A Funding WorkshopJudith Leigh, Grants Director, Trusthouse Charitable Foundation

There was a problem

Someone had a good idea how to help

They told some other people

They set up a project

The project helped people

There was only one problem left…

…everything cost money.

Chapter 1: Setting the scene

Chapter 2: The story so far

Chapter 3: The plot thickens

Chapter 4: The price to be paid

Chapter 5: The happy ending and the alternative ending

The Sequel

If writing is really not your strong point, how about asking for help from:◦ Current clients

◦ Volunteers

◦ The community and other community groups

◦ Local schools or colleges

Find out about your funder◦ What’s their story?

◦ What do they fund?

◦ Do you fit?

◦ What sort of applications do they like?

◦ Use all the guidance they provide

About Trusthouse◦ Our story◦ Our priorities

Urban Deprivation Rural Issues

Community Support Arts Education Heritage Disability & Healthcare

◦ Our programmes Small Grants (£1,000 to £6,000): income under £100,000 Standard Grants (£6,001 to £12,000): income under £500,000 Large Grants (£10,000 to £50,000): capital projects under £1M for

organisations with an income under £5M). Includes village halls and community centres

◦ Our guidance Guidelines Giving Your Application the Best Chance Annual Report

“The charitable purposes… are such general charitable purposes in accordance with the laws of England and Wales as the Trustees shall in their absolute discretion from time to time determine.”

“You Can Community Club works with 10-25 year olds in Salford, most of whom have a physical and/or learning disability, and who may be in living in care and face social isolation. The charity uses projects in Sports, Arts, Outdoor Pursuits, Media and Educational Workshops to help develop the personal, social and emotional wellbeing of their members. These activities are delivered through a range of youth clubs, school holiday trips and residential stays.”

Exercise 1

Introduce your group to your neighbour

Your neighbour will introduce you to the session

Aim◦ Summing up in a sentence

Methods◦ Most detail needed

◦ Concentrate on practical aspects: how, when, where

Ask an outsider…◦ Can someone not connected with your group

understand what you do from your description?

Putting your work in its local context

UK wide funders will probably not have been there

Statistics are useful but don’t tell the whole picture◦ Use the ‘right’ statistics

Adding layers of practical detail

Make it personal

Working with a specific group

Northern Ireland: www.ninis2.nisra.gov.uk/public/home.aspx.

Enter your postcode in the ‘Enter Postcode to View Area Profile’ box at the top of the Home page.

Select the Ward tab, then the Deprivation tab. The Multiple Deprivation Measure gives you your ward rank: 1 is the most deprived and 582 the least.

For urban projects, your ward should be ranked under 120, and for rural projects under 290.

Exercise 2

Describe your area to your neighbour

or

What ONE word describes your area?

Talking Point: urban and rural areas in N Ireland

Haldane Youth Services

Haldane is a housing estate built on the east side of the River Leven on the outskirts of Balloch and Alexandria, West Dunbartonshire, 18 miles west of Glasgow. To the north and northwest is Loch Lomond National Park. Haldane is the last large council housing estate between West Dunbartonshire and Stirling, 30 miles away.

First houses within the estate were erected during the 1950s to help accommodate the influx of families that arrived due to the relocation of many light engineering firms into the Vale of Leven area. As time progressed and the demand for social housing increased, the building of semi-detached and terraced housing was replaced by 3 storeys high, 6 in a block tenement type housing causing a population increase within the estate. During the early 1990s much of the estate fell into disrepair, properties became vacant and some of the local youth with nowhere to go at night, started using these vacant properties for themselves for drinking, drug taking and other anti-social activities. Haldane was no longer an area that became a desirable residence. The Co-op market within the estate closed, the only leisure facility available became a target for vandalism and was eventually closed down. Unemployment rose within the community and apathy reigned. Haldane was becoming a community that local residents feared walking around after dark and one that local government regularly shunned.

During 1996, a young schoolgirl was killed in a house fire. Her family lived within one of these tenement type flats. The fire was caused by a chip pan left unattended as the occupant of the bottom floor flat had passed out drunk. Shocked at what had happened a group of local residents formed an action group who along with local service providers. Council, Police and key local residents formed Haldane Regeneration Group. A 12 year plan was drawn up and put into place to transform Haldane into a community that its residents would become proud of once again.

