporting and accounting, both financial and delivery. Some funders state they will only consider applications from Registered Charities; if you are not registered, ask if they will consider a joint application with a Registered Charity who will act as fund holder. If you need an introduction to a suitable charity, The Bridge will be willing to act as a broker! A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 12
Applying to Trusts and Foundations • • • • • •
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Read the funder’s published guidelines Ensure your proposal is consistent with the funder’s values and interests Don’t be afraid to split the proposal into smaller components, approaching particular funders for particular requirements Request an appropriate amount consistent both with the sums you have managed and the sums the funder has previously awarded. Watch out for deadlines, especially in online applications. Contact – Does anyone in your organisation know any Trustees of potential funders? – Speak to the funder’s administrator if at all possible. With few exceptions they are helpful and constructive. Even if they say an application is unlikely to succeed, they have at least saved you a lot of wasted time. – Who can they speak to? Remember to include in your application detail of who a funder may speak to. There may well be questions they would like to clarify – sometimes at very short notice. Establish the need for your proposal. Funders expect solutions to demonstrable community needs. Proposal and Objectives – say what you are going to do Identify Outcomes – how will beneficiaries’ lives be changed by your proposed activity? Establish Credibility – describe your history of delivering services and activities. Use case studies, quotes and photographs to bring it to life. Organisation – Say who you are, your Mission and Values; who is involved and how is the organisation structured? Finance – unless the organisation is a Registered Charity with turnover in excess of £25,000, your accounts are unlikely to be in the public domain. Attach a copy of your latest accounts and explain any major changes in income or expenditure. Unique Selling Point – what makes you different? Keep it concise (around 2-3 pages) and use plain simple English wherever possible. If a detailed professional or specialist description is important, consider putting it in an annex and quoting the main points in the body of the proposal. Include a cover letter which is printed on headed paper.
A little bit more… Once you have considered the major points above, think about: • Title of project - something short that captures what you will do • Include a half-page summary if the proposal is unavoidably lengthy • Project plan – give the timetable of activity • Monitoring and Evaluation – how will you demonstrate the impact of your project, progress and can you measure value for money? Monitoring and Evaluation has become a major strand of funding applications. Its detailed treatment is outside the scope of this guide, but for ideas see Prove and Improve http://www.proveandimprove.org/ or the Charities Evaluation Service website, http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/
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• • • • •
Budgets and Funding plan for all but the smallest proposals, how have you arrived at the costs and how will the project be financed? The request should ask for a specific sum and say what it will achieve The application should be signed by the Chair or Chief Executive. It is a courtesy to the funder and demonstrates that the organisation is committed to the proposal. Make sure that correct contact details are included. Presentation – in written applications, use colour, pictures and bullet lists; use headings and divide into sections.
Disadvantage Working with disadvantaged communities or with disadvantaged young people frequently appear in funders’ criteria. So what constitutes disadvantage? Economic disadvantage is most commonly measured by the Indices of Multiple Deprivation, IMD. This is a government ranking of areas of the country, looking at a number of factors including income per head, how low income affects children and young people, availability of services etc. It can go down in some cases to quite small geographic areas. The rankings are based on a three-yearly survey, 2013 results should be published shortly. The whole survey is available at https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-indices-of-deprivation-2010 but is heavy work to understand. Most Local Authorities publish an extract relating to their own area and these generally prove a more usable source. It can also support an application to explain factors such as rural isolation – the impact on quality of life and opportunities that results from living in sparsely populated parts of the country.
Public Sector Tendering The environment The Open Public Services White Paper published in 2011, outlined the Government’s intended plans for reform of public services. The paper sets out a series of principles which the Government intends to apply to its intended reforms: These principles are: Wherever possible we will increase choice. Public services should be decentralised to the lowest appropriate level. Public services should be open to a range of providers.
We will ensure fair access to public services. Public services should be accountable to users and to taxpayers.
