The Value of Small Grants - ACF · Presentation Title Presenters Sarah Thurman, United St Saviour’s harity Rachel Oglethorpe, Peter Minet Trust Ajay Khandelwal, Lambeth and Southwark

The Value of Small Grants

Presentation Title

Presenters

Sarah Thurman, United St Saviour’s Charity

Rachel Oglethorpe, Peter Minet Trust Ajay Khandelwal, Lambeth and Southwark Mind

John Griffiths, Rocket Science


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Exercise

• Discuss and agree ONE TOP PRO and ONE

TOP CON of a small grant programme

• Groups 1 and 2 from the perspective of a funder

• Groups 3 and 4 from the perspective of a recipient


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Introduction to the Session

• Context • Purpose of today

- Value - Effectiveness - Cost benefit - Maximising impact

• Structure


Take Aways

- Cost Benefit

- Charity Perspective

- Considerations for Funders

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Wider Context

• Grants are back in fashion . . .

• . . . as is place-based funding

• Remember the “Grant-making Tango”?

• Grants functional standards . . .

• The value of small charities and civil

society organisations

• Don’t mention the “B” word . . .

• A time and a place for impact

measurement


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Research Project – Key Lines of Enquiry

The review considered four main questions:

1. Are small grants of £5,000 and under of value? If

so, what kind of value, and to whom?

2. What have the Trusts’ small grants programmes

achieved over the last three years?

3. What are the main challenges that organisations/

groups face?

4. How might the two Trusts (re)position their

programmes to maximise their value in future?


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Research Methods


Stage/approach

Explanation

Desk research Desk-based review and analysis of investments, applications and monitoring returns over the

last three years, as well as looking at experience of other small grant programmes.

Survey – over 120

responses

Explored the value of the grant as seen by recipient organisations /groups; the challenges

that they face in the current funding climate , and asked grantees to reflect on what

funder(s) could do differently.

Workshop with 22

grantees

Enabled discussion with grantees on the three questions: What are the benefits of United St

Saviour’s and Peter Minet Trust’s small grants? What challenges do you face as an

organisation? What could United St Saviour’s Charity and Peter Minet Trust do better?

Interviews with

grantees

Delved into the survey questions in greater detail and informed a number of case studies for

the external version of the report.

Stakeholder

interviews

Gathered insights from key stakeholders, including their reflections on small grants, the

challenges that organisations/groups face and how local funders can maximise the impact of

their grant giving.

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The value of small grants to local organisations/groups

• Filling a gap - small grants fund things others don’t

• Benefiting organisations of all sizes – not just volunteer-

led community groups

• Enabling new activities, but also supporting the delivery

of existing programmes

• Unlocking further funding – as well as a source of

organisations’ first-ever grants

• Small(er) particularly volunteer-led groups really value

the non-bureaucratic micro grants of £500


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Challenges and Opportunities – for grantees and funders


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Challenges and Opportunities – for grantees and funders


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Small grants – “very necessary, if not very sexy”

• Funding for small, one-off activities . . .

• Funding to stand still . . .

• Funding what works . . .

• Funding to bring people together . . .

• Funding the same organisations year on year . . .

• Funding things which don’t demonstrate a hard return on

investment . . .

• Funding “below the radar” of other funders . . .

• Funding which bridges the divide between the helper and the

helped . . .


Assessing Cost Benefit; Measuring Impact

● Affordability

● Proportionality

● Accessibility

● Practicality

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Some Resources https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/grantmaking-tango-issues-funders

http://localtrust.org.uk/search?s=measuring+impact

https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/sys

tem/uploads/attachment_data/file/722193/Grants-Standards-

Guidance-INTRO.pdf

https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/research/making-the-most-

of-funding/impact-and-outcomes/measuring-the-value-of-your-

project

https://www.jrf.org.uk/report/grantmaking-tango-issues-funders












https://assets.publishing.service.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/722193/Grants-Standards-Guidance-INTRO.pdf










https://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/research/making-the-most-of-funding/impact-and-outcomes/measuring-the-value-of-your-project





























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The Recipient Perspective


Ajay Khandelwal

Lambeth and Southwark Mind CEO and Clinical Director

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Recipient Perspective - The Positives

HOPE


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SPEED


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TRANSITIONAL OBJECT


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HUMAN CONTACT


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EXPERIMENT


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Recipient Perspective - The Negatives

PRECARIOUS


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UNPREDICTABLE


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TANTALISING


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NAIL-BITING


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Lambeth and Southwark Mind


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The Recipient Perspective

• Ajay Khandelwal


Rachel Oglethorpe Director

Peter Minet Trust

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Funder Responses: The Peter Minet Trust

Challenges 1. Oversubscription – 78 %

1. Place-Based but Desk-Based - difference made?

1. More Small Grants going to bigger charities


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We asked ourselves……

1. Is a high volume small grants programme the

best use of our funds?

2. Is it what charities want and need from us?

3. What are our options without increasing costs?


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What is valued:

• Funding core costs - 74% of our

grants go to core costs

• Funding what others won’t fund

• Local and trusted

• Efficient and proportionate

What we can do better:

• Large, multi-year grants

• More core funding

• Build relationships

• Offer networking and training

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Re-energised Trustees agreed a new approach should:

• Respond to what charities are saying

• Embrace current research & best practice

• Make time to build stronger relationships with grantees

• Strengthen local funder partnerships

• Collaborate – not merge

• Not increase staff costs


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Our Response - 2019

• Open Access Grants: Multi-Year, larger, fewer

• Unrestricted Funding

• Strategic Funding

• Funder Plus – proportionate

• Local and small registered charities

• Clearer criteria – simpler processes

• Decisions based on knowledge & trust


Presentation Title

Funder Responses: United St Saviours Charity

Placeholder for image/graphic


Sarah Thurman

Head of Community Investments, USS

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Funder Responses: United St Saviour’s Charity

Key Findings for USS

The value - Greatest to community groups - Filling gaps in local funding – events - A fundraising catalyst - Boosting confidence and skills What else? - Raising our profile

- Connecting, advice and support


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A deeper dive…..

• Uneven reach – geography/deprivation

• Uneven reach – population groups • Very high success rate – 77%

Some big questions • Why the uneven spread? Inconsistent

knowledge and capacity?

• Unconscious bias?


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Our response

• Our response reflects: - staff resourcing

- very local nature - intended outcomes: (1) strong, resilient, supportive communities (2) a level playing field - understanding and empathy – the challenges


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Our response

• Retain but reduce • Focus on those benefiting most • Proactive outreach and support - under-

represented places and people

• Beef up Funder Plus


Specifics

Application support - Outreach

- Encouraging and supporting - Softer assessment, flexibility

Fundraising support - ‘Making a Successful Application’ - Directory of Social Change - Capacity building and training

- Coaching conversations

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Considerations for Funders


Conclusions

• Recognise that small grants generate value. But to do them well you need

time and money. Think about what is right for you.

• Reduce bureaucracy

• Respect and relationship

• Realistic, appropriate and proportionate in measuring success

• Partnering-up is hugely valuable – ideas, resources, paving way for further

collaboration

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Thank you for listening




Questions and Discussion

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Resources

Listening for Change/Two Sides of the Same Coin/The relationship between funders and social purpose organisations: Esmee Fairbairn

Foundation/The Blagrave Trust April 2017 http://esmeefairbairn.org.uk/news-and-learning/news-and-events/listening-for-change-two-

sides-of-the-same-coin

Comic Relief/NCVO: Core Strength Funding Analysis March 2017 https://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/2017/05/04/core-funding-is-an-investment-not-

a-safety-blanket/

Fund for Shared Insights/website home page US non-profit to improve philanthropy, working closely with The Centre for Effective

Philanthropy www.fundforsharedinsight.org

Lloyds Bank Foundation: Expert Yet Undervalued and on the Front Line: The Views and Voices of Small and Medium Sized Charities July

2015 https://www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk/assets/uploads/Expert_Yet_Undervalued_-_Grantee_Opinion_Survey_2015_WEB.PDF

Lloyds Bank Foundation: Reaching Further: Partnering with small and local charities

Peter Minet Trust – Rocket Science research (Summary and Peter Minet Full Research) http://www.peterminet.org.uk/how-to-

apply.html

United St Saviour’s Research – Rocket Science research


http://esmeefairbairn.org.uk/news-and-learning/news-and-events/listening-for-change-two-sides-of-the-same-coin



























https://blogs.ncvo.org.uk/2017/05/04/core-funding-is-an-investment-not-a-safety-blanket/



















http://www.fundforsharedinsight.org/



https://www.lloydsbankfoundation.org.uk/assets/uploads/Expert_Yet_Undervalued_-_Grantee_Opinion_Survey_2015_WEB.PDF





http://www.peterminet.org.uk/how-to-apply.html






https://www.ustsc.org.uk/research


Documents

The Value of Small Grants - ACF · Presentation Title Presenters Sarah Thurman, United St Saviour’s harity Rachel Oglethorpe, Peter Minet Trust Ajay Khandelwal, Lambeth and Southwark