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10 Top Tips for beginners From Jeanette Harris, Scottish Book Trust, (formerly Business Manager of West Lothian Youth Theatre) - Sponsorship and Fundraising - know the difference before you start your planning and research.
- The 'blanket approach' to gaining business sponsors doesn't work ! Don't waste your time, effort and money in sending off a letter to every company in the Yellow Pages.
- Instead of the above, do your research and target companies :-
With a track record in sponsorship and / or
Whose trading market is relevant to what you do and to whom you can make a good case for support and / or
Which are looking to sponsor arts/voluntary organisations and / or
Which may never have sponsored anything before. - Contact organisations such as Arts & Business, Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO), Scottish Arts Council, the National Lottery Funds and local agencies in your area who give advice and hold directories of sponsors, trusts and foundations.
- Many funding bodies have specific criteria. So, contact a new funding body to discuss whether your project matches their criteria idea before applying.
- Try "Funderfinder" - a software package which allows you to feed in data on your project which will identify up to 50 relevant trusts/foundations. SCVO and other agencies offer access to this service - see item 10.
- Have your idea or project well planned and thought out before you start looking for funding. Don't try to shoehorn your project into unsuitable funding packages.
- Some trusts/foundations have no formal application forms, so when applying to these, give clear and concise information on:
- Who you are
- What you do
- Your idea or project in detail
- Who will participate and benefit
- When it is happening
- Where it is taking place
- Who is organising it
- How much it is costing
- How much you are asking from the Trust/foundation
- Who else is contributing to the cost.
- Application form basics :-
- Read the guidelines carefully.
- Check deadlines for applying and get your application
- in as early as possible. Funders will not consider
- applications received after deadlines.
- Take a copy of the original form and use it as a draft.
- Complete the "master" application once all corrections and
changes are made on the draft.
- Gather all the background information you need before starting
the application.
- Complete every section of the form - don't leave gaps.
- Avoid "see attached statement" - this makes life difficult for the assessors.
- Give information on the actual form unless asked otherwise.
- Make sure to sign and date the application.
- Make sure to list and enclose all supplementary information.
- Take a copy of the whole application for your own records before sending
it off.
- Some useful organisations :-
Scottish Council for Voluntary Organisations (SCVO):
Offices in Edinburgh, Glasgow and Inverness offering
advice on fundraising, holding directories of trusts,
Foundations etc, and giving access to "Funderfinder"
software by appointment. (see item 6 above).
Edinburgh office: Tel: 0131 556 3882
Website : www.scvo.org.uk
Voluntary Action West Lothian (VAWL) :- as above.
Tel: 01506 634115 Email: mailto:vawl@btinternet.com
Arts & Business :- sponsorship and partnership schemes,
placements, mentoring and board bank.
Tel: 0131 220 2499 Email: scotland@AandB.org.uk
Scottish Arts Council : a wide range of funds for
arts projects, organisations, individual artists and
National Lottery funds.
Helpdesk tel: 0131 240 2443 or 2444
Email: help.desk@scottisharts.org.uk
Community Fund in Scotland: Single grants programme for
projects which meet the needs of the most disadvantaged
people and improve the quality of life in the community.
A range of grants based on size and type of project.
Tel: 0845 791 9191 Website: http://www.community-fund.org.uk/
Awards For All: (under the Community Fund umbrella)
Lottery funding for local groups and projects of between £500 and
£5000.
Tel: 0845 600 2040 Website: http://http://www.awardsforall.org.uk/
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Where can I get money? - Sponsorship
- Grant giving trusts
- Local authorities
- Scottish Arts Council (Lottery funding schemes)
- Fundraising events.