(Open Public Services White Paper 2011) The reforms set out plans for enhancing greater choice for individuals over the services they receive, and devolving control over the delivery of services to individuals and communities. There are exceptions of some local and national
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services such as tax collection, prisons, emergency healthcare or welfare to work, cannot be devolved beyond local or national government structures and will be subject to delivery in house, but more and more often will be outsourced to private and voluntary sector providers. Traditionally, the local authority and central government would tender for bespoke services designed to tackle a specific problem. However, over recent months, there has been a greater move throughout the country to use ‘framework’ agreements, where the tenderer invites organisations to tender to become part of a framework of providers, who will be the only organisations invited to tender for larger, fewer and longer contracts as and when the opportunities arise, or be the only organisations on a supplier list for ‘call-off’ work. You will therefore be tendering in an environment of increased competition with larger private sector companies, who can offer economies of scale and in some cases have stronger systems for quality, monitoring and financial management. In addition, there is a greater emphasis on ‘payment by results’ and outcomes/outputs based contracting. This means that you will paid a smaller ‘service fee’ with a greater additional payment achieved for the achievement of a specific output e.g. someone moving into work and sustaining their job for 6 months. Relevant sources of public sector contracts include: Local authorities; Skills Funding Agency; Department of Health/PCT’s Department of Work and Pensions; Department of Education; Department for Culture, Media and Sport Local Economic Partnerships;
The Process E-procurement has become more and more common. This is where you access an online portal to register interest and tender for a contract. So that you can keep abreast of tendering opportunities and be ready to tender when they arise, it is advisable to take the time to register on the tender portals for your local authority and other government departments relevant to your work. There are also a range of tender alert services – Business Link provides a free service, others can be expensive. It is recommended that you supplement tender alert services with your own Google searches (weekly), checking government websites, as well as keeping your ear to the ground. Every tender you are not aware of until the deadline date, is a missed funding opportunity. Tenders are usually a staged process. Beginning with an expression of interest, a typically tender will follow the following stages: Expression of interest: The buyer will request that interested suppliers submit an expression of interest. This is so that they can plan for the expected numbers of tenders they will have to evaluate. Once they have received your expression of interest, you will normally be invited to the next page of the tendering portal, or be sent with appropriate documents and instructions. Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ): The buyer will evaluate the suitability of an organisation through a separate prequalification questionnaire, before inviting successful organisations to the next stage (ITT – see below). Here the buyer is trying to assess how financially
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sound your organisation is, how much experience you have, whether you comply with legislation, whether you as an organisation present a risk to them. However, the reality is that tender processes are often rushed, and so the buyer will combine the PQQ with the ITT – you will need to score highly on both to have a chance of success. Invitation to Tender (ITT): Here the buyer is trying to assess whether you can deliver the specification to an appropriate level of quality, manage the service soundly and meet your targets for outputs and price. Post Contract Negotiations: In theory, what you have said you will deliver in your tender is fixed for a period specified in the terms and conditions of the ITT. In practice, there is usually a process after the buyer has selected their preferred supplier, where the buyer will want to negotiate on aspects of the submitted tender. At all times, the awarding authority will set out the schedule for procurement, which will outline each deadline – not only your deadlines for submission, but also their deadlines for answering questions, evaluating the tenders received, conducting interviews and negotiations and the date they want the tendered service or project to start and finish. They will always publish specific instructions about how the tender should be submitted, provide annexes, a specification, background information and offer the facility for asking questions. Before you tender: prepare to fail
Fail
to
prepare,
Tenders can be lost or won well in advance of when the tender itself is advertised. There are some key things you should be doing, even when not involved in a tender process.