The community may be impoverished, but the residents are stronger since the regeneration finished. Families have taken more ownership of their community. Young children are playing within the small play areas built when the new housing was being erected. Haldane no longer has a stigma attached to it caused by run down housing and the people that lived within being tarred with the same brush.

Nightstop Devon Holsworthy is a small market town in Torridge with a population of about 2,700,

about 37 miles from Exeter and close to the border with North Cornwall. It has the services that outlying villages would not have eg doctors, dentist, leisure centre, primary and secondary schools, and it is linked by buses to Exeter (90 minutes away), Barnstaple (60 minutes), Bideford (40 minutes, the base for Torridge District Council) and Okehampton (45 minutes). However, its relative remoteness from the main centres in Devon means that those living and working in Holsworthy tend to be on low wages, and if reliant on public transport, are restricted by bus frequency in the type of work available to them in the main centres. North and West Holsworthy is ranked in the top 30% of the Indices of Multiple Deprivation, with significantly higher than average levels of working age people who are on low incomes (with nearly double the Devon average being in receipt of working age benefits) and who are unemployed. Young people in this area are more likely to be NEET (more than double the Devon or Torridge average) and to be in receipt of benefits (treble the Devon average and more than double the Torridge average). There are no young people services in Holsworthy, and if a young person can no longer live at home in Holsworthy, they have to travel to Bideford, Barnstaple or Exeter to get any support – assuming they can find the bus fare. Living in a rural town, let alone a village, in a remote area is very challenging for young people if they get into difficulties and do not already have a strong support network.

“So…what’s it like to live here? It is home and a place where the young people we support, as well as most of our staff and volunteers have a sense of belonging. There is a community spirit that perhaps doesn’t exist in other more affluent places. There is also severe financial hardship, social isolation and a sense of hopelessness among some who see no way towards greater prosperity. Our job among the young people is to grow their aspirations and help them to break free mentally, emotionally and physically, from low self expectations and ambitions.”

Essential to show your project works

Hard outcomes◦ More than user numbers

◦ Is there a standard way of measuring outcomes in your sector?

◦ User feedback

◦ Stakeholder feedback

Soft outcomes◦ Case histories

◦ Quotes

A community sports and leisure centre Over 1,000 children and adults took part in these activities last year.

The results of this work included:◦ of the 125 children attending sporting activities, 86% reported improved mental

and physical health◦ 14 young people developed leadership skills and took on responsibility roles in

the youth groups◦ 12 unemployed people received training and volunteering opportunities◦ 18 women and parents who attending parenting and cooking workshops said

they felt less stressed, had better mental health, had increased their knowledge of affordable healthy eating and improved their family’s diet

◦ the Chit Chat support club is supplying the missing support for people with disabilities

◦ free community transport had enabled 32 people to access activities and improve their social contact.

Care Lochaber

An 83 year old lady living alone in a tiny community 17 miles from Fort William. A taxi fare to the supermarket is £25 one way. Her nearest family member is 22 miles away. She is visually impaired and due to arthritic knees is no longer able to drive. She cannot see to cook and relies on ready meals heated in a microwave. She used to use the once-daily bus to the passenger ferry across the Loch to the shop but cannot now risk the 9 mile walk if she misses the return bus. She relies on Care Lochaber's care service to help her shop, take her to the lunch club, have social time and occasionally visit the hairdressers.

A performance arts charity

Emma is a 17 year old girl who has been in foster care from the age of 2. She was referred to the charity at the age of 16 via her fostering agency. Emma’s carers wanted to help her build up her social skills and confidence as she struggled to make friends. Emma is of African descent, however she identifies as Brazilian as that is where her foster family are from. Becauseof this, Emma struggled with her identity and was very introverted. However, she had a keen interest in theatre.

To help Emma build her self-confidence we paired her with a mentor who at the time was studying for a Masters in Theatre Studies. The intention was to choose someone who had an immediate common area of interest with Emma. Initially, they spent time talking about plays they had read or watched and on occasion went to see a few theatre productions. This helped them build a relationship and make Emma feel more secure about opening up about other areas of her life. With ongoing support from her mentor, Emma began to attend drama workshops and became confident enough to speak up in groups and share thoughts. She was also able to make friends with some of the other young people in the group.