Go to list of funders top
What is my strategy? Before you begin sending for forms or contacting sponsors, sit down with your group or colleagues and work out exactly what it is you want to do. Being very clear about the purpose of the work the target group and where and when it will take place will enable you to work out what to do. Your strategy will be built from this and should include clear targets, budgets, timelines and outcomes. Think too about how your strategy fits into other 'bigger pictures" ones outwith your own organisation. Does it address issues in local community learning and development strategies or those of the Scottish Executive, such as the Cultural Strategy. Making these links and referring to them in letters and application forms will strengthen your case for funding. top
What is the recipe for a good application? A well written application will be clearly understandable to someone who has never been in your area or your project. It needs to be clear, exciting and most important of all, evidenced. It's no good telling funders that the project is great; you have to tell them why its great. Get facts and figures in where possible and use quotes and case studies to make the work come alive for the reader. Realistic budgets are vital. Do your homework and make it clear that what you are outlining is both of high quality and is 'best value'. Make sure you application is typed where possible. Ask someone to read it who doesn't know the organisation to make sure that its understandable to an 'outsider'. Six essential elements of an application
Reproduced from The Youth Funding Guide by Nicola Eastwood p. 34 - Who you are
- The need you meet
- The solution you offer
- Why you should do it
- The amount you need
- The future you have
All excerpts from the Youth Funding Guide are reproduced by kind permission of the publishers, The Directory of Social Change, 24 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2DP, tel: 020 7209 5151, from whom copies may be purchased by post, price £16.95 (+ p&p: £2.50 for orders up to value £20 value and single CD ROMs; £3.50 for orders of £20-£30 value; £4.50 for orders of £30 - £40 value; £5.50 for orders over £40 value). top
Make your project sound exciting... From The Youth Funding Guide p. 25 One of the great advantages with project fundraising is that you can highlight particular areas of your work that will interest the particular person you are writing to. However, make sure you do everything that you can to show that the work is lively, worthwhile and worth funding. The donor's first response is then more likely to be "Gosh, that sounds good; we ought to be backing that", rather than "I've had ten applications like that in the last month, and none of them are likely to achieve very much". top
Start making sense Start making sense - a guide to writing simply
From the Youth Funding Guide p.42 - Keep sentences short and to the point. Develop a style that cuts out long complicated sentences. Look at line spacing, point size and font selection.
- Keep paragraphs short. Look at the layout critically. Would it entice you to read further? Are you put off by long sections of text? If you are, your reader will be as well.
- Avoid jargon. You may understand what you are talking about; outsiders generally will not. Explain acronyms.
- Be direct; do not waffle. Use as few words as possible. It adds to the 'readability' of your application and keeps the length down.
- Use personal pronouns such as "we", "our", "you" and "your" rather than "The organisation/association", "the users" etc.
- Use strong verbs and tenses, rather than weaker ones like the passive. "Our young people work closely with local schools" reads better than "Local schools have become involved with the activities organised by the young people in the club."
- Weed out waffle and waste. Say something sincerely, simply and succinctly.
- Re-read and re-write.
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Application letters Some organisations (often grant giving trusts) require that you send a letter as they do not have an application form. Even if there is a form, a good letter that summarises the project and the organisation should be submitted too. Make sure that you are clear about the project and it's purpose and make it snappy and eye-catching! top
How to create a budget? Don't be scared about putting together a budget if you haven't done one before. Set it out in a clear format, grouping together types of spend under headings such as staffing, resources, travel and venue costs. Have a look at annual reports and funding guides for examples of budget layouts. Remember to include an expenditure column, an income column and in kind contributions. What might be in an arts budget? Value for money will be respected by any funder but so will a well structured project that creates a quality of experience for those involved and that does cost money! Have you remembered to include the following in your project expenditure?
| Areas of expenditure |
What's needed?
|
| Consultation |
- Equipment (e.g. notebooks, video hire)
- Artist's time
- Interviewer's time
- Preparation time
- Production of materials (e.g. booklet/printing costs, video/editing costs)
- Advertising
- Overheads for office/phone calls
- Refreshments for young people
- Venues for focus groups/interviews
- Transport/ expenses
|
| Venue |
- Hire of venue for rehearsal
- Use of community facilities (such as video access centre?)