Identify and allocate the resources needed to write tenders as part of your organisation forecast: Writing tenders is time-consuming, requires input from a range of sections of your organisation, invoke costs for printing and delivery, and is a costly business. Allocate adequate resources in your budget and staffing. Develop strong delivery partnerships: Developing good partnerships which are effective, will help you achieve greater coverage, better efficiency, increase your access to expertise and resources. It will also mean that you will have a readymade supply chain which you can call upon when you want to tender. Likewise, where your partners are in a stronger position to tender than you are, it means you can subcontract with them and still get a bite of the cherry! Be involved strategically: Get yourself on local forums, strategic partnerships, involved in local authority consultation work. Encourage inward visits to your organisation from key stakeholders and take the time to visit others. This will give you access to insider knowledge, current research, best practice and potential partnerships. Review your management, finance and monitoring processes: You will only get paid if you deliver your targets, can evidence achievement and remain within budget. This means that you have to have strong management, finance and monitoring resources and processes. You will nearly always be asked about this in your tender, so it is worthwhile conducting an exercise where you consider:
The effectiveness of your financial controls and the suitability of the people responsible for finance within your organisation; The strength of your management resources and the ways in which you manage your existing services;
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Who is involved in the collation of evidence of achieving outputs and outcomes – are they the right people, how much involvement/ownership do your beneficiaries have over the process? Is there a risk of inaccuracy (either accidental or deliberate)? Do you allocate enough time and resources for management reviews? Are the KPI’s you set sufficient to give you the data you need to identify small problems before they become failed delivery? What level of objectivity do you achieve?
Quality assurance and measuring impact: Commissioners answer to MP’s and theoretically the public. Therefore in spending public money, they want to be sure they will achieve the impact they want and deliver something which is high quality. You will need to be able to evidence your ability to do this in your tender, so again, it is imperative that you:
Achieve quality assurance accreditation – you will be competing with organisations who have achieved Matrix, ISO, PQASSO etc; Evaluate your work, capture data on your beneficiaries and measure the impact your work has in the community and to individual users and organisations; Assess best practice and lessons learnt.
Writing your tender There is no magic formula for writing tenders. There are numerous variables which you can never account for, such as who you are competing with. Be prepared to fail at tender writing more times that you will ever be successful. Develop a thick skin, learn from your
mistakes and keep trying. You have got to be in it, to win it! However, there are some things you must never fail to do when writing any tender. These can seem obvious right now, but when you are in the middle of a tender process, are very easily forgotten. Assess if this tender is right for you: Read all of the documentation and then read it again. Ask yourself: Can you deliver the work in the way they ask? Does it make financial sense for you to tender? Do you meet the eligibility criteria? Can you manage potential TUPE obligations? If you can’t say yes to all of the above – do not waste your time tendering. Identify your offer: You need to decide how you are going to deliver the services they ask for and how you are going to ‘sell’ your organisation and approach. There may be a specification, but it is up to you to design the project. Therefore you need to:
Identify your USP, added value and community benefits; Select your partners and work with them to develop the project design; Identify how you can improve on the specification; Collate good delivery examples; Check the evaluation criteria and weighting – particularly in relation to price. This will give you an idea on how to pitch your proposal as it will help you understand what their priorities are. E.g. 60% weighting given to price means that they are looking for value for money;
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Co-ordinate your tender writing effectively: Tenders take over your life! You need to develop a time-bound plan for writing your tender which should include time for:
Attending workshops; Holding planning meetings with staff and partners; Checking question and answers updates every day; Enabling drafting and re-drafting to take place; Delays in uploading the tender to a portal or posting/couriering your submission to the buyer.
Successful writing: Your tender is your sales pitch. Do not be scared about being pushy, passionate or even cheesy! It’s your only chance at shining and you have to stand out from the crowd. Some tips which have worked in the past: Use clear and succinct language, but make it personable. Always remember, people buy in to people; Avoid jargon and abbreviations other than the jargon and abbreviations used in the specification; Use the specification as the basis for your answer and then use your proposed methods to ‘dress the window’; If the questions ask for a series of points to be answered – answer them in the same order as they are asked; Use pictures, photos and diagrams if you can; Use examples to evidence your claims; Don’t be afraid of showing what you have learnt when things have gone wrong in the past Use quantifiable evidence of your track record and expertise, as well as a qualitative explanation Always stick within the page or word limits specified. If there is nothing specified, you write as much as you need to, as long as you are still using clear and succinct language;
Double check that you have not missed anything from the specification out or from any amendments or further information provided through the question and answer process; Get someone else who has had no involvement in the tender writing to read through what you have written;
The million dollar question – what do commissioners want? Always remember that the commissioner is spending public money, and therefore they will want to contract with organisations who can offer:
Added value and value for money; Financial viability; Ability to manage complex services and supply chains; Quality and performance – ability to deliver the service; Understanding of the market, beneficiary group and locality; Risk management; Innovation.
