Grants
Definition
Grants are the provision of funds given for a specific purpose usually through a competitive tendering process. The main sources of grant giving organisations are charitable trusts, National Lottery, public sector organisations (e.g., Local Authority and PCT’s) and Government backed initiatives.
The first step is identifying the key points of the development that will be important to any potential funder. This means you will be well prepared for any queries made.
- Marketing Data: Demand and Need:
- Who will benefit from your project, why will they benefit and how?
- What makes your project unique or different?
- Will you be delivering something new? Is it innovative and creative? If so, how has this been tested? What are the anticipated outcomes?
- Is this a new project/business or is this an extension to a project you already run? If so, why do you need to expand?
- Can you benchmark against other projects?
- Have you undertaken a feasibility study?
- Do you have statistics to support your projects need and demand?
- How does your project fit into local, regional or national strategies?
- Can you obtain references to support your project?
- How will you promote your project?
- Outputs are a quantitative series of deliverables that will happen as a result of your project: for instance 10 people will achieve an NVQ Level 2 or equivalent, 50 people will gain employment, 500 people will use your new building per week to access community services.
- Outcomes are the wider changes, which you anticipate occurring as a result of your project. Depending on what your project will deliver, outcomes might be related to behaviour, skills, knowledge, attributes, attitudes, value or perhaps, condition.
- Milestones are important dates or events in the life of the project. They show the timetable of the actions or deliverables that you want to achieve within the project life.
- Money: “Full Cost Recovery” (FCR):
- Have you included salaries and employer on-costs, apportioned overheads and running costs, direct resources, management, finance and administration support, marketing costs and delivery costs? Do you need outside support to deliver? If so, have you included these costs?
- Does this include capital expenditure? If so, you may need to arrange for at least three different quotes to demonstrate value for money (VfM).
- People:
- How does this fit within your organisation?
- How does this fit within your staffing structure?
- Who will manage the project?
- What internal resources will you need to ensure the project is effectively run, managed and delivered?
- Do you have the resources to deliver?
- What skills and experience do your delivery team have or need?
- Legal, Risk and VAT:
- You need to consider the impact on VAT. If you are undertaking a large capital project, it could be worth obtaining a VAT Scoping Report which will outline the best form for VAT.
HMRC provide guidance on VAT: http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/vat/rates-explained.htm - Consider the risks of your project – it’s time to use those SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats) and PEST (political, economic, social and technological) analysis. There are external sites which provide advice and information on completing SWOT and PEST analyses; http://www.businessballs.com/pestanalysisfreetemplate.htm
http://www.businessballs.com/swotanalysisfreetemplate.htm these give you information on how to complete both analyses and provide free templates for you to use.
- Will you need to set up a new company, charity, CIC or other Legal form for your new project? You may need to take advice on the best legal form.
- Exit Strategy
- Your plan needs to consider how long your project will continue for and how this be sustainable?
- If you have a building or property, consider how it will be maintained and who will do this.
Going through these questions allows you to calculate the costs and risks of the project. It puts you in a far stronger position to face funders.
There are a variety of grant search tools, some of which are free and others require a subscription.
You may need to consider using multiple grant funders to fund one project – this might be down to their eligibility rules and the total amount of your project.
It can help if you can show you are willing to put in money and are willing to take a loan. But, note that some grant funders prefer to fully fund a project in its entirety, whilst others may only want to contribute towards your project.
If you need to search for grants, there are a variety of tools on-line that can support you in your search. Often, you need to experiment to find the best search facility that meets your requirements – beware, some are free and some charge. Here is a list of some of the most used facilities:
http://www.grantnet.com/ offer free advice and guidance on their website on some of the steps to submitting a good application and provide free search facilities for grants.
http://www.funderfinder.org.uk/ provides free resources on their website to assist organisations to apply for funding, but does not offer grant search facilities.
http://www.grantsearch.co.uk/ offers a subscription based grant search facility, providing you with access to over 2500 grant funds.
http://www.grantfinder.co.uk/ is an online subscription based organisation and can provide access to 6,000 grant funds.
http://www.fit4funding.org.uk/ is an online subscription based organisation and provides access to newsletters and grant search facilities.