However, when Emma turned 17, her behaviour started to regress and she fell into old habits, avoiding social situations, not attending group activities, isolating herself and not wanting to talk to people. During a 1:1 mentoring session, Emma revealed that she was anxious about turning 18 as for her it meant having to leave the family that she had come to identify as her own. She felt suddenly overwhelmed and forced into a situation she did not want to be in. Her mentor suggested Emma take part in the charity’s life skills programme, set up to prepare young people for independence. At first Emma was hesitant however after attending some of the workshops, she started to feel more positive about the next phase of her life. Emma was encouraged to discuss her fears with her family so they too could help support her as she transitions out of care by allowing her to take on more responsibility within the home such as cooking, cleaning and laundry.

By participating in the life skills programme, Emma was able to meet other young people in the same position as her facing the same challenges helped Emma feel less isolated. Our Full Circle project also offered her a new support network that she could have on going access to if needed.

More recently, Emma was encouraged by her mentor to become a volunteer as a way to stay within the Reaching Higher network. She has since been offered a role as part of the drama workshop team once she turns 18.

What do you want a grant for?◦ The difference between a donation and a grant

Why are you doing this work?◦ More of the same?◦ Something new?

How will you carry out this work?◦ Sessions, classes, groups, lunches and trips

When will this work be done?◦ Daily, weekly, monthly◦ NB: Trusthouse expects you to start spending your grant as soon

as it is paid

Running costs and salaries◦ Don’t re-invent the wheel◦ The year ahead

“We would like to apply for a grant towards our core costs and salaries for the next 12 months. This includes the rent of our building, where we deliver all our activities; heating, lighting, water; IT maintenance contract. A portion of the grant would go towards the salaries of our receptionist and our volunteer manager. Our receptionist has been with us for five years, starting as a client, then becoming a volunteer and finally is a full-time member of staff. His friendly manner and his ability to understand the problems of our clients makes his a truly welcoming presence as people walk in –his ability to calm people’s nerves about taking part makes a big impact and is often highlighted in feedback from clients. Our volunteer manager recruits and trains our volunteers from a range of places and backgrounds and she is very successful at finding just the right job for volunteers to do, whether they want to increase their work skills, become more confident or give something back to their community. Most of our younger volunteers move onto employment or training, while the older volunteers have been supported to form a network which has made a major difference in life to those who have been bereaved and were feeling excluded and left behind by the community. The manager’s enthusiasm, support and people skills are the root of this success. The plan is to expand the volunteering scheme over the next 12 months, with peer mentoring support and a new scheme for 13-16 year olds to become involved.”

“Our project aims to build organisational resilience by upgrading obsolete technical equipment and digital infrastructure to facilitate long term efficiency savings and a sustainable touring model in order to increase our reach across middle scale theatres and reach diverse and bigger national audiences, underscored by a new and diversified artistic programming and outreach programme that is designed to reach individuals from diverse backgrounds and across a wider geographic and socio-economic areas.”

Making your case for new work◦ Waiting lists

◦ Increasing demand

◦ Duplication of services?

How will people know about the work?◦ personal and arms’ length approaches

How will you get people through the door?

Who else are you working with?◦ Expectations of local networking

What will it cost?◦ Guestimates or estimates?

How much to ask for?◦ Am I being greedy asking for the full amount?◦ The pitfalls of looking at ‘average’ grants

Trusthouse’s 50% funding rule◦ Who else should be funding?

The budget◦ The whole cost and nothing but the cost

Annual Report & Accounts◦ Income & Expenditure Sheet (SOFA)◦ Balance Sheet◦ Reserves

Low or Negative reserves◦ Giving your funder reassurance

High reserves◦ Explaining why you hold more than 6 months’ costs

in unrestricted reserves

Late with returns to the Charity Commission◦ Why did it happen

◦ Why it will never happen again

What if we’ve missed out information or made a mistake?

But can’t we just send…◦ Links to websites

◦ DVDs

◦ Lots of extra sheets of information we wrote for someone else

◦ Constitution

◦ Letters of support

We ONLY want the application form, the budget and your latest annual report and accounts

Application assessment and acknowledgement

Small Grants: decisions in 6 weeks Standard Grants: going to the Grants

Committee Meeting Large Grants: assessment visit for report to

Grants Committee Meeting Grant awarded!◦ Payment of grants

Reporting how you spent the grant◦ Keeping us updated

Application unsuccessful◦ Incorrect applications

◦ Unsupported applications

Feedback

Applying again

For you◦ Applying again after a grant

For Trusthouse◦ On-line applications

◦ A new strategy

“The aim of all charities should be to go out of business.”

George Hosking, The Wave Trust