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 18
Businesses The value of having known contacts within businesses – warm leads as opposed to cold leads – cannot be overstated. Your Trustees, staff and beneficiaries are all ambassadors for your organisation, so ask them to sound out their friends and acquaintances for support. It is helpful to give everyone a simple, 2pp, brief so that the same message is used and have someone coordinating approaches to avoid everyone converging on the same business! The brief should explain how much you are seeking and what the money would enable you to achieve. Include a description of the ways in which any award would be acknowledged and think about making a sponsor or donor feel special – such as privilege tickets to a performance or exhibition or a cheese and wine reception beforehand. Check business websites for examples of their interests and past support; likewise, research the support that organisation similar to yourselves have received.
Fundraising in the Community Any fundraising event will require careful planning; they can be costly to run and you don’t want the negative publicity of a poorly run or poorly supported event. Events are a great opportunity to draw in people who don’t wish to have a regular commitment; Plan carefully including timescales and schedules; divide work into manageable packages and delegate to teams or individuals as appropriate. Ensure that everyone knows when work needs to be completed and to whom they should report any problems. Don’t forget to ensure that insurance policies cover your proposed activity.
And finally… • • • •
Successful fundraising is about building relationships Say “Thank You” Send Newsletters, press releases, announcements to your funders Send Invitations or tickets, to your performances, exhibitions events.
Suffolk Office: 01394 610581 London Office: 0207 239 4969 www.charity-fundraising.org.uk
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 19
Appendix Funder prospect research Grant-makers can change their funding priorities when seeking to address a new need, implement a new application process or for numerous other reasons. Most will advertise changes on their website just before they take place but, in some cases -particularly where there is no websiteapplicants can easily miss new criteria and application procedures. For this reason, always check funding criteria before applying and do not assume that prospect research is entirely up-to-date. The matrix below is correct in terms of information available on 20th January 2014. Results are presented in alphabetical order by funder name. Organisation / Grant Scheme
Funder Priorities
Geographic Priorities
Adnams Charity
General, the arts
Within 25 miles of Southwold
Alfred Williams Charitable Trust
Local, Performing arts
Annie Tranmer Charitable Trust
Anton Jurgens Charitable Trust Brigadier and Mrs D V Phelps Charitable Trust
Registered Charity?
Suitable grant request
Application Procedure
Application Deadlines
Comments
£100-£2,500
in writing
7th March 2014 for April meeting
The Trustees except to see the result of its donations within twelve months
Suffolk
£1,000-£2,000
General, education
Suffolk and adjacent counties
£1,000
in writing Letter of introduction - no unsolicited applications
Welfare, general
South East England
£1,000-£3,000
in writing
n/a Trustees meet twice a year in June and October
General
Norfolk
£100-£5,000
in writing
rolling
Weblink http://adna ms.co.uk/ab out/theadnamscharity/howto-apply/
rolling
Have previously supported charities in Suffolk
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Cambs Community Foundation Catalyst Charitable Trust
Small charities
Chapman Charitable Trust Charles Littlewood Hill Trust
Range of grant programmes
Cambs
Small charities in particular schools
Suffolk
Culture
Clore Duffield Foundation
Must be a registered charity
Children (including schools) Small-scale community endeavours, cultural sector including performing arts learning spaces
DC Moncrieff Charitable Trust
Must be a registered charity
Social Welfare, currently no further requests for funding invited
Earl Fitzwilliam Charitable Trust
Eastern Counties Educational Trust Limited
General Education, training, care and welfare of people with special educational needs, particularly those under 25 with emotional and behavioural difficulties.