There are other ways that you can search for grants. Often good opportunities for grant funding come through networks that you are part of. It is worth taking the following steps to ensure that you are ‘keyed in’ on all local opportunities. Make sure you are registered for events, courses, newsletters and mail-outs:
- Register with your local CVS (Community and Voluntary Service).
- Find out who is on your local LSP (Local Strategic Partnership). Often they are in charge of distributing grants, which have a local focus.
- Who in your area distributes regeneration funding? Start with your Local Authority.
- Who commissions services and grants within the PCT in your area? Often there are multiple strands within the PCT and you may need to register with more than one contact.
- Who commissions grants within your Local Authority? Obtain the Strategic Plan for your local area and look at what services you deliver fit into the vision for the area.
- Look for online organisations that might offer support in your field, e.g., social enterprise; http://www.sesc.info/. You might benefit from registering with organisations in your field, particularly if they are notified of grant opportunities.
Most grant providers require a letter or application form completing. Before applying try to research other organisations that have been funded in the past. Try to gain an idea about whether you are likely to be funded.
Always read the grant funders guidelines in full. Ensure you meet their eligibility requirements and that your project fits within their priorities. You may need to balance conflicting priorities when deciding who to apply to and for what.
In order for a grant funder to release funding, they must be satisfied that you have the ability to deliver and that it matches their priorities. Often they will provide guidance on what costs are eligible (e.g., salaries, running costs, capital equipment purchase, buildings acquisition) and often they will state which they will fund and which they won’t. If your project matches their strategic aims, but some of the costs are not eligible, can you meet these costs another way (perhaps in-kind contribution, through another grant funder, loan application)? Similarly, you might find a funder who will fund the financial costs, but it might mean you have to consider compromising on the deliverables. For instance, your category might be working with people aged 8-16 and their eligibility might cover working with all people aged 10-18. To apply, you might need to consider the impact to your project if you change the ‘target beneficiaries’.
If the impact is too great, you wouldn’t achieve what you are setting out to do or the intended benefits would be compromised, you would need to ask whether this is the right funder for you.
Often charitable trusts are governed by a panel. Try to establish why the Trust was established, who is on the panel and what they might be looking for. This can help you ‘sell’ your project to them.
Where possible, opening dialogue with a funder prior to application submission can help strengthen your case. Often you can obtain valuable information, support and guidance and this will increase your chances of success. Remember that some grant funders do not allow canvassing. Always ensure you follow their rules.
Make sure that you have sufficient resources available to submit a strong application. Have you gathered all of the information you need? Often grant funders ask you to submit supporting evidence like; feasibility study and business plans, annual accounts and reports, references and letters of support, quotes (for capital build programmes), policies and procedures (particularly those which have a focus on vulnerable people).
It is better to apply knowing that you have prepared fully and have a strong case than submit a weak application. Ensure that you have sufficient time to meet their deadlines. If you are late submitting, they will discount your application. The key is in the planning. Map out at the start what you can produce and when. Is there anyone who can support you within your organisation, check his or her availability, before commencing on applying.
It can be worth employing a consultant who has a track record of success, particularly if you don’t have supporting resources.
It’s great when you are successful and obtain the grant(s) you have applied for. Dependent on the grant you are applying for, competition is tough and you need to be able to stand out from the crowd. You have between a 5 and 20% chance (dependent on the funder) of success – don’t pin your hopes on one grant only, it’s likely that you may not always succeed.
Where possible, always ask for honest feedback. Record the feedback and learn for the next submission.
Ensure that you profile realistic targets. You have to be able to meet and evidence the targets you agree with any funder.
Don’t ‘chase grants’. If you hear of a last minute grant that must be applied for with a short lead time ensure that it meets your organisations objectives.
Remember ‘free money’ is not free! Grants come with strings attached, milestones to achieve and evidence to supply. If you don’t deliver, you may need to return some or all of the grant (claw-back).
Accredited courses may give an insight into planning for bidding, winning and managing grants: Fundraising Skills offer a pay-for virtual on-line course accredited to Level 3 http://www.fundraisingskills.co.uk/community.html
Your local CVS (Community and Voluntary Service) may offer discounted or free courses – it is worth finding your local CVS and registering on their mail-out list.