Getting ready to write your first bid
Check who the funders are who fund the kinds of activities you are looking for support for. Think about how much money you will realistically need – there are a number of funders who will fund sums up to £1,000 which is often enough to get something off the ground. Your local CVS will often know about local sources of small grants available for smaller community groups and will be happy to help you look for other funders.
Check that you are eligible – does the funder fund CICs? Do they have a limit on how much money was raised last year? Really importantly, do they fund activities in your area? With so much information on social media which covers the whole of the UK and beyond, you will see funds being advertised that are only available in the areas that the company operate in, and it is easy to get carried away. Most funders will have information on their websites that you can use to see whether or not to apply.
Check what it is that the funder wants to support. You can write the best bid in the world but if the funder is only interested in rescuing green goats, there is no point in spending time writing about your plans to develop a local community centre. That’s not to say that you cannot be creative but do be realistic about where the match is between what you and the funder want to achieve. Beware of ‘mission drift’ and starting projects because the funding is available rather than concentrating on what it is that your organisation was set up to do and is really good at.
Check whether the fund covers revenue and or capital costs. Revenue costs are the running costs of the specific project e.g. staffing. Capital costs can, put very simply only be spent on ‘things’. There are rules about what is and isn’t ‘capital’ so worth checking this out if you are looking to buy something with the funding. Also check whether the fund will contribute to the core costs of the project e.g. management, finance, HR all the things that you need to keep things ticking over in the background.
Now, turn to the back page of the application form. Check that you have all the relevant documents that you will need to submit alongside your application for funding. Most commonly this will be your last year’s accounts, a bank statement from the past 3 months, or perhaps some of your policies depending on what you are looking to do, for example, a safeguarding policy is often asked for if you want to deliver a project that benefits vulnerable people. Every funder is different but if you have these all ready then it will save the stress of having to dig them out at the last minute when the clock is ticking for the deadline to submit!
Now you can make a start on the application itself!
Check out our Funding Portal for current funding opportunities here Funding portal – CVS Tendring
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