- Running costs, heating, lighting
- Telephone bills
- Internet access
|
| Artist |
- Sessional or day rate
- Meetings
- Time for other tasks (such as processing films/ framing pictures/ preparing instruments)
- Preparation time (including inductions, preparing sessions/ hand outs)
|
| Support staff |
- Extra support staff sessional/day rate
- Expenses for volunteers
|
| Training/inductions |
- Training for youth workers/ volunteers in the arts
- Training for artists in youth work skills
- Taster days § inductions
|
| Equipment and materials |
- Hire of equipment, e.g. instruments
- Buying materials e.g. paints, cloth
refreshments
- Refreshments for young people
- Lunches
- Food expenses for volunteers
|
| Production/launch/ performance |
- Staffing costs
- Extra equipment e.g. PA/ lighting§ Publicity/ invites
|
| Other activities |
- Visits to relevant music performances/arts exhibitions
- Transport
- Refreshments
- Staffing
- Ticket entry costs
|
| Insurance |
- For equipment
- Public liability
|
| Publication/CDs/ finished products |
- Production costs of, e.g. booklet, CD, film
- Printing costs of CD cover, posters, postcards
- Postage costs to distribute
|
| Contingency |
- Every budget should have a contingency fund for the unexpected (e.g. 5%)
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When do I need a business plan?
You need a business plan if you are applying for large sums of money, this varies from organisation to organisation.
Your business plan should cover the project for which you want funding and not the organisation as a whole.
Your business plan should include: why a project is needed, how it will work, how it will be managed, what the beneficiaries will gain, how you will measure achievements, what the project will cost and how you will fund it and why your organisation should do the project.
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What about sponsorship?
A successful sponsorship has three essential elements
From The Youth Funding Guide p.203
- It matches the image of the company and the work of the charity.
- It has the correct target audience for the company.
- It sells the benefits of sponsorship to the company (including how the sponsorship would meet the company's commercial objectives).
10 Good reasons to apply to companies
From the Youth Funding Guide p.193
- Their employees are connected with your organisation
- They are local and looking for good publicity
- They're interested in young people
- Your event will be good for staff to take part in
- You know the chief executive or personnel officer, or someone in the marketing department helps out in your club
- Young people buy their product
- You're asking for something that's easy for them to give
- They've given to you before
- Your activities help their business
- They like you.
10 Good reasons to think again about applying
You know nothing about the company
- It's about to go bust
- They are not located in your area
- Their business is not connected in any way with young people
- They have a stated policy of never giving to unsolicited appeals
- You have received well-publicised sponsorship from a rival
- You are asking for £10,000; their total budget is £500
- Their policies, product, image etc. is not compatible with your work with young people
- Your supporters would be against having their support
- Their charitable giving is already fully committed for the next two years.
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The Arts Council
A General Guide to funds
The Scottish Arts Council champions the arts for Scotland
- celebrating artists and artistic excellence
- improving the quality of life for all through the arts
- providing leadership in the arts for Scotland.
They are a development agency working at a national and local level providing funding as well as information and advice. The Scottish Arts Council is the principal channel of public funding for the arts in Scotland. They receive most of their funding from the Scottish Executive. As an 'arm's length' body they are independent from but accountable to the Scottish Executive. They also distribute funds from the National Lottery to the arts in Scotland. The main aim of lottery funding is to support arts projects which make an important and lasting difference to the quality of life for the general public.
The following funds are the most relevant to work with young people and the arts.
| Fund |
Description |
Deadlines |
| Access and participation |
To support projects which increase access to the arts. We will prioritise projects which help overcome economic, social, cultural or geographical barriers to involvement in the arts. Minimum £5,000 - maximum £50,000 |
17 January 2005 |
Arts in the Community (festivals and promoters) |
For small-scale promoters and festivals for programmes (up to one year) in the community involving two or more art forms.Minimum £1,000 - maximum £5,000 |
ongoing |
| Audience development |
To support research, pilot projects and campaigns, which focus on increasing attendance and participation. Priority will be given to applications focusing on new and lapsed attenders.This fund does not support production of new work.Minimum £5,000 - maximum £75,000 |
April and October |
| Cultural Diversity |
To support projects which encourage artistic and organisational development in organisations from a minority ethnic background and from other arts organisations which demonstrate a commitment to diverse arts activities. Minimum £3,000 - maximum £20,000 |
April and October |
Youth Music money from Scottish Arts Council (SAC)
|
£900,000 is available for the two financial years 2004-2005 and
2005-2006 to encourage youth music making within the informal sector
(this covers all styles of music and all levels of learning outside the
formal education sector). Grants of up to £30,000 are available. There
are separate application packs for grants up to £5,000 (no deadlines,
should hear within four weeks) and for grants between £5,001 and £30,000
(deadline is 11 October 2004, should hear within ten weeks). |
Large grants deadline available 2005
Small grants no deadlines |
| Awards for all |
For small group's arts activities, the National Lottery Awards for All programme can provide between £500 and £5,000.