range of grants no grant amounts listed
see website
see website
in writing
rolling The trustees meet twice a year, usually around the end of March and the end of September.
rolling
Cambs
£1,000-£2,000
in writing including short summary of project
Norfolk
£2,500
in writing
£5,000+
in writing two sides of A4
no deadline
Norfolk, Suffolk
no grant amounts listed
Letter of introduction
n/a
Cambs, Peterb’gh
up to £5,000
in writing
rolling
£5,000
application form from the contact
rolling
Suffolk, Norfolk and Cambs
No appropriate funds open at present
http://www.c ambscf.org.u k/grants.html
http://www.c hapmanchari tabletrust.org. uk/index.html
http://www.c loreduffield.or g.uk/page_su b.php?id=73 &parent=35
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 21
Eranda Foundation
Esmee Fairbairn Suffolk Fund
The Arts The fund will support a wide range of initiatives that are designed to improve the quality of lives of vulnerable people especially those living in the most deprived communities in Suffolk. We are particularly keen for organisations to address some of the needs highlighted in Suffolk Community Foundation’s Hidden Needs Research. Arts:Applications are welcome from organisations which are testing new approaches of working and pioneering new ways of engaging with audiences and supporting their local community. Organisations should be working with harder to reach groups and/or be addressing difficult issues.The fund will not support one-off pieces of work (i.e. an exhibition or theatre production).
£10,000£20,000
Suffolk
£10,000£30,000
in writing
application form
rolling
17th March 2014
http://www.s uffolkcf.org.u k/grants/esm ee-fairbairnsuffolk-fund/
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Foyle Foundation Ganzoni Charitable Trust
Need to have charitable status
Small charities working at grass roots and local community level, in any field, across a wide range of activities General charitable purposes, capital projects
Suffolk
Geoffrey Watling Charity
General
Suffolk and the Needham Market area Norfolk and Waveney District of Suffolk
Goodman Trust
Education
Norfolk
Geoffrey Burton Charitable Trust
Henry Smith Charity County Grants
General
Young People Projects and services that help maximise the potential of young people who experience educational, social and economic disadvantage; including young people in, or leaving, care.
Suffolk
£1,000£10,000
application form
no deadlines
£1,000-£2,000
in writing
£1,000
in writing
rolling 28 February, 20 May, 31 August and 15 December.
in writing
rolling
in writing
rolling
no grant amounts listed no grant amounts listed
up to £10,000
Suffolk County grants currently closed due to all funds being allocated
rolling
http://www.f oylefoundati on.org.uk/sm all-grantsscheme/
Excludes arts projects, unless able to evidence therapeutic or rehabilitative benefits to: older people; disabled people; vulnerable groups; prisoners, or young people experiencing educational, social and economic disadvantage (such as young people in, or leaving, care).
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 23
John Ellerman Foundation
Must be a registered charity
Arts (Theatre, Music and Dance): Performing arts organisations should demonstrate some of the following:national significance in the nature or quality of the workbringing the performing arts to people who would not otherwise attendinclusion of new and emerging talent as a part of their overall programme of work (ie the development of talent is not the organisation's main focus)innovative approaches.
John Gilpin Trust
Must be a registered charity
General Arts, education
John Jarrold Trust
Leslie Mary Carter Charitable Trust Lord CozensHardy Trust
Welfare organisations: will need to refer to disadvantage Education, welfare, general
£30,000+, multi year funding
Two stage process stage one is a maximum of 2 sides of A4 in writing
East Suffolk
£1,500
in writing
rolling Application s are considered in April and October
Norfolk
£1,000-£2,000
in writing
rolling
Local projects in Suffolk and Norfolk
£5,000
in writing
rolling
Norfolk
£1,000
in writing
rolling
Occassionally they fund organisations that work locally, for example if a programme has good potential for replication or being rolled out on a larger scale. Need to have an income of £100k+
http://ellerm an.org.uk/
http://www.j arrold.com/ The trustees prefer well thought-out applications for larger gifts, than many applications for smaller grants.
