The purpose of your fund raising efforts is to get the money you need to cover the costs of your activities. Most of your costs will probably be day to day running costs like rent, photocopying, telephone and perhaps wages: i.e. revenue costs. Some of your costs may be capital, such as items of equipment or work needed on buildings.
However, it is far easier to raise money for something specific, like a piece of equipment or a particular activity or project, because funders want to feel that their money is doing something: and to be able to see what their money is doing.
This presents a problem for many groups. The main need is often for ongoing revenue yet many charitable funders are not interested in this.
The way through this is to ask funders to pay for things which contribute towards your general running costs but which are clearly defined and specific. You need to be able to think about your work in "project" terms: in terms of "chunks" or "pieces" of work which can be clearly defined and measured, and importantly, costed.
Those areas of work which are less attractive to funders, like photocopying or rent, need to be "packaged" up within projects so that these costs can be met.
There are several issues to bear in mind when approaching your fund raising in this way:
Be creative in your project thinking. Design projects in ways which are attractive to funders.
Specific | an aspect of your work or item of equipment which is clearly identifiable
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Meeting a need | you should be able to identify and describe the need you are meeting and to say how your work will address the need
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Important | to you, your users and the potential funders
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Of benefit | the outcome should be effective and worth while
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Realistic | the project must be achievable
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Cost effective | the project should demonstrate value for money. While this is not the same as cheap, you need to ensure it is not needlessly expensive
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Topical | if possible it should reflect current concerns and practices
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Relevant | to the funders concerns
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Bite-sized | it should be an appropriate size for the funder: neither too large nor too small. Larger pieces of work can be broken down into smaller parts if necessary. |
When you have a project or a piece of work you are looking for funding for, take it through the above check list and see if you can improve its "fundability".
For more specific help from RVA’s Funding Advice service email fundingadvice@rva.org.uk
May 2011
Reading Voluntary Action promotes strength within Reading's voluntary sector by providing information, access to resources, volunteer recruitment and training to people who work in or with charities, community groups and voluntary organisations.
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