Needs-Led Fundraising for Sustainability

This article has been compiled from material written by Kate Smith (of Goosegrass Culture), for the Rebuilding Heritage training programme, ran by The Heritage Alliance.

Read the original article here.

Preparation: Start From Who You Are

The very first step is to find focus. When presented with a funding opportunity, ask yourself if you really want to do the project, whether it fits with the strategic aims of your organisation. To know this, you will need to have done the groundwork.

Adopting a group approach saves time, improves morale and also gives everyone an understanding of what they can realistically achieve. However, one person needs to needs to research and understand the funders as well as lead, co-ordinate and write the funding applications.

Fundraiser Core Tasks: ‘Research, Writing, Relationships and Reporting’

The person responsible for the fundraising should be focused on the crucial elements of research, writing, relationships and reporting. The final element, reporting, can be critical for future success: organisations that need to be chased for reporting and outcomes could find themselves getting a bad reputation.

Work with your team to pin down the answers to some simple questions:

• Who are you as an organisation?
• Why do you exist?
• What do you do?
• Why are you contemplating a funding ask — what is the issue or current situation that needs to change or improve?
• What is the difference that you can make — and the change you can achieve?

From here, you can expand and answer further internal research questions, which begin to weave in a funder’s point of view.

The Funder’s Perspective: What Will They Want to Know?

• What is the issue or problem you want to overcome or improve?
• Why is your organisation best placed to solve it?
• Who will benefit and how? This can include both primary beneficiaries and also secondary groups who will gain some advantage.
• What difference will the donor’s support make?
• What will they get back in return that meets their own objectives?
• Does it fulfil their criteria, interests and motivations?
• How much do you need and when?
• Who else is supporting this idea and how will you secure all the funding?
• Can you link smaller amounts to specific actions that might appeal to one particular funder? However, try not to end up with restricted funding that can only be applied in a very narrow way.

Create a scorecard — and focus on applications most likely to succeed

Once you’ve built up a picture of your project — both from the funder’s perspective and your own — you can start creating a 1 — 5 scorecard when a funding opportunity emerges. This gives a simple way of sifting out those who are a poor match for your mission, and those who are a very good fit.

It can be especially useful for deciding whether to invest time in greyer areas. For example, is this funder a relatively low-scoring ‘2’, but with one aspect of your ask that might really grab them? How does that compare with the other options on your list?

This will help you make reasoned choices when the answer is less obvious.

Applying for a Grant is Like Applying for a Job

There are many similarities between applying for a job and applying for a grant. Just as you might highlight different aspects of your skillset to different potential employers, you also need to consider where to place emphasis in your quest for grant funding. Mirror what the funder is looking for in what you tell them and how you phrase it.

DO use sentences such as “having read your grant criteria, we believe we meet them in the following ways…” to emphasise the connections between your plans and the funder’s aspirations.

Budget is often the first sift

When deciding what to exclude, funders often look at budget first, asking if what is proposed is a realistic match for the amount asked. You may be passed over for asking for too little as well as for too much, if they believe you can’t adequately deliver on your promises with the sum requested.

The cultural sector has a particular tendency to underestimate the amount of staff time needed to deliver. Increase your chances of success and lay the foundations for a happier project by being realistic on this point.

Good reasons to apply on time — or early

Many funders can’t consider applications sent late. Ideally, you should not see the deadline as the target to meet — hitting send on the stroke of midnight on the last possible day. Some funders will look at bids as they come in — getting your application in early gives them time to ask you questions before the pressure of the selection process. They may also simply have more leisure to consider and appreciate your pitch if it comes in ahead of the pack.

Although this isn’t always the case, you are in general doing yourself a favour by submitting early if you can — although obviously not at the expense of sending a weaker application.

Got questions? — make this a feature, not a problem

Many funders are open to enquiries before putting in an application. If you genuinely have a question that you can’t answer by looking at the funder’s website, do get in touch with them — this is a good way to begin a relationship.

Too often we hide behind emails and avoid the phone. If you call, make sure you are not interrupting. You might say “I just want to talk through some questions on your fund, so I don’t waste your time with an application — when is a good time for a chat?”

Make sure that the person that you are talking to, or emailing, is conveying the reaction of the funder, not a personal view. If you ask, “is X project something that would interest you?” — then you apply and get a swift refusal, perhaps that person isn’t the decision-maker. You might instead want to ask, “Is this the sort of thing that has been successful?” or, “Is this the sort of thing your trustees would consider?”

Read through the funder’s website in some detail — it will often have vital information. If you then have further questions, let them know you have done your homework. “I see you say X on your website, and wondered if that applied to [your project idea]”. This will in turn encourage them to take you seriously.