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Small community projects benefiting disadvantaged young people, Norfolk - based activities Projects for young people (ages 12 to 25 years) suffering from isolation in deprived towns or rural areas in Norfolk and Suffolk. Relief in need, disadvantaged young people
Martin Laing Foundation
Mason Trust Mickleham Ann Byrne Charitable Trust Mills and Reeve Charitable Trust Mills and Reeve Charitable Trust Morgan Blake Charitable Trust Mr and Mrs Philip Rackham Charitable Trust
Norfolk
£500-£5,000
in writing
rolling
Norfolk and Suffolk
range of grants
application form
31st March 2014
Norfolk
£1,000
in writing
rolling
General
Norfolk
£1,000
in writing
rolling
General
Norfolk
£1,000-£2,000
in writing
rolling
General
East Anglia
in writing
rolling
General
Norfolk
in writing
rolling
£1,000-£5,000
Norfolk Community Foundation
Range of grant programmes
Norfolk
range of grants
see website
Pennycress Trust
General charitable purposes
Norfolk
£100-£500
in writing
see website Trustees meet regularly
Education in the community
East Norfolk
£1,000-£2,000
in writing
rolling
Ranworth Trust
No grants to nonregistered charities
http://www.l aingfamilytrus ts.org.uk/mar tin_laing_foun dation.html http://www.t hemasontrust .org/funding/ funding-fororganisations /
No appropriate funds open at present
http://www.n orfolkfoundat ion.com/fund s.htm
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 25
Scarfe Charitable Trust
Simon Gibson Charitable Trust Smith and Pinching Charitable Trust
Suffolk Community Fund - Suffolk Fund and Private Funds
Arts and musical projects No grants to noncharitable bodies
General
Education
Addressing need within Suffolk, Core Costs, Project Costs
Suffolk
£1,000-£2,000
in writing
Trustees meet quarterly
East Anglia Norfolk, Suffolk, Cambs
£3,000-£5,000
in writing
End of March 2014
£500
in writing
rolling
Suffolk
up to £2,000
application form
31st January 2014
Applications for the Suffolk Fund are welcomed between deadlines as we hold various Private Donor grant panels throughout the year who may be able to consider your application.
http://www.s uffolkcf.org.u k/grants/suffo lk-fund-andprivatefunds/
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The Cole Charitable Trust The DG Marshall of Cambridge Trust
Opportunities for young people, Arts and culture
General, local charities
The Holst Foundation
Arts
The Pye Foundation
General particularly young people
Trustees meet to consider applications twice a year usually in April/May and October/No vember, applications should be received six weeks before the meeting and precise deadlines are available on the website.
Cambs
£500
application form
Cambs The Trust has historical links with Aldeburgh in Suffolk Cambs and the immediate surrounding areas
£500
in writing
rolling
£3,000
in writing
Trustees meet four times a year
£2,000-£5,000
in writing
rolling
http://www.c olecharitable trust.org.uk/
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 27
Community based projects supporting young people Rural Issue, Urban Deprivation: Arts: projects which enable the disabled and people living in areas of need and poverty to participate in the performance arts and to experience artistic excellence in the performing arts; projects which encourage and give opportunities to young talented people whose circumstances might otherwise deny them (but not bursaries or fees);
The Tresillian Trust
Trusthouse Charitable Foundation
Wingate Foundation
Need to be a charitable organisati on
Performing Arts
Admin office is based in Norwich
£2,000-£3,000
up to £9,999 towards running costs
£5,000 per year
in writing
rolling
application form
rolling
http://www.tr usthousechari tablefoundati on.org.uk/ind ex.html
application form
4th April, 23rd June 2014
http://www. wingatefoun dation.org.uk /
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 28