Successful fundraising: trusts & foundations

Louise Farnell, @Capidalewww.capidale.co.uk

Our approach

7 principles of a great project…

Question: How many applications are written to trusts and foundations each year?

In 2010, 361,149 ineligible applications were made to the largest trusts & foundations.

If each application takes 10 minutes to write (clearly it doesn’t!), ineligible applications equated to 7 years of wasted effort (source DSC).

Principle no. 1

Some examples from funders…

• 46% of applications to Big Lottery Fund’s RC programme between May – June 2012 were ineligible

• A third of all applications to BBC Children in Need fail either because of technical mistakes or ineligibility

• “Almost half the applications we receive are outside our guidelines in some obvious way” John Ellerman Foundation

Principle no. 2

Evidence the need

• National, regional or local Government plans • Gaps in current provision• Research you or others have done• National or local statistics• Ask your beneficiaries (consultation)• Quotes & case studies are the icing on the cake –

not the evidence

This is evidence…“We consulted with the School Council consisting of 10 children, representing each class, and also with the Friends of Bradley School, consisting of teachers, parents and grandparents. Both groups are highly supportive of Bradley Film Club and we have incorporated their views into the aims of Film Club. We then consulted with the broader community. Over the course of a week, everyone visiting the village shop was given an outline of Film Club and asked whether they are supportive of the plan. There was unanimous support for the idea: 110 people responded across all ages: 28% aged under 20, 15% aged 21-40 years, 26% aged 41-60 and 31% aged over 60. Typical comments were “Fantastic idea needed for this village” and “Good for the community”.

Principle no. 3

Question: How many charities are there in Yorkshire & Humber?

Why partner?

• Funders are concerned about overlap

• To increase both your impact and your experience

• “Organisations working in partnership demonstrate that they are on the front foot”

Major UK funder

Principle no. 4

Service user involvement

Not another steering group…

Principle no. 5

Impact not just beneficiary numbers

• What change is the funder trying to bring about?

• What needs to change in order to address the need you have identified?

increased wellbeing, reduced isolation, improved mental health, a pain free hour

• Identify what is and isn’t in your control

Principle no. 6

Measuring impact

• Typically between 3-10% of budget should be spent between monitoring & evaluation

• Independent external evaluation

Principle no. 7

Sustainability

Or the exit strategy…

• Strategies built into the project to ensure sustainability

• Strong evaluation to create a replicable model or leverage more funding

Anyone for coffee?