Funding Advice Bureau SYFAB and TfR's guide to Project Planning for Faith Organisations Introduction You can fundraise for religious work, for work that benefits a particular congregation, for capital developments to places of worship, and so on. Although there are a small number of funders that are specifically interested in funding religious work, most are not, with many specifically mentioning religion in their funding criteria as an area they will not support. Most funders only want to support organisations and activities that are open and accessible to the wider community (our sheet on Funders for Faith Projects has more details on this). Throughout your project planning, fundraising, and running your activities, you should consider how each project relates to your organisation’s aims and other activities. Organisations can often drift away from their main purpose by chasing funding opportunities. For faith organisations where the main purpose of the organisation is worship, it is important to consider whether new projects being developed alter the mission of your group. (See our Governance for Faith Organisations and Projects sheet for further details on how to formalise the aims of your project without suffering mission drift). Faith-based organisations often have to make it clear in their funding application that activities are open to the wider community (i.e. are not restricted to people of a particular faith), as well as the challenge for all fundraisers of showing how projects meet the needs of communities, and achieve positive outcomes for them. We aren’t going to make any points about the reasons why statutory and other funders may be wary of funding faith organisations; instead, we will focus on the practical steps you can take to give your application the best chance of success: by planning your project well, and anticipating the potential concerns of funders. Project planning Before making applications, you should take some time to plan out the project or activity that you want to do. Write some notes about your work, using the following headings. • Needs – what are the problems that your project will address? What evidence is there to show that these needs exist? • Aims – what is the overall purpose of your project? What will it achieve? Look for areas where your denominational leadership’s values could conflict with the aims of the project. Examples include things like: dealing with issues of sexuality and sexual orientation, or showing that people of any religion or none would attend activities that take place in your place of worship. • Outcomes – describing your work in terms of the difference it will make in the world. The Big Lottery Fund guidance on outcomes, ‘Explaining the Difference’ is very good and well worth keeping to hand for all your funding applications, not just lottery bids. http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/er_eval_ explaining_the_difference.pdf • Activities – what is it that your project will actually do? • Beneficiaries – who will your project benefit? Once you have some notes for each heading, you have a basic project plan which you can use for any funding applications you make for this project. The next step is to find possible funders (see our separate information sheet on Funders for Faith Projects) and then to apply. Each funder has its own particular criteria, and you can vastly improve your chances of success by tailoring your application to best meet the funder’s aims and interests. So, you can use your basic project plan as source material, and amend the text accordingly for each prospective funder. For example, if you are applying to funders who say they specifically want to fund a religion or the promotion of faith, you can improve your application by making reference to the role faith plays in your organisation and its work. If you are applying to a secular funder, you may have to tailor your application to address myths or perceptions about faith organisations delivering community activities. It can certainly help your application if you spend some time thinking about the possible questions that might occur to the funder assessing your proposal, and about persuasive answers. Here are some of the main areas where you can tackle negative perceptions when applying to secular funders: • Openness and benefit to community: You will need to show funders that your organisation or project can reach all sections of your local community – how you publicise your activities, how you help people overcome barriers to accessing your services, and how you show the positive impact that you have in society. • Promotion of religion: Demonstrate that you have the appropriate management and organisational structures in place that ensure all funding is used for the stated purpose, that all staff and volunteers are managed and have to adhere to the organisation’s policies and procedures, and ideally, show that you have a track record of successfully delivering community projects. • Discrimination: Show how your organisation ensures that all members of the wider community are treated equally • Governance and decision making: Make sure that your governing document (i.e. constitution) states that you can and are willing to work with the wider community, not just members of your congregation or your faith. Does your management committee or steering group include members of other faiths or none? Ensure you have an equal opportunities policy in place. (see our sheet on Governance for Faith Organisations and Projects for more information). There are a number of myths about faith organisations and their likely practices in delivering community activities. Your challenge is to make the case that your organisation can deliver community outcomes better than others, and to show that you have the skills and experience to do so. In most cases, by developing your overall case for support to show that your organisation is well-connected and has a good track record of working with the community, and has the appropriate organisational management in place to ensure it can carry out its proposed projects and activities, you will automatically address any potential concerns that funders may have. Resource: “Ensuring a level playing field: funding faith-based organisations to provide publicly funded services.” A government publication describing some of the myths around funding of faith-based organisations. Website: http://www.communities.gov.uk/documents/ communities/pdf/15073411.pdf South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau The Workstation 15 Paternoster Row Sheffield S1 2BX Tel: 0114 249 4343 Email: enquiries@syfab.org.uk Website: www.syfab.org.uk Together for Regeneration Sheffield Diocesan Church House 95-99 Effingham Street Rotherham S65 1BL Tel: 01709 309 119 Email: admin@tfr.org.uk Website: www.tfr.org.uk We can provide this information in other formats on request. Please get in touch to discuss your needs. Our information is produced for local community, voluntary & faith groups. No permission is needed for limited reproduction if SYFAB and TfR are acknowledged. Large scale reproduction or inclusion in publications for sale must have written permission from SYFAB and TfR. 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