They thrive on ideas
Brilliant Bid Writing
Let’s get started!
Housekeeping
Introductions
Aims
Your Aims?
There are over 8,500 in the U.K
CAF / European Foundations Centre 2006 Research Task Force
Top 15
Next 485
£1.6 Billion
£1.6 Billion
They exist to give ….
Many operate on a skeleton staff
They thrive on ideas
They don’t like dependency
How do you score? Are you strategically well positioned?
A three strand strategy
Is it getting harder …?
Shorter commitments. Less risk
Narrower focus. No new organisations
Fewer programmes
More proactive partnering
More pressure, slimmer chances
More bang for their buck
More consultation, more user control
Spend down
Moratorium
“Due to an unprecedented number of applications for funding over recent months, caused by the economic downturn, the trustees have decided to close the fund to new applications for the next few months until the current backlog has been attended to”.
These things, we can do something about …
• Consultation and User Control
• Developing exemplar projects, perhaps in partnership, to address root causes and/or change policy
• Long term forward planning to target a specific trust fund
So what does this mean for you?
• Longer planning/consultation timeline• More flexibility• Better measuring, monitoring and evaluation
systems• Greater creativity and innovation• See them as part of a portfolio of funding
options, rather than as your critical funders• Better marketing, branding and positioning
The future will be increasingly about using your knowledge, skills and experience to find
new and interesting solutions to the problems faced by your
beneficiaries. It will not be about funding your services
The published research• Directory of
Social Change
• Funding Information North East
• Your Council for Voluntary Service
DSC Publications
£75.00
£75.00
How old?
Socio – economic group?
Gender?
Geographical location?
Racial group?
Trustee Profile?
From Red To Green …
Take account of the pressure
Try to be interesting
Allow for misunderstanding
They need to buy into the business case, but
they also need to CARE!
Building blocks of an effective proposal
“… the worst (proposals) are hernia inducing slabs of desktop publishing literature, press cuttings, pamphlets, booklets and endorsements that no one honestly has the time to read”
Wates Foundation Annual Report
2001/2
Proposal Structure
Summary
Establish your credentials
What’s wrong?
What will you accomplish?
What will you do?
The Budget
Evaluation
1
6
2
5
3
4
7
Summarise
The Essentials
“ I had six honest serving men.
They taught me all I knew.
Their names where How, and Why and When and What and Where and Who.”
Kipling
USP’s
Toyota Prius
Porsche 911Smart
Honda
USP’s
Service
AchievementsCulture
People
The magic
formula?
What’s wrong?
eople
itched
recise
assionate
Effective Need (or Problem) Statements …
… are about the people you help, not the project you run
Performance Measuring Model
Inputs
Process
Outputs
Outcomes
The resources put into the organisation
How the organisation uses these resources
What the organisation does
The impact or effect of what the organisation has done
The Lack of an Input
‘The Poortown estate needs a community centre because we have nowhere to run education sessions, confidence building workshops, cooperative development activities and a job club’.
The Lack of an Outcome
‘On the Poortown estate unemployment, poverty and crime rates are very high. The drug problem is increasing as young people feel increasingly alienated and have little chance of a job. We have nowhere to run the range of activities that could help improve the quality of life for local people, give them a route out of poverty and create real opportunity for the youngsters.’
Pitched
How ‘poor nutrition’ can be sold to a variety of funder's
For a funder interested in the welfare of children
Poorly nourished children suffer from increased vulnerability to fatigue, headaches, irritability, inability to concentrate and frequent colds. Iron-deficiency anaemia in children can lead to developmental and behavioural disturbances. Hungry children are less likely to interact with other people or explore or learn from their surroundings.
For a funder interested in education
Poor nutrition has a negative impact on children’s ability to learn in school. School-aged children who are hungry cannot concentrate or do as well as others on the tasks they need to perform to learn the basics. Research indicates that low-income children who participate in School Breakfast Programmes show an improvement in test scores and a decrease in lateness and absenteeism compared to other students who do not eat breakfast.
For a funder interested in the welfare of the elderly
Malnutrition caused by poor eating habits can exacerbate chronic and acute diseases and speed the onset of degenerative diseases among the elderly. This not only leads to an unnecessary decrease in the quality of life for many older people, but also increases the cost of health care. National data for people aged 65 to 75 show that a majority are not consuming even two-thirds of the nutrients they need to stay healthy.
For a funder interested in mental health issues
Hunger, and insecurity about whether a family will be able to obtain enough food to avoid hunger, also have an emotional impact on children and their parents. Anxiety, negative feelings about self-worth, and hostility towards the outside world can result from chronic hunger and food insecurity.
Precise
Make it Precise
Compare the following statements:
Consumer credit is at an all time high in the UK
AND:
Between us we owe credit and mortgage companies £1 trillion!
Make it Concrete
Compare the following statements:
Many of the teenagers suffer from social problems. Poverty and drugs use are rising.
AND:
Unemployment amongst 16-25 year olds currently stands at over 80%. These young people have 3 times as much chance of sampling hard drugs before they leave school than those in other areas of Tyneside, such as Heaton, Jesmond or Gosforth. Heroin use has doubled in the last five years. Last month another family lost their 15 year old child to a heroin overdose.
Make it Tangible
Compare:
We now make more telephone calls than ever before.
AND:
In the last 24 hours, more phone calls were made in the UK than during the whole of 1983.
Passionate!
Answer this question …
So what?
Mandated
Prove that there is a demand
‘I have a sister, Ellen, who is four, and we have a park near our house. I learned to ride my bike in our park. There are houses nearby so you feel safe and naughty strangers can be easily seen. We don’t want nasty people to take us away like in big parks. Instead of destroying our park make it better. We don’t want to play on the roads.’
Marcus Johns, Aged 7.
“Possibly the most effective deputation I have heard in the 22 years I’ve been on the Council.”
Douglas Eyre, Mayor of Bournemouth
Consultation
More consultation, more user control
“How do you know this project is needed and how does it fit with other projects in your area?”
“How have children and young people influenced how you planned this project, and how will they continue to be involved in how your project is run?”
How have you consulted with the people and organisations who will benefit from your project and what did you find out?
Examples of consultation include:
● community surveys
● focus groups
● public meetings
● discussions with other organisations of the wider community.
You need to tell us who you have consulted and when you talked to them about your project.
Consultation should be less than two years old. If you can’t consult with the people that you want to help, tell us why. We also want to know how:
● your project has been influenced by what people have told you
● you know that the people you want to help will use your project.
Three Stages to Understanding
Clarify the need
Demonstrate the results
Describe the tools
1
2
3
Bridge the comprehension gap
We can make some young people more employable by building their self esteem, team skills and confidenceThe problem is youth
unemploymentWe do this by organising rock climbing sessions
The problem
On the Poortown estate unemployment, poverty and crime rates are very high. The drug problem is increasing as young people feel increasingly alienated and have little chance of a job.
The Outcome
We want to run a range of activities that could help improve the quality of life for local people, give them a route out of poverty and create real opportunity for the youngsters.’
Our method ….
With a new community centre we could achieve this by running education sessions, confidence building workshops, cooperative development activities and a job club.
Budget
They need to buy into the business case, but
they also need to CARE!
The Budget
London Olympics
• Costings went from
£4 billion to £9 billion
• Forget to include the
VAT
• Put in £2.7 billion
‘contingency’!?!
Create financial momentum
Momentum Management
Version A
Expenditure
£10,000
Income
Nil
Balance Required
£10,000
Momentum Management
Version B
Expenditure
Salary £8,500H/L/P £1,000Travel £1,500Training £1,000Telephone £500Postage & stationary £500Rent £6,500Audit £500Printing £500Total £20,500
Momentum Management
Version B
Expenditure
Salary £8,500H/L/P £1,000Travel £1,500Training £1,000Telephone £500Postage & stationary £500Rent £6,500Audit £500Printing £500Total £20,500
Momentum Management
Version B
Income
Local Authority £8,500S&G Accountants £500The Inkspot Print Co £500The Moneybags Trust £1,000Total £10,500
Result …
Still need £10,000, but this is now less than 50%
Step one – roll in some of your own money
Target £100,000
• Money raised so far £60,000
• Our own resources £30,000
• Balance still to raise£10,000
Step two– roll some of it out
Target £100,000
• Money raised so far £70,000
• Our own resources £20,000
• Balance still to raise£10,000
Do all this – and the cheques get written!
4 Things to Cover
The Guidelines
Project management
Proofing
Language
The Guidelines
• Read them
The Guidelines
• Read them
• Read them again
The Guidelines
• Read them
• Read them again
• If it is important enough – READ THEM AGAIN!
The Guidelines
• Read them
• Read them again
• If it is important enough – EAD THEM AGAIN!
• At the end, ask ‘have I told them what they need to know?’
What is the problem or need you want to address and how do you know about it?
A fulfilled life is often based on personal dreams, purpose, choice, accomplishment, satisfaction and variety of experience. But for many people with a learning disability, carers sometimes reduce the amount of choice and control available. Reasons range from negative beliefs about ‘capacity’ for choice to lack of resources. Available respite facilities often focus on physical and medical care supplemented by fairly limiting structured activities – but not on the potential and abilities of the individual. Clients are thus often catered for as a group, and this reinforces their isolation and allows their learning difficulty to define them. The resultant and associated limited opportunities for physical, emotional and intellectual stimulation in respite settings can result in a reduction of independence, a diminished emotional life, and contribute to illnesses such as depression in the short term, and dementia in the long term.
Project Management
• Read the whole form before you begin – get an overview
• Work backwards from the deadline
• Work out a timetable/ plan of action to complete the form
• Build in time for colleagues/ managers/ board members to comment before final draft
Project Management
• Decide the order in which to complete the sections (you may want to start with the outcomes – but this may be the last section on the online form)
• Plan out the time/ effort/ emphasis/ input required for the various sections
• Prioritise as necessary.
Common Mistakes
• Do the requested budget and activity levels balance
• Have you completed all the questions, within the specified word count? (if there is one).
• Have you used any jargon
“Ask, ‘what am I trying to say’ – and then SAY IT”
ERIC BLAIR
Word Count
George Orwell
Will Self
Jargon
Communication
Getting the balance right – Take 1
“The situation at this football club remains the situation at this football club and that will continue to be the case until such time as the situation changes” –
English Football Boss Peter Kenyon commenting on a possible change of manager.
Communication
Getting the balance right – Take 2
“We are a cherry tree in a garden filled with hungry finches. Our heavily laden boughs offer rich pickings for the siskin and the linnet, though thankfully the rosy hued crossbill is more interested in the pine nut”-
Yugoslav Football Boss Haka Flugg commenting on a possible change of manager.
“Read over your compositions, and where ever you meet with a passage which you think is particularly fine, strike it out!”
Samuel Johnson
“The resources allow a fluid response to mobilise our assets based on analysis that is inputted to HQ.”
A Northumbria Police spokesman commenting on the new motorbikes
bought by the force
“a multi-agency project catering for holistic diversionary provision to young people for positive action linked to the community safety
strategy and the pupil referral unit”?
A Go Kart Track
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