The organisation's yearly income must be less than £20,000. This programme is supported by the Scottish Arts Council. For an application pack contact the Awards for All hotline number: 0845 600 2040 Contact: Awards for All |
Anytime |
| Children and young people |
To support projects which increase the opportunity for children and young people (up to the age of 18) to enjoy the arts.This can include the production of new work.Minimum £5,000 - maximum £50,000 |
17 January 2005 | The Arts Council Helpdesk
Help Desk telephone 0845 603 6000 (local rate)
TypeTalk please prefix number with 18001
Fax 0131 225 9833
E-mail help.desk@scottisharts.org.uk
http://www.scottisharts.org.uk
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What do grant making bodies want?
Grant giving bodies often have clear priorities and they expect applicants to submit ideas which meet these. They want straightforward clear proposals, believable and realistic budgets and to be reassured that they are putting their money into safe hands.
These bodies vary widely in terms of the level of involvement they will want to have in your organisation. Some want publicity and their logo on everything, others will withdraw funding if their name is mentioned in project information. Check out each organisation very carefully and make sure that your application is targeted to their needs and not a general request.
Tips for applying to a grant making trust
From The Youth Funding Guide p.98
- One national grant-making foundation gives the following guidance to those applying for grants:
- In making your application, it is important to realise that yours is one of many competing for limited resources. It is helpful to us if your application is:
- Clear concise and to the point - say what you do or propose to do, how much it will cost and how it will impact on your clients.
- Be transparent, open, direct. Do not try to hide what you want funds for in the guise of something else.
- Be realistic - don't just pick a figure out of the air and work your project/ programme around it.
- Start with need, justify the need and outline a tangible response to meeting the need that makes sense.
- We have found that projects are very strong in telling us about their aims and objectives, but weak in telling us what they do and how it impacts on young people and children.
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Will the local authorities fund your project?
Local authorities do fund arts projects with young people. All authorities are structured differently; ask who the appropriate person is for arts and young people when you call. Some authorities also have links officers or cultural co-ordinators who are funded by the Arts Council to develop the arts in Scotland.
For further information on links officers and cultural coordinators contact:
The Arts Council Helpdesk
Help Desk telephone 0845 603 6000 (local rate)
TypeTalk please prefix number with 18001
Fax 0131 225 9833
E-mail help.desk@scottisharts.org.uk
http://http://www.scottisharts.org.uk
Making the Case for your project
From the Youth Funding Guide p.276
What features of your project make it attractive to your local authority?
How do any of the following apply to your organisation or project?
- Fits in with local authority priorities (essential)
- Local benefits
- Regional benefits
- Large number of different groups benefit (which ones?)
- Community run; participation of young people
- Innovative approach
- Addressing special needs
- Matching funds raised
- Established track record
- Excellence
- Sound finances
- Includes "hard to reach groups"
- Fills a gap or augments local authority service provision
- Number of different bodies/ organisations involved (which ones?)
- Established and enthusiastic membership
- Large number of benefits from a small grant (what benefits?)
- Local support
- Good publicity for the local authority
- Value for money.
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Fundraising events
From the Youth Funding Guide p. 48
Even when you have raised core funding for your organisation, it makes sense to continue to raise money from the local community. It heightens your profile and nurtures local links, giving your project deeper community roots and a strong local identity.
An A-Z of fundraising ideas
From the Youth Funding Guide p.66
| A |
is for... Antiques, Arts and Crafts, Auction, Anything Annual |
| B |
is for... Birthday Cakes, Barbecues, Bingo, Buy a Brick, Bazaars, Beach Parties, Break Out, Book Fairs |
| C |
is for... Concerts, Cookies, Carol Singing, Car Washes, Car Boot Sales, Coffee Mornings, Cookbooks, Caption Competitions, Calendars |
| D |
is for... Duck (plastic) Racing, Dinner Party, Dutch Auction, Discos, Dance Marathons |
| E |
is for... Exhibitions, Eating, Everything Extreme (lowest, highest, fastest, slowest etc.), Eating baked beans (or similar) with a cocktail stick. |
| F |
is for... Fasts, Fetes, Fairs, Festivals, Face Painting, Fashion Shows, Fun Runs, Foam Party |
| G |
is for... Garden Parties, Gardening, Growing (bulbs, plants, vegetables etc), Guess the Weight, Gang Shows |
| H |
is for... Haircuts, Horse Races, Highland Games |
| I |
is for... It's a Knockout, Italian Evening |
| J |
is for... Jumble Sales, Jam Making, Junk Mail/ Newspaper Collection |
| K |
is for... Karaoke, Knitting, Kite Making |
| L |
is for... Lunches, Lotteries, Line Dancing, Limbo Competition |
| M |
is for... Marathons, Merchandise, Meals on Heels, Mammoth Markets, Matchbox Collection |
| N |
is for... Newspaper Recycling, Naming (dolls, teddies, animals etc.), Nearly New Sales |
| O |
is for... Olympics, Open House, Old Time Music Hall, One Hundred Club, Open Gardens, Obstacle Courses |
| P |
is for... Promise Auction, Performances, Post, Parachute Jump, Pick a Straw or Lollipop, Pet Show, Press-ups |
| Q |
is for... Quizzes, Quilts |
| R |
is for... Raffles, Rallies, Races |
| S |
is for... Something Sponsored, Swimathons, Show (art, craft, fashion etc), Scavenger Hunts, Sales, Stalls, Smartie Tube Filling, Slow Bike Race, Stocks |
| T |
is for... Three Peaks, Tournaments, Tombolas, Talent Competition, Treasure Hunts, Teddy Bear's Picnic, Table Sales |
| U |
is for... Unusual, Unwanted Gift Sales |
| V |
is for... Vouchers, Valeting (car) |
| W |
is for... Wine-tasting, Welly Wanging, Walks (guided, ghostly, sponsored etc) |
| X |
is for... Xmas (parties, fairs, cards etc.) |
| Y |
is for... Yodelling (sponsored competition) |
| Z |
is for... Zoological, Zany | top
What about money from Europe?
The European Commission Scottish web page has a printable funding guide which has programmes for different areas of Scotland.
http://www.cec.org.uk/scotland/index.htm
Europe - the good and the bad
From the Youth Funding Guide p. 328
The good
- New source of funding
- Matching money for other funders
- Increased profile for the organisation
- Participation of young people
- New skills
- New ideas
- Partnerships
- Exchange opportunities.
The bad
- Greater administration
- Red tape to get through
- Large investment of time
- Commitment of resources to uncertain outcome
- Programmes change frequently
- Some programmes have large co-funding conditions
- Time lags; delays and cash flow concerns
- Monitoring requirements are heavy and can shift over the lifetime of a grant.
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Practical checklist
 click here for printable checklist
| Fundraising |
Comments |
| Organisations |
|
Have you contact organisations/individuals who might be able to give you advice/ guidance such as:
The Arts Council
Links officers
Creative co-ordinators
Arts and business
SCVO |
|
| Project |
|
Are you clear about:
The purpose of the work
The target group |
|
| Have you worked out what the strengths, and weaknesses of the project are? |
|
| The Bigger Picture |
|
Have you thought about how your project fits into the bigger strategic picture
of, e.g.
Your own organisation
The Arts Council
The Scottish Executive (and their cultural strategy)
The local authority |
|
| The Proposal |
|
Have you got someone who is not involved in the project to read the proposal and feedback on?:
Whether it sounds exciting?
Is it clear?
Is it easy to understand? |
|
| Application/letter |
|
Have you included a letter?
Is it snappy and interesting? |
|
| Budget |
|
| Have you been realistic? |
|
| Is it value for money? |
|
|
Have you included possible hidden areas of expenditure?
(see list in 'How to create a budget 'section)
e.g. Evaluation costs, artists costs (meetings preparing finished work), refreshments, equipment, launch, publicity, equipment, voluntary expenses, contingency.
|
|
| Have you included, income and in kind contributions in your budget? |
| |
|
