Home › Event › Finance › Grants

GRANTS, TRUSTS & FOUNDATIONS

 

Fundraising from public grant-giving bodies, trusts and foundations is a good way for event organisers to diversify their income streams, but be aware that fundraising can be very time consuming and a long process.

Numerous different funding streams exist for events organisers to apply for but these change regularly so it is difficult to keep a comprehensive and up to date list of all funding sources.

Before starting, identify a 'target list' of potential funding sources (grants, trusts & foundations, local authorities, individual donors etc) and look at the 'match' between the funding criteria and the aims of your event or project.

As each funder has their own priorities and criteria for arts support and assessing applications, your proposal may need to be adapted for each submission. Read all application guidelines carefully and have any additional material required prepared in advance of any application deadline. Make sure that these are practically deliverable within the event and the budget.

It might be useful to think about how different funders might contribute to different parts of your project. For example, you might apply to one funder for support for the educational aspects of your event or project as this might be where their priorities lie.  Equally, you might ask for a contribution towards your audience development from a specific funder, and use other, non-specific funding towards other parts of the event budget. Remember to include this information in the budget and keep a close eye on your spending of each area of funding.

Important things to remember when applying for grants include:

  • Plan your event, be sure of your reasons for doing it and what you feel the benefits to your audience or community will be and then look for funding to support your idea. It can be tempting to go for funding when you see it, and without a fully formed idea, you can end up chasing funds and coming up with ideas to fit their requirements. Your idea should be what guides you and not the other way around.
  • Make sure you know exactly what you need the money for. Public funding bodies, trusts and foundations will want to know exactly what their money is going to be spent on and they like to see a clear budget. Majority of funders will not reimburse costs retrospectively (i.e. after you have already spent the money).
  • Look carefully through the conditions that come with accepting grants. You may be required to collect specific pieces of information to report to different funders, like audience feedback or data.
  • You benefit from asking some larger funding bodies to match-fund the other money you raise. It is rare to be funded for 100% of your budget.

A good way to learn more is to partner with a more experienced organisation, who might be able to mentor you or suggest sources of funding. Also, speak to your local support organisations, such as Community Voluntary Service.

Voluntary Action North Somerset: http://www.vansweb.org.uk/free-on-line-resources-for-charities/

South Somerset Voluntary & Community Action http://www.southsomersettogether.org.uk/index.jsp?articleid=14994

Charities Information Bureau South & West (CIB)

Subscribe to the South West Region Funding and News Bulletin, an initiative of George, the South West Funding Advisers Forum, supported by Sport England. E-mail: jod1s@btinternet.com  February 2009 edition of the newsletter attached.

In addition to the bi-monthly bulletin, there is a South West funding information database. It offers a FREE searchable facility for individual project searches accessible at www.cibsouthandwest.org.uk. It also tells you how to reach a funding adviser local to you. You can register by filling in a form online, which is sent to CIB to verify that you are a South West organisation/resident. Once approved, a username and password will then be issued to you via email. 

Visit the website http://www.cibsouthandwest.org.uk/ for the following guides:

Finding Funding - a 5 step guide Click here to download

Funding Language Explained Click here to download

Making applications - checklist Click here to download

Planning your budget - a guide for small groups Click here to download

Who gives money? Click here to download

Why monitor and evaluate? Click here to download

Reading:

The Complete Fundraising Handbook
£24.95 through Directory of Social Change

ONLINE FUNDING INFORMATION
Please note that all funding search engines and funding sources may have changed since the publication of this document.

Arts Matrix
regular updates on new funding opportunities

National Lottery funding search

Grants Net funding search
http://www.grantsnet.co.uk/findgrants.asp

Government Funding
http://www.governmentfunding.org.uk/

Grants Online
http://www.grantsonline.org.uk/#

Family Welfare Association - search for educational grants
http://www.egas-online.org.uk/fwa/trustsearch.htm

Trust Funding
http://www.trustfunding.org.uk/Default.aspx

Company Giving
http://www.companygiving.org.uk/Default.aspx

Fundinginformation.org
http://www.fundinginformation.org
Fundinginformation.org has detailed news and information about new sources of funding for all those involved in raising money for not for profit organisations throughout the UK.

NEWLY PUBLISHED GRANTS

The Lankelly Chase Foundation
www.lankellychase.org.uk

The Elephant Trust
The Elephant Trust provides grants up to £2,000 for new, innovative arts projects, particularly for visual arts. Artists, small organisations and galleries can apply. The next deadline is 14 April and 19 June 2009. For more information contact Ruth Rattenbury, The Elephant Trust, by telephone on 020 7922 1160, email ruth@elephanttrust.org.uk or visit www.elephanttrust.org.uk.

BT Community Connections
British Telecom Community Connections has been run by BT's Corporate Responsibility Unit since 2000. The scheme targets community and voluntary groups that could benefit from internet access and ICT but don't necessarily have the resources. Through the scheme, community groups can apply for the award's package that consists of:

  • a multi-media internet-ready computer;
  • a contribution towards one year's broadband internet access through BT Total Broadband;
  • a Community website.

The package is valued at £1,300. Since the launch of the awards, it is estimated that Community Connections has enabled over 5,000 groups to get online including silver surfers, playgroups, out of school clubs, pre-schools, cultural groups, local environmental initiatives and youth sports organisations. For further information, visit www.btcommunityconnections.com.

The Gordon Foundation
The aim of the Gordon Foundation is to help young people up to the age of 30 grow to full maturity as individuals and members of society. It offers grants to support their education in the fine or performing arts, particularly music, drama or design, or to allow them to engage in educational travel which involves physical challenge and endeavour. The foundation also owns and maintains two long wheelbase Land Rovers which it loans without charge to groups of young people for expeditions or field trips. Fore more information, visit www.gordon.foundation.btinternet.co.uk.

The Nationwide Foundation
The Nationwide Foundation is expected to announce its new funding programmes in April. No further applications will be accepted under the previous criteria. For more information contact Nationwide Foundation by telephone on 01793 655113, email enquiries@nationwidefoundation.org.uk or visit the website at www.nationwidefoundation.org.uk.

Wakeham Trust
The provide grants to help people rebuild their communities and are particularly interested in neighbourhood projects, community arts projects, projects involving community service by young people, or projects set up by those who are socially excluded. The Trust often, although not exclusively, support the setting up of projects, and usually award grants where amounts between £75 and £750 can make a real difference to getting the project up and running. Applications can be made in writing although the preferred method is via the online application form available from http://www.wakehamtrust.org/iwanttoapply.php

Foundation for Sport and the Arts
The Foundation for Sport and the Arts has announced the trust will close at the end of March 2012. The deadline for final applications will be the end of March 2009. The Foundation supports a wide range of activities where there is clearly beneficial impact across the community. Guidelines and application forms are available from: http://www.thefsa.net/index.htm

Allen Lane Foundation
The Allen Lane Foundation makes grants to voluntary not-for-profit organisations (which need not be registered charities, provided the work carried out is charitable) which are small (as its grants are small).  The Foundation is interested in funding work which benefits people in the following groups, or generalist work which includes significant numbers from more than one such group: asylum-seekers and refugees, gay, lesbian, bi-sexual or transgender people, gypsies and travellers, offenders and ex-offenders, older people, people from black and minority ethnic communities and migrant workers, people experiencing mental health problems or people experiencing violence or abuse.

The grants are relatively modest. Single, one-off grants range from as little as £500 up to £15,000. Grants repeated for more than one year vary from about £500 per annum up to £5,000 per annum, for a maximum of three years.  Applications can be made at any time and are processed throughout the year. http://www.allenlane.org.uk/index.html

OTHER SOURCES OF FUNDIN
Regional/ Local sources of funding

National Funding Foundation and Trusts

READING
DCMS guide to funding
http://www.culture.gov.uk/images/publications/GuidetoArtsFundinginEngland.pdf

A briefing sheet on applying to trust funds from the Voluntary Arts Network
http://www.voluntaryarts.org/uploaded/map1989.pdf

 

©Somerset County Council 2012    


The Event Planner has been produced by Tiina Taatila, Tiihee Event Management & Marketing for Somerset County Council