Raising Funds for Digital Projects Identifying funders and writing grant proposals
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Transcript of Raising Funds for Digital Projects Identifying funders and writing grant proposals
Raising Funds for Digital Projects
Identifying funders and writing grant proposals
Getting started
Formulate ideasDevelop projectIdentify potential funders
matchmaking
Prepare proposalTarget the proposalAdminister the grant
Getting started
One thing to remember: fundraising is a professionIf you are a large institution and significant fundraising is needed, then hire a professionalOr you can bring in fundraising consultantsGood fundraisers will always bring in much more than they will cost you
What’s the Big Idea?
Identify prioritiesBuild consensusInclude all stakeholders
staff, board members, volunteers, outside groups, users
Which ideas are candidates for grant funding?Prioritize these candidatesWho will: Identify potential fundersWho will: Research and write proposal
What’s the Big Idea?
What’s Your Big Idea?
Let’s come up with a Big Idea for a projectIdentify potential fundersScope the project
Funders
What is the goal?
To develop a network of funders thatmatch your ideasprovide regular small grantsperiodic larger grants
Working with different funders
There are different requirements involved in working with different fundersKnow what they are!Keep excellent records
fundraising databasethere are specialist software packagesbut that is only for institutions that are likely to be making many applications
Know when the application dates are likely to be
Working with different funders
Government bodieslikely to have very structured requirementsstandard forms to fill ingood guidelines on web sites etc
Working with different funders
Foundationsincorporated non-profit organizationsgenerally have policies which establish the nature and limitation of support
type of programgeographic regionmin/max fundingtype of organization that can receive funding
most foundations have web sites nowadays that list their criteriadon’t waste their time and yours with inappropriate applications
Working with different funders
Applying to foundationsdo your homeworkthere are thousands of foundations, but you will find the number of possible funders for YOU will narrow rapidlythere are directories of foundations
See for instance the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) http://www.acf.org.uk/see also the Worldwide Universities Network http://www.wun.ac.uk/links/funding.htmland www.trustfunding.org.uk (there is an annual subscription)
Private donorsResearch is similar to foundations
look at newspaper and magazine articles about prospectsnever, never approach donors directly
unless they are personally known to you
find routes to them through other peoplesuccessful grantees, friends, agents, volunteers
Working with different funders
Corporate sponsorswhat is in it for them?does your project serve their mission?will your project provide them with an advertising opportunity?
think Ellen MacArthur and B&Q!
do they have a sponsorship department?usually part of the marketing/advertising function
need to capture their imaginationAmerican Express funded the multimedia gallery of the National Gallery in the early 90s
Working with different funders
The proposal
What is it?
A written presentation to another party in order to gain its acceptance
The functions of a proposal
Represents a program, project, activity, or function that an organization wants to undertake in response to a needRequest for the allocation of resourcesInstrument of persuasionPromise to the funder to do certain things in certain waysA plan that serves as guidelines for the organization to implement the activity
The proposal
Specifiesthe needthe proposed solutionthe result of the solutionthe activities to be carried outthe way they will be accomplishedthe number and type of staff neededthe management of the programthe required equipment and facilitiesthe costthe starting and completion dates
The Proposal: statement of problem/need/purpose
Describes the conditions in a certain place at a certain time for a particular group of people
This is often the motivator
If the funder agrees with the need, you have them “hooked”
The proposal: need
Clear relationship to your organization’s mission and purposeFocus on a need in a broader community, not in your organization Any assertions should be supported with evidenceThe need should be expressed in a ways that is consistent with your organization’s ability to respondEasy to read; no jargon
The proposal: need
Use facts and statistics, not assumptions
Focus the need on your community --don’t make it too broad
Modelsif your solution can act as a model, mention this
“addressing the need on a larger level through the development of a model program”
The proposal: need
Focus on what you can accomplish
What need YOU have a solution for
Collaborative projects are attractive to some funders
but make sure that all collaborations are tightly controlled
legal agreements and clear agreements on financesconflict resolutionone leader
The proposal: objectives
Objectives/Goals/Strategies/OutcomesWhat will your program accomplish?Derived directly from the need statementIndicate action and a measurable result“To” statementsMeasurable
How would the situation look if the need were satisfied?
The proposal: objectives
Stated in quantifiable termsif you can’t measure it, you may need to rethink it
State outcomes, not methodsthe result of an activity, not the activity itself
Identify the population being served
REALISTIC
The proposal: methodology
A detailed description of the activities and services to be implemented to achieve the objectives
How are you going to achieve your goals and objectives?
Why did you choose these methods?research findings, experts, past experience, etc.
The proposal: organizational plan
Organizational/Administrative Plan
essentially defines how the project will be administered
could make this part of the methodology section
The proposal: budget
Budget
translates the methodology section into cash
government sources require more detail than foundations (usually)
follow funder forms and guidelines
The proposal: evaluation
Outputs are facts
Online Historynumber of items digitizednumber of users loggednumber of students who write essays based on web based materialsnumber of teachers who use online resources
The proposal: evaluation
Outputs may not tell us if our goals and
objectives were met
Evaluation - how did we do?
Measure Outcomeshas our target audience changed or improved
skills, attitudes, knowledge, behavior, status, or
life condition by experiencing our program
The proposal: helpful hints
One writer, many contributorsoutline before writing
Follow the funder guidelines carefully and thoroughly
Do your research; get the facts right
Appropriate personnel/consultants
One central need -- all ideas flow from that
Know what your institutional requirements are for grant applications: who signs?
The proposal: helpful hints
Be compelling, but don’t overstate
Outside person to edit
Outside person to review budget
Be thorough
Clear, concise
Easy to read
Confident tone
The proposal: helpful hints
Do your research into the latest digitization trends, activities
Be aware of related digitization projects
Show how increased access or better preservation can effect the audience(s)
The proposal: helpful hints
And remember that a good proposal doesn’t automatically result in obtaining a grant
The Proposal: Helpful Hints
Claritylogical, easy to follow
Completenessincluding all items specified
Internal consistencyparts consistent with each other
External consistencyrecognize accepted ideas of field
Administering a grant project
This is a lot of workensure that sufficient resource is allocated
Reporting, reporting, reportingknow all necessary deadlines!
Managing a project and seeing it through to completion
and making sure that you do what you told the funders you would do
Know your funders, involve your funders
Different funders need different tracking and reporting mechanismsMake sure you ALWAYS know when deadlines are for reportingAllow plenty of time to get financial reports prepared: there is often a significant time lag in processing transactions through systemsIf there is going to be a problem, tell them in advance. Don’t just miss a deadline!
Closure
Very important to know when you have finished a project, a grant, or a phase of a projectStaff need to be rewarded for a good job doneFunders need to be thankedSo throw a party!Launch your project!There’s a time to have fun and let your hair down