Promoting the Role of Voluntary Organisations and Foundations
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations
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Transcript of A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations
Introduction
Since 2008, economic and political factors have brought about significant changes in the
funding available to charities, community organisations and other not-for-profit
organisations. The effect of these changes has been to make fundraising more
competitive, more time-consuming and much more challenging.
Fundraising remains a wide field, involving anything from a car boot sale to the major sums
and complex applications of the BIG Lottery Fund and the competitive tendering
processes of the public sector.
There are many sources of funds that can be developed, each with its own particular
characteristics. In the first part of this guide we look at these various sources, where to find
information on them, how to choose which to develop and what is needed to gain funds
from them.
The second part looks in more detail at the processes and requirements of voluntary sector
funders, including the BIG Lottery; public sector tendering and some practical ideas on
fundraising in the community and from individuals.
Peter See
Senior Consultant
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 2
Part One
Sources of funding and how to find more
information…
The sources that will be considered are:
Voluntary sector grants
o Trusts and Foundations o National Lottery
o Children in Need
o Comic Relief
Public sector
o Local Authorities
o Central Government
Business sponsorship and donations
Events and community fundraising
Income generation
Individual donations
Social Investment
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 3
Voluntary sector grants
Grants are typically funds paid up-front, or annually in the case of longer-term projects, for
a proposed project or package of work. In most cases they reflect a funder’s long-
standing interests; decisions on funding applications may be made anything from monthly
to annually. Although there will be requirements for monitoring and reporting as part of
the agreement, funding is not normally conditional on achieving any specific targets.
Sources of grants include national, regional and local Trusts and Foundations
Trusts and Foundations
Grant-making Trusts and Foundations
have been around for hundreds of years;
many have historically awarded grants
from the interest generated by
endowments, i.e. sums of money that the
funder may invest in order to earn
interest. The drastic reduction in interest
rates in the wake of the banking crisis of
2008 saw many of these funders faced
with a corresponding drop in the funds
available for distribution. The changes in
public sector funding, which we consider
in more detail in the next section, have
resulted in ever greater demand on the
voluntary sector. The result is increasingly
stringent and demanding application
processes, along with reductions in the
value and/or the number of awards
made.
Sources of information
There are many on-line directories of
Trusts and Foundations. Some directories
also include Local Authority contract
opportunities. Some relevant examples
are:
http://www.fundingcentral.org.uk/
Funding Central – managed by NCVO
and funded by the Government, it is free
to use and includes loans and contract
opportunities as well as grants. There are
three levels of search options, from a
single keyword to an advanced menu
driven process. There is also a weekly
newsletter and an update service
available.
http://www.trustfunding.org.uk/
Trustfunding, from the Directory of Social
Change. Has a modest annual
subscription and carries information on a
comprehensive range of grant funders –
hence it can be helpful in finding e.g.
smaller local funders. Searching is via a
series of drop-down menu options.
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 4
http://www.grantfinder.co.uk/
GrantFinder is a frequently updated
professional directory, with a dedicated
support team and a fairly expensive
annual subscription. A number of
voluntary and community service groups
subscribe to GrantFinder and will offer to
run searches on behalf of members.
http://www.grantnet.com/
GrantNet is a service from the providers of
GrantFinder. GrantNet has an online
questionnaire-based search facility and is
offered free of charge to users in
qualifying areas. The GrantNet home
page has a postcode-based eligibility
check.
https://www.grantsonline.org.uk/
Grants Online has a search facility and
latest funding news including weekly
Funding Insight newsletter.
Key to searching any directory service is
to think about the various ways in which
your project or organisation can be
described. As well as the principal arts
focussed activities, think about the area
in which you work, who you work with
and the activities you deliver. Do
beneficiaries gain access to employment
or education as a result of taking part?
Are your projects a response to a lack of
opportunity for young people or to the
level of street crime? Do you bring
together different age groups or different
sections of the community?
Voluntary and Community
Service organisations
Many of these offer fundraising advice
and support services; as mentioned
above some subscribe to GrantFinder
and can run searches on behalf of
members. They may also hold copies of
published funding directories, some of
which are devoted to specialist topics.
For details of VCS organisations, see the
National Association of Voluntary and
Community Associations, NAVCA,
website http://www.navca.org.uk/
Though not directly related to funding,
the recently launched NAVCA Essentials,
a package of business services
dedicated to small not-for-profit
organisations, may be of interest
http://www.navca.org.uk/navca-
essentials
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 5
Community Foundations
Community Foundations are county-wide
organisations which typically manage a
number of small local funds. Community
Foundation staff offer a good deal of
knowledge about the voluntary sector in
their area. They are well worth
approaching for support and may
suggest funds which are not openly
advertised. For an introduction to the
work of Community Foundations and for
details of the Foundation in your area,
see http://ukcommunityfoundations.org/
Community Foundations also manage
the Comic Relief UK Small Grant scheme.
National Lottery
There are currently twelve Lottery
distributors, including the Arts Council
England and the British Film Institute and
the BIG Lottery Fund.
http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/
The biggest of the Lottery
distributors, like all grant
makers, the BIG Lottery
Fund (BLF) is seeing
increased demand. Its
application processes can
be quite extensive and demand careful
thought and planning.
Note that the BIG Lottery Fund will not
fund any project it regards as proper to
the activities of another Lottery distributor,
e.g. the Arts Council England for
dedicated arts projects. BLF does seek to
fund projects which address issues and
needs identified by local communities
and people, e.g. they will fund a wide
range of community projects aimed at
developing skills, improving health,
revitalising the local environment and
enabling people to become more active
citizens.
All BIG Lottery Funded projects must
address one or more of the following
outcomes:
• People have better chances in life,
with better access to training and
development to improve their life
skills,
• Stronger communities, with more
active citizens, working together to
tackle their problems,
• Improved rural and urban
environments, which communities are
better able to access and enjoy,
• Healthier and more active people
and communities
Demonstrating that there is local need for
the project/work, that the community is
engaged with planning and delivering
the project and that extensive
consultation has taken place are all key
elements of a Reaching Communities
application. It is common for charitable
organisations to underestimate the level
of preparatory work that is needed and
strong projects are denied funding as a
result.
BLF does from time to time offer smaller
funding programmes focussed on very
specific issues –worth checking the
website regularly– however, its two
principal programmes are:
Reaching Communities
This is a major programme for awards in
excess of £10,000. The application
process is in two parts, the first – which is
quite extensive - is intended to identify
those applications which have a realistic
chance of success at Stage 2. Key to this
programme is evidence of community
demand and engagement in the
proposal.
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 6
If considering an application to Reaching
Communities read the guidelines and
questions carefully, ring the BLF help desk
for clarification if anything isn’t clear and
then collect all the information required.
Only proceed with an application once
you are satisfied that you can answer all
the questions and meet the qualifying
criteria.
Awards for All
Awards for All is for small Lottery grants of
between £300 and £10,000. The Lottery’s
guidelines state:
“We will pay for activities that will benefit
the community, including:
putting on an event, activity or
performance
buying new equipment or materials
running training courses
setting up a pilot project or starting
up a new group
carrying out special repairs or
conservation work
paying expenses for volunteers,
costs for sessional workers or
professional fees
transport costs.
You must read the guidance notes
carefully before filling in the application
form. We have very clear criteria as to
what we can and can’t fund.”
http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/englan
d/global-
content/programmes/england/awards-
for-all-england
Organisations with annual turnover below
£30,000 get some concessions on what
they may apply for.
Key once again is establishing that the
proposal is something the community has
identified as a need. Proposals that are
simply good ideas are unlikely to
succeed; solutions to a need from the
community have a much greater
chance. Note that Awards for All will not
support salary costs.
BBC Children in Need is the BBC's UK
charity. Since 1980 it has raised over £600
million to change the lives of disabled
children and young people in the UK. The
Small Grants programme is open to
charities and not-for-profit organisations,
for sums less than £10,000. Details at
http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b008
dk4b/features/cin-grants-small-index
It supports organisations working with
children and young people of 18 years
and under experiencing disadvantage
through:
1. Illness, distress, abuse or neglect
2. Any kind of disability
3. Behavioural/psychological difficulties
4. Living in poverty or situations of
deprivation
“We fund organisations working to
combat this disadvantage and to make
a real difference to children and young
people's lives.”
So if you are working with young people
with disadvantages or disabilities,
perhaps building self-confidence or
community inclusion, this may be worth
considering.
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 7
Comic Relief’s aim is to tackle the underlying causes of
poverty and social injustice. Hence it seeks projects that
will bring about lasting change in the target community.
https://www.comicrelief.com/apply-for-a-grant/uk/what-
we-fund
Comic Relief has a UK Small Grants programme which is managed on a local basis by
members of the Community Foundations network. For the fund criteria and application
process, contact your local Community Foundation.
Comic Relief does have two further funding schemes, its Main Grants and Special
Initiatives. It is unlikely that an arts project alone would attract funding, but it might form
part of a wider project to address issues faced by disadvantaged young people. Themes
in the UK are:
Better Futures - Improving the lives of vulnerable young people,
Healthier Finances - Tackling financial poverty, and enabling economic resilience in
families and communities, as well as supporting enterprise and employment.
Safer Lives - Reducing violence, abuse and exploitation.
Stronger Communities - Empowering people, organisations and networks to play an
effective role in their communities and society, as well as nurturing talent and
leadership.
Fairer Society - Helping people overcome inequality and have a say in decisions that
affect their lives
Public Sector
Local authorities funding is focused
towards front line services, so there is very
little money for the arts. Invariably public
sector arts funding will go to established
organisations in an area e.g. a well-
established museum or for a one off
event. The best approach to seeking
public sector funds would be to talk to
the service lead for sport and recreation
at the local council to find out what is
available, as advertising of contracts for
arts projects may be minimal. Also
consider partnering with a big provider
who is delivering frontline services and
who wants to offer something innovative,
such as an arts project, alongside their
work, for any tenders they submit.
Online portals such as CompeteFor
enable searching of tender opportunities
and you can sign up to email opportunity
alerts, see https://www.competefor.com/
Funding directory services can also
include details of these schemes, but it is
essential to check Local Authority
websites, get to know your local
councillor and the Cabinet Member for
the arts and ensuring that they know of
you – who you are and what you do.
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 8
Business
sponsorship and
donations
Business support, especially from local
businesses is down to individual
approaches. There are few directories of
business sponsorship or donations. Our
approach is to look at the websites of
businesses with local or regional interests,
find those with suitable Corporate Social
Responsibility, CSR, or community
engagement policies and make an
approach business by business. It is also
worth searching for members of Business
in the Community, www.bitc.org.uk/ a
network of businesses that have pledged
to support the community. Within that
holders of the “Community Mark” have
demonstrated their commitment with
funding and / or resources,
http://www.bitc.org.uk/services/awards-
recognition/communitymark/about-
communitymark
Support from businesses can be about
more than cash; in-kind support such as
staff volunteering is popular with many
businesses – read their websites to gain
an indication of what they like to support.
If they can re-design your website, write a
suite of employment policies or offer any
service which would be expensive to you
but cheap to them, they are worth an
approach.
Business sponsorship is a two-way deal;
the business gains something in return for
its support. Acknowledgment in publicity
is a given, but can you go further and
offer complimentary tickets for
performances or previews of an
exhibition for the directors, staff and
guests of a sponsor or perhaps loan art
works for the boardroom or reception
area.
Many businesses will combine a team
building event with fundraising and look
for a suitable recipient. Keeping your
details in front of businesses means they
may consider you as a beneficiary.
Fundraising in the
Community
Fundraising in the community is one of
the growing sources of funding in the
voluntary sector. It can not only generate
income but also raise awareness of who
you are and what you do.
Fundraising events can be great
opportunities to get friends and well-
wishers involved – those people who say
they would love to help but don’t wish to
attend regular meetings.
Ideas for events are almost endless, see
https://www.charitychallenge.com/pdf/a
-z_fundraising_ideas.pdf for an A-Z of
ideas (there are more than 26!)
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 9
Income
generation
What skills or assets do you have that
others would value? Could you hire out
your premises? Could you offer arts
workshops to schools, community groups
or even businesses as a teambuilding
event? Do you charge admission for
performances or exhibitions? Could you
give talks about the history of theatre or
music to service clubs or community
groups in return for a fee?
It can be difficult to identify income
generating ideas when you have been
closely involved in an organisation for
some time; try asking someone who
understands what you do to contribute.
It’s OK for charities to earn income,
though if it becomes a significant
proportion of turnover it would be wise to
consider setting up a trading subsidiary.
Social Investment
Social Investment is included here for
completeness. Although the approach
has been around for some time, central
Government and a number of major
Trusts and Foundations are increasingly
looking to business-style cash plus skills
investments. Think about Dragons’ Den
and you are not too far away. They are
looking for financial as well as social
returns and tend to look at the whole
organisation, not just a project. Thresholds
for these investors are high, typically £1M
- £1.5M turnover. If you do wish to pursue
this, seek specialist advice. The
Government-backed Social Investment
Business Group, www.sibgroup.org.uk/
would be a starting point, or for an
independent body try Impetus-Private
Equity Foundation, http://impetus-
pef.org.uk/
This is an evolving and emerging source
and smaller investors may well emerge.
One organisation worth checking is the
European Venture Philanthropy
Association, EVPA, at www.evpa.eu.com
Individuals
People generally only give if they are
asked. Who to ask? Anyone who has an
interest: audiences, visitors to exhibitions,
former participants, well-wishers. A simple
flyer can invite a donation, carry a
Standing Order instruction for their bank
and include a Gift Aid declaration for
any taxpayer.
Keep careful records of those donors –
taking the requirements of the Data
Protection Act in to account – they might
give a bit extra for a one-off appeal or be
willing to help in fundraising events.
Make it easy for people to give – think
about a Click to Give option on your
website and get your details on online
giving websites such as:
• Bmycharity
• Everyclick
• Justgiving
• MyDonate
• Virgin Money Giving
Saying thank you isn’t just good manners,
it can be an opportunity to encourage
further donations. Offer to include donors
on your newsletter distribution and send
invitations to all your events.
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 10
Part Two
Getting started
All groups need some money to carry out
their services or activities. So, although
you would probably rather get on with
the ‘real’ work of running your group, you
also have to spend some time planning
and raising funds. If everyone in your
group, or on your committee, takes
fundraising seriously and gets involved in
thinking it through, then you are much
more likely to be successful. Once the
whole group has decided what money
needs to be raised, by when, and how,
then the actual job of raising it can be
allocated to a smaller group. But make
sure that they report back regularly on
progress.
Keep records
Keep a record of all the funders you
approach, with the dates that you
approached them and the outcome. This
is useful information for the future – giving
you an idea of who you can go back to
and when.
Plan ahead
Raising money can take quite a long
time. Community fundraising events
frequently need to be planned a year, or
even more, in advance in order to secure
suitable venues, advertise in appropriate
publications, book guests or celebrity
speakers etc. Corporate sponsorship
campaigns ideally should target
businesses when they are preparing their
budgets for the following year – which
can be 6 months or more in advance.
Funders can take a long time to respond
and have their own timetables which
might not fit with that of your project or
organisation. For example:
• Local authorities and government
bodies may only invite applications
once a year.
• Some charitable trusts only meet
once or twice a year
• Some special funds only invite
applications every three years
So, as a general guide you would be
advised to apply for money at least six to
nine months before you actually need it.
Once you get going you should get into
the habit of planning your fundraising
needs two years ahead. This is especially
important if you are employing salaried
staff.
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 11
Some legal
considerations
Before you start applying for money you
will need to consider whether you need
any of the following:
• A written constitution – most funders
will require some sort of
constitution or written set of rules
• Registering with the Charity
Commission opens up more
funding opportunities. To become
a Registered Charity you must
normally have an annual turnover
of over £5000. You should also
have:
• A committee, willing to
become a Board of Trustees
• A bank account with two
independent signatories
• Last year’s accounts
• Insurances
• Meet health and safety
requirements
Equalities
Ensuring equality of opportunity and
access should run through everything you
do and it is something that funders will ask
about. Is membership of your group and
access to your activities or services open
to everyone in the community you are set
up to serve? For instance, if you are
running a drop-in centre can people
using wheelchairs get into the building? If
you are providing a service to clients in a
diverse area, do you have workers or
volunteers who can speak the relevant
community languages? All of this should
be documented in an Equalities Policy,
taking note of the nine “protected
characteristics” defined in the Equalities
Act 2010.
Other policies
There is an almost limitless number of
policies that could be drafted; think
about the way you work, what needs to
be written down for the smooth running
of the organisation and the safety of all
participants. For example, working with
children and young people (and with
vulnerable adults) will require a policy on
safeguarding and the Disclosure and
Barring Service (formerly the CRB
Disclosure).
Model policies are available on most
topics; Voluntary Action Islington has a
comprehensive suite of model policies –
commendably available free of charge,
see
http://www.vai.org.uk/services/model-
policies-and-toolkits/
Keep up to date
Whilst you do not want to be ‘money
led’, you do need to keep up to date
about funds and new pots of money.
Some suggestions:
• Get into networks with groups
doing similar work. Subscribe to
relevant journals, where they are
available
• Make sure that your group is on
relevant mailing lists or email lists
• Consider subscribing to sector
press such as Third Sector,
Professional Fundraising, Charity
Times, Charity Funding Report
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 12
Fundraising skills
You may think that there is no one in your group, or not enough of you with the
experience or skills to fundraise. Don’t panic – help is available. You could send people on
a training course or get advice and information from local or county fundraising
specialists, such as:
Cambridgeshire
Cambridgeshire ACRE
http://www.cambsacre.org.uk/
Cambridge, S.Cambridgeshire and Fenland: CCVS
East Cambridgeshire: VCAEC
Huntingdonshire: Hunts Forum
Norfolk
Norfolk Rural Community Council
http://www.norfolkrcc.org.uk/
West Norfolk CVA
http://www.westnorfolkvca.org/
Peterborough
Peterborough Council for Voluntary Service
http://www.pcvs.co.uk/
Suffolk
Community Action Suffolk
http://www.communityactionsuffolk.org.uk/
Think about working together with similar organisations. Trusts and Foundations and most
public sector buyers are happy to support partnership or consortium applications; special
requirements that arise are to ensure that there is clear agreement on who will do what
and especially ownership of reporting and accounting, both financial and delivery.
Some funders state they will only consider applications from Registered Charities; if you are
not registered, ask if they will consider a joint application with a Registered Charity who will
act as fund holder. If you need an introduction to a suitable charity, The Bridge will be
willing to act as a broker!
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 13
Applying to Trusts and Foundations
• Read the funder’s published guidelines
• Ensure your proposal is consistent with the funder’s values and interests
• Don’t be afraid to split the proposal into smaller components, approaching
particular funders for particular requirements
• Request an appropriate amount consistent both with the sums you have managed
and the sums the funder has previously awarded.
• Watch out for deadlines, especially in online applications.
• Contact
– Does anyone in your organisation know any Trustees of potential funders?
– Speak to the funder’s administrator if at all possible. With few exceptions
they are helpful and constructive. Even if they say an application is unlikely
to succeed, they have at least saved you a lot of wasted time.
– Who can they speak to? Remember to include in your application detail of
who a funder may speak to. There may well be questions they would like to
clarify – sometimes at very short notice.
• Establish the need for your proposal. Funders expect solutions to demonstrable
community needs.
• Proposal and Objectives – say what you are going to do
• Identify Outcomes – how will beneficiaries’ lives be changed by your proposed
activity?
• Establish Credibility – describe your history of delivering services and activities. Use
case studies, quotes and photographs to bring it to life.
• Organisation – Say who you are, your Mission and Values; who is involved and how
is the organisation structured?
• Finance – unless the organisation is a Registered Charity with turnover in excess of
£25,000, your accounts are unlikely to be in the public domain. Attach a copy of
your latest accounts and explain any major changes in income or expenditure.
• Unique Selling Point – what makes you different?
• Keep it concise (around 2-3 pages) and use plain simple English wherever possible.
If a detailed professional or specialist description is important, consider putting it in
an annex and quoting the main points in the body of the proposal.
• Include a cover letter which is printed on headed paper.
A little bit more…
Once you have considered the major points above, think about:
• Title of project - something short that captures what you will do
• Include a half-page summary if the proposal is unavoidably lengthy
• Project plan – give the timetable of activity
• Monitoring and Evaluation – how will you demonstrate the impact of your project,
progress and can you measure value for money? Monitoring and Evaluation has
become a major strand of funding applications. Its detailed treatment is outside
the scope of this guide, but for ideas see Prove and Improve
http://www.proveandimprove.org/ or the Charities Evaluation Service website,
http://www.ces-vol.org.uk/
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 14
• Budgets and Funding plan for all but the smallest proposals, how have you arrived
at the costs and how will the project be financed?
• The request should ask for a specific sum and say what it will achieve
• The application should be signed by the Chair or Chief Executive. It is a courtesy to
the funder and demonstrates that the organisation is committed to the proposal.
• Make sure that correct contact details are included.
• Presentation – in written applications, use colour, pictures and bullet lists; use
headings and divide into sections.
Disadvantage
Working with disadvantaged communities or with disadvantaged young people
frequently appear in funders’ criteria. So what constitutes disadvantage?
Economic disadvantage is most commonly measured by the Indices of Multiple
Deprivation, IMD. This is a government ranking of areas of the country, looking at a
number of factors including income per head, how low income affects children and
young people, availability of services etc. It can go down in some cases to quite small
geographic areas. The rankings are based on a three-yearly survey, 2013 results should be
published shortly. The whole survey is available at
https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/english-indices-of-deprivation-2010 but is
heavy work to understand.
Most Local Authorities publish an extract relating to their own area and these generally
prove a more usable source. It can also support an application to explain factors such as
rural isolation – the impact on quality of life and opportunities that results from living in
sparsely populated parts of the country.
Public Sector Tendering
The environment
The Open Public Services White Paper
published in 2011, outlined the
Government’s intended plans for reform
of public services. The paper sets out a
series of principles which the Government
intends to apply to its intended reforms:
These principles are:
Wherever possible we will increase
choice.
Public services should be
decentralised to the lowest
appropriate level.
Public services should be open to
a range of providers.
We will ensure fair access to public
services.
Public services should be
accountable to users and to
taxpayers.
(Open Public Services White Paper 2011)
The reforms set out plans for enhancing
greater choice for individuals over the
services they receive, and devolving
control over the delivery of services to
individuals and communities. There are
exceptions of some local and national
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 15
services such as tax collection, prisons,
emergency healthcare or welfare to
work, cannot be devolved beyond local
or national government structures and will
be subject to delivery in house, but more
and more often will be outsourced to
private and voluntary sector providers.
Traditionally, the local authority and
central government would tender for
bespoke services designed to tackle a
specific problem. However, over recent
months, there has been a greater move
throughout the country to use
‘framework’ agreements, where the
tenderer invites organisations to tender to
become part of a framework of
providers, who will be the only
organisations invited to tender for larger,
fewer and longer contracts as and when
the opportunities arise, or be the only
organisations on a supplier list for ‘call-off’
work.
You will therefore be tendering in an
environment of increased competition
with larger private sector companies,
who can offer economies of scale and in
some cases have stronger systems for
quality, monitoring and financial
management.
In addition, there is a greater emphasis
on ‘payment by results’ and
outcomes/outputs based contracting.
This means that you will paid a smaller
‘service fee’ with a greater additional
payment achieved for the achievement
of a specific output e.g. someone
moving into work and sustaining their job
for 6 months.
Relevant sources of public sector
contracts include:
Local authorities;
Skills Funding Agency;
Department of Health/PCT’s
Department of Work and Pensions;
Department of Education;
Department for Culture, Media
and Sport
Local Economic Partnerships;
The Process
E-procurement has become more and
more common. This is where you access
an online portal to register interest and
tender for a contract.
So that you can keep abreast of
tendering opportunities and be ready to
tender when they arise, it is advisable to
take the time to register on the tender
portals for your local authority and other
government departments relevant to
your work. There are also a range of
tender alert services – Business Link
provides a free service, others can be
expensive. It is recommended that you
supplement tender alert services with
your own Google searches (weekly),
checking government websites, as well
as keeping your ear to the ground. Every
tender you are not aware of until the
deadline date, is a missed funding
opportunity.
Tenders are usually a staged process.
Beginning with an expression of interest, a
typically tender will follow the following
stages:
Expression of interest: The buyer will
request that interested suppliers submit
an expression of interest. This is so that
they can plan for the expected numbers
of tenders they will have to evaluate.
Once they have received your expression
of interest, you will normally be invited to
the next page of the tendering portal, or
be sent with appropriate documents and
instructions.
Pre-Qualification Questionnaire (PQQ):
The buyer will evaluate the suitability of
an organisation through a separate pre-
qualification questionnaire, before
inviting successful organisations to the
next stage (ITT – see below). Here the
buyer is trying to assess how financially
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 16
sound your organisation is, how much
experience you have, whether you
comply with legislation, whether you as
an organisation present a risk to them.
However, the reality is that tender
processes are often rushed, and so the
buyer will combine the PQQ with the ITT –
you will need to score highly on both to
have a chance of success.
Invitation to Tender (ITT): Here the buyer is
trying to assess whether you can deliver
the specification to an appropriate level
of quality, manage the service soundly
and meet your targets for outputs and
price.
Post Contract Negotiations: In theory,
what you have said you will deliver in
your tender is fixed for a period specified
in the terms and conditions of the ITT. In
practice, there is usually a process after
the buyer has selected their preferred
supplier, where the buyer will want to
negotiate on aspects of the submitted
tender.
At all times, the awarding authority will set
out the schedule for procurement, which
will outline each deadline – not only your
deadlines for submission, but also their
deadlines for answering questions,
evaluating the tenders received,
conducting interviews and negotiations
and the date they want the tendered
service or project to start and finish. They
will always publish specific instructions
about how the tender should be
submitted, provide annexes, a
specification, background information
and offer the facility for asking questions.
Before you tender: Fail to prepare,
prepare to fail
Tenders can be lost or won well in
advance of when the tender itself is
advertised. There are some key things you
should be doing, even when not involved
in a tender process.
Identify and allocate the resources
needed to write tenders as part of your
organisation forecast: Writing tenders is
time-consuming, requires input from a
range of sections of your organisation,
invoke costs for printing and delivery, and
is a costly business. Allocate adequate
resources in your budget and staffing.
Develop strong delivery partnerships:
Developing good partnerships which are
effective, will help you achieve greater
coverage, better efficiency, increase
your access to expertise and resources. It
will also mean that you will have a ready-
made supply chain which you can call
upon when you want to tender. Likewise,
where your partners are in a stronger
position to tender than you are, it means
you can subcontract with them and still
get a bite of the cherry!
Be involved strategically: Get yourself on
local forums, strategic partnerships,
involved in local authority consultation
work. Encourage inward visits to your
organisation from key stakeholders and
take the time to visit others. This will give
you access to insider knowledge, current
research, best practice and potential
partnerships.
Review your management, finance and
monitoring processes: You will only get
paid if you deliver your targets, can
evidence achievement and remain
within budget. This means that you have
to have strong management, finance
and monitoring resources and processes.
You will nearly always be asked about this
in your tender, so it is worthwhile
conducting an exercise where you
consider:
The effectiveness of your financial
controls and the suitability of the
people responsible for finance
within your organisation;
The strength of your management
resources and the ways in which
you manage your existing services;
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 17
Who is involved in the collation of
evidence of achieving outputs and
outcomes – are they the right
people, how much
involvement/ownership do your
beneficiaries have over the
process?
Is there a risk of inaccuracy (either
accidental or deliberate)?
Do you allocate enough time and
resources for management reviews?
Are the KPI’s you set sufficient to
give you the data you need to
identify small problems before they
become failed delivery?
What level of objectivity do you
achieve?
Quality assurance and measuring
impact: Commissioners answer to MP’s
and theoretically the public. Therefore in
spending public money, they want to be
sure they will achieve the impact they
want and deliver something which is high
quality. You will need to be able to
evidence your ability to do this in your
tender, so again, it is imperative that you:
Achieve quality assurance
accreditation – you will be
competing with organisations who
have achieved Matrix, ISO, PQASSO
etc;
Evaluate your work, capture data
on your beneficiaries and measure
the impact your work has in the
community and to individual users
and organisations;
Assess best practice and lessons
learnt.
Writing your tender
There is no magic formula for writing
tenders. There are numerous variables
which you can never account for, such
as who you are competing with. Be
prepared to fail at tender writing more
times that you will ever be successful.
Develop a thick skin, learn from your
mistakes and keep trying. You have got
to be in it, to win it!
However, there are some things you must
never fail to do when writing any tender.
These can seem obvious right now, but
when you are in the middle of a tender
process, are very easily forgotten.
Assess if this tender is right for you: Read
all of the documentation and then read it
again. Ask yourself:
Can you deliver the work in the
way they ask?
Does it make financial sense for
you to tender?
Do you meet the eligibility criteria?
Can you manage potential TUPE
obligations?
If you can’t say yes to all of the above –
do not waste your time tendering.
Identify your offer: You need to decide
how you are going to deliver the services
they ask for and how you are going to
‘sell’ your organisation and approach.
There may be a specification, but it is up
to you to design the project. Therefore
you need to:
Identify your USP, added value
and community benefits;
Select your partners and work with
them to develop the project
design;
Identify how you can improve on
the specification;
Collate good delivery examples;
Check the evaluation criteria and
weighting – particularly in relation
to price. This will give you an idea
on how to pitch your proposal as it
will help you understand what their
priorities are. E.g. 60% weighting
given to price means that they are
looking for value for money;
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 18
Co-ordinate your tender writing effectively: Tenders take over your life! You need to
develop a time-bound plan for writing your tender which should include time for:
Attending workshops;
Holding planning meetings with staff and partners;
Checking question and answers updates every day;
Enabling drafting and re-drafting to take place;
Delays in uploading the tender to a portal or posting/couriering your submission to
the buyer.
Successful writing: Your tender is your
sales pitch. Do not be scared about
being pushy, passionate or even cheesy!
It’s your only chance at shining and you
have to stand out from the crowd. Some
tips which have worked in the past:
Use clear and succinct language,
but make it personable. Always
remember, people buy in to
people;
Avoid jargon and abbreviations
other than the jargon and
abbreviations used in the
specification;
Use the specification as the basis
for your answer and then use your
proposed methods to ‘dress the
window’;
If the questions ask for a series of
points to be answered – answer
them in the same order as they are
asked;
Use pictures, photos and diagrams
if you can;
Use examples to evidence your
claims;
Don’t be afraid of showing what
you have learnt when things have
gone wrong in the past
Use quantifiable evidence of your
track record and expertise, as well
as a qualitative explanation
Always stick within the page or
word limits specified. If there is
nothing specified, you write as
much as you need to, as long as
you are still using clear and
succinct language;
Double check that you have not
missed anything from the
specification out or from any
amendments or further information
provided through the question
and answer process;
Get someone else who has had no
involvement in the tender writing
to read through what you have
written;
The million dollar question – what do
commissioners want? Always remember
that the commissioner is spending public
money, and therefore they will want to
contract with organisations who can
offer:
Added value and value for
money;
Financial viability;
Ability to manage complex
services and supply chains;
Quality and performance – ability
to deliver the service;
Understanding of the market,
beneficiary group and locality;
Risk management;
Innovation.
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 19
Businesses
The value of having known contacts within businesses – warm leads as opposed to cold
leads – cannot be overstated. Your Trustees, staff and beneficiaries are all ambassadors
for your organisation, so ask them to sound out their friends and acquaintances for
support. It is helpful to give everyone a simple, 2pp, brief so that the same message is
used and have someone coordinating approaches to avoid everyone converging on the
same business!
The brief should explain how much you are seeking and what the money would enable
you to achieve. Include a description of the ways in which any award would be
acknowledged and think about making a sponsor or donor feel special – such as privilege
tickets to a performance or exhibition or a cheese and wine reception beforehand.
Check business websites for examples of their interests and past support; likewise, research
the support that organisation similar to yourselves have received.
Fundraising in the Community
Any fundraising event will require careful planning; they can be costly to run and you
don’t want the negative publicity of a poorly run or poorly supported event.
Events are a great opportunity to draw in people who don’t wish to have a regular
commitment; Plan carefully including timescales and schedules; divide work into
manageable packages and delegate to teams or individuals as appropriate. Ensure that
everyone knows when work needs to be completed and to whom they should report any
problems.
Don’t forget to ensure that insurance policies cover your proposed activity.
And finally…
• Successful fundraising is about building relationships
• Say “Thank You”
• Send Newsletters, press releases, announcements to your funders
• Send Invitations or tickets, to your performances, exhibitions events.
Suffolk Office: 01394 610581
London Office: 0207 239 4969
www.charity-fundraising.org.uk
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 20
Appendix
Funder prospect research
Grant-makers can change their funding priorities when seeking to address a new need, implement a new application process or for numerous
other reasons. Most will advertise changes on their website just before they take place but, in some cases -particularly where there is no website-
applicants can easily miss new criteria and application procedures. For this reason, always check funding criteria before applying and do not
assume that prospect research is entirely up-to-date. The matrix below is correct in terms of information available on 20th January 2014. Results
are presented in alphabetical order by funder name.
Organisation /
Grant Scheme
Registered
Charity? Funder Priorities
Geographic
Priorities
Suitable grant
request
Application
Procedure
Application
Deadlines Comments Weblink
Adnams
Charity General, the arts
Within 25
miles of
Southwold £100-£2,500 in writing
7th March
2014 for
April
meeting
The Trustees except to
see the result of its
donations within twelve
months
http://adna
ms.co.uk/ab
out/the-
adnams-
charity/how-
to-apply/
Alfred Williams
Charitable Trust Local, Performing arts Suffolk £1,000-£2,000 in writing rolling
Annie Tranmer
Charitable Trust General, education
Suffolk and
adjacent
counties £1,000
Letter of
introduction
- no
unsolicited
applications n/a
Anton Jurgens
Charitable Trust Welfare, general
South East
England £1,000-£3,000 in writing
Trustees
meet twice
a year in
June and
October
Have previously
supported charities in
Suffolk
Brigadier and
Mrs D V Phelps
Charitable Trust General Norfolk £100-£5,000 in writing rolling
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 21
Cambs
Community
Foundation
Range of grant
programmes Cambs
range of
grants see website see website
No appropriate funds
open at present
http://www.c
ambscf.org.u
k/grants.html
Catalyst
Charitable Trust
Small
charities
Small charities in
particular schools Suffolk
no grant
amounts
listed in writing rolling
Chapman
Charitable Trust Culture Cambs £1,000-£2,000
in writing
including
short
summary of
project
The trustees
meet twice
a year,
usually
around the
end of
March and
the end of
September.
http://www.c
hapmanchari
tabletrust.org.
uk/index.html
Charles
Littlewood Hill
Trust
Children (including
schools) Norfolk £2,500 in writing rolling
Clore Duffield
Foundation
Must be a
registered
charity
Small-scale community
endeavours, cultural
sector including
performing arts learning
spaces £5,000+
in writing -
two sides of
A4 no deadline
http://www.c
loreduffield.or
g.uk/page_su
b.php?id=73
&parent=35
DC Moncrieff
Charitable Trust
Must be a
registered
charity
Social Welfare, currently
no further requests for
funding invited
Norfolk,
Suffolk
no grant
amounts
listed
Letter of
introduction n/a
Earl Fitzwilliam
Charitable Trust General
Cambs,
Peterb’gh up to £5,000 in writing rolling
Eastern
Counties
Educational
Trust Limited
Education, training,
care and welfare of
people with special
educational needs,
particularly those under
25 with emotional and
behavioural difficulties.
Suffolk,
Norfolk and
Cambs £5,000
application
form from
the contact rolling
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 22
Eranda
Foundation The Arts
£10,000-
£20,000 in writing rolling
Esmee
Fairbairn
Suffolk Fund
The fund will support a
wide range of initiatives
that are designed to
improve the quality of
lives of vulnerable
people especially those
living in the most
deprived communities
in Suffolk. We are
particularly keen for
organisations to
address some of the
needs highlighted in
Suffolk Community
Foundation’s Hidden
Needs Research.
Arts:Applications are
welcome from
organisations which are
testing new
approaches of working
and pioneering new
ways of engaging with
audiences and
supporting their local
community.
Organisations should be
working with harder to
reach groups and/or
be addressing difficult
issues.The fund will not
support one-off pieces
of work (i.e. an
exhibition or theatre
production). Suffolk
£10,000-
£30,000
application
form
17th March
2014
http://www.s
uffolkcf.org.u
k/grants/esm
ee-fairbairn-
suffolk-fund/
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 23
Foyle
Foundation
Need to
have
charitable
status
Small charities working
at grass roots and local
community level, in any
field, across a wide
range of activities
£1,000-
£10,000
application
form
no
deadlines
http://www.f
oylefoundati
on.org.uk/sm
all-grants-
scheme/
Ganzoni
Charitable Trust
General charitable
purposes, capital
projects Suffolk £1,000-£2,000 in writing rolling
Geoffrey
Burton
Charitable Trust General
Suffolk and
the
Needham
Market area £1,000 in writing
28 February,
20 May, 31
August and
15
December.
Geoffrey
Watling Charity General
Norfolk and
Waveney
District of
Suffolk
no grant
amounts
listed in writing rolling
Goodman Trust Education Norfolk
no grant
amounts
listed in writing rolling
Henry Smith
Charity -
County Grants
Young People
Projects and services
that help maximise the
potential of young
people who
experience
educational, social and
economic
disadvantage;
including young people
in, or leaving, care. Suffolk up to £10,000
Suffolk
County
grants
currently
closed due
to all funds
being
allocated rolling
Excludes arts projects,
unless able to evidence
therapeutic or
rehabilitative benefits
to:
older people;
disabled people;
vulnerable groups;
prisoners, or
young people
experiencing
educational, social and
economic
disadvantage (such as
young people in, or
leaving, care).
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 24
John Ellerman
Foundation
Must be a
registered
charity
Arts (Theatre, Music and
Dance): Performing arts
organisations should
demonstrate some of
the following:national
significance in the
nature or quality of the
workbringing the
performing arts to
people who would not
otherwise
attendinclusion of new
and emerging talent as
a part of their overall
programme of work (ie
the development of
talent is not the
organisation's main
focus)innovative
approaches.
£30,000+,
multi year
funding
Two stage
process -
stage one is
a maximum
of 2 sides of
A4 in writing rolling
Occassionally they fund
organisations that work
locally, for example if a
programme has good
potential for replication
or being rolled out on a
larger scale. Need to
have an income of
£100k+
http://ellerm
an.org.uk/
John Gilpin
Trust
Must be a
registered
charity General East Suffolk £1,500 in writing
Application
s are
considered
in April and
October
John Jarrold
Trust Arts, education Norfolk £1,000-£2,000 in writing rolling
http://www.j
arrold.com/
Leslie Mary
Carter
Charitable Trust
Welfare organisations:
will need to refer to
disadvantage
Local
projects in
Suffolk and
Norfolk £5,000 in writing rolling
The trustees prefer well
thought-out
applications for larger
gifts, than many
applications for smaller
grants.
Lord Cozens-
Hardy Trust
Education, welfare,
general Norfolk £1,000 in writing rolling
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 25
Martin Laing
Foundation
Small community
projects benefiting
disadvantaged young
people, Norfolk - based
activities Norfolk £500-£5,000 in writing rolling
http://www.l
aingfamilytrus
ts.org.uk/mar
tin_laing_foun
dation.html
Mason Trust
Projects for young
people (ages 12 to 25
years) suffering from
isolation in deprived
towns or rural areas in
Norfolk and Suffolk.
Norfolk and
Suffolk
range of
grants
application
form
31st March
2014
http://www.t
hemasontrust
.org/funding/
funding-for-
organisations
/
Mickleham
Ann Byrne
Charitable Trust
Relief in need,
disadvantaged young
people Norfolk £1,000 in writing rolling
Mills and
Reeve
Charitable Trust General Norfolk £1,000 in writing rolling
Mills and
Reeve
Charitable Trust General Norfolk £1,000-£2,000 in writing rolling
Morgan Blake
Charitable Trust General East Anglia in writing rolling
Mr and Mrs
Philip Rackham
Charitable Trust General Norfolk £1,000-£5,000 in writing rolling
Norfolk
Community
Foundation
Range of grant
programmes Norfolk
range of
grants see website see website
No appropriate funds
open at present
http://www.n
orfolkfoundat
ion.com/fund
s.htm
Pennycress
Trust
General charitable
purposes Norfolk £100-£500 in writing
Trustees
meet
regularly
Ranworth Trust
No grants
to non-
registered
charities
Education in the
community East Norfolk £1,000-£2,000 in writing rolling
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 26
Scarfe
Charitable Trust
Arts and musical
projects Suffolk £1,000-£2,000 in writing
Trustees
meet
quarterly
Simon Gibson
Charitable Trust
No grants
to non-
charitable
bodies General East Anglia £3,000-£5,000 in writing
End of
March 2014
Smith and
Pinching
Charitable Trust Education
Norfolk,
Suffolk,
Cambs £500 in writing rolling
Suffolk
Community
Fund - Suffolk
Fund and
Private Funds
Addressing need within
Suffolk, Core Costs,
Project Costs Suffolk up to £2,000
application
form
31st
January
2014
Applications for the
Suffolk Fund are
welcomed between
deadlines as we hold
various Private Donor
grant panels
throughout the year
who may be able to
consider your
application.
http://www.s
uffolkcf.org.u
k/grants/suffo
lk-fund-and-
private-
funds/
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 27
The Cole
Charitable Trust
Opportunities for young
people, Arts and
culture Cambs £500
application
form
Trustees
meet to
consider
applications
twice a
year usually
in April/May
and
October/No
vember,
applications
should be
received six
weeks
before the
meeting
and precise
deadlines
are
available
on the
website.
http://www.c
olecharitable
trust.org.uk/
The DG
Marshall of
Cambridge
Trust General, local charities Cambs £500 in writing rolling
The Holst
Foundation Arts
The Trust has
historical
links with
Aldeburgh
in Suffolk £3,000 in writing
Trustees
meet four
times a year
The Pye
Foundation
General particularly
young people
Cambs and
the
immediate
surrounding
areas £2,000-£5,000 in writing rolling
A guide to fundraising for voluntary sector arts organisations | March 2014 | page 28
The Tresillian
Trust
Community based
projects supporting
young people
Admin
office is
based in
Norwich £2,000-£3,000 in writing rolling
Trusthouse
Charitable
Foundation
Rural Issue, Urban
Deprivation: Arts:
projects which enable
the disabled and
people living in areas of
need and poverty to
participate in the
performance arts and
to experience artistic
excellence in the
performing arts;
projects which
encourage and give
opportunities to young
talented people whose
circumstances might
otherwise deny them
(but not bursaries or
fees);
up to £9,999
towards
running costs
application
form rolling
http://www.tr
usthousechari
tablefoundati
on.org.uk/ind
ex.html
Wingate
Foundation
Need to
be a
charitable
organisati
on Performing Arts
£5,000 per
year
application
form
4th April,
23rd June
2014
http://www.
wingatefoun
dation.org.uk
/