Funding Advice Bureau SYFAB guide to... Fundraising – getting started This sheet is a short guide to the basics of fundraising. It’s aimed at groups who are just getting started. You might find it useful if you are in one of the following situations: • A brand new group that has just set up • A group of people who plan to set up an organisation that will need funding • An established group that needs to raise money for the first time • A new worker with fundraising responsibilities in an established organisation. Most groups need some money to carry out their services or activities. So, although you would probably rather get on with the activities you were set up for, you also need to spend some time making plans and raising funds. What you need to have in place before you start fundraising Before they give you any money, funders will want to see that you are set up as a legitimate group. You will need to have the following in place: • A management committee made up of at least three people. There should be a chairperson, a treasurer and a secretary. The management committee need to meet regularly so they can run the group and take overall responsibility for it • A written constitution (or set of rules) to show what your group does and how it will be run • A bank account in your group’s name, there should be two or more signatories for writing cheques. If you haven’t already got any or all of these, one of the organisations listed at the end of this sheet might be able to help you. In addition, you will also need some or all of the following to run your group properly and to show potential funders that you are doing so: • Registered charity status – if your yearly income is more than £5,000, your aims are exclusively ‘charitable’, and you exist for public benefit, then by law, you should apply to become a registered a charity. This could open up more funding opportunities for your group, since many funders say that they will only fund registered charities • Last year’s accounts, or recent bank statements if your group has been running for less than 12 months • Criminal Records Bureau (CRB) checks if your group works with children or vulnerable adults • Insurances, appropriate for your activities, such as public liability insurance • A health and safety policy to show that you comply with health and safety law • An equal opportunities policy to show that you meet your legal requirements. This is also and issue that you will often have to give information about in your funding applications. For example, are membership of your group and access to your activities or services open to everyone in the community you are set up to serve? • Any other policies and procedures that are relevant for example, child protection. Your committee needs to work out what you need funding for and how much it will cost. If you have a number of projects in mind you should agree which one(s) to prioritise and which ones can wait until later. Your whole group needs to decide what money needs to be raised, how you plan to raise it, and what your timescales are. Once you have done this, the actual job of fundraising can begin. Fundraising is a time consuming process and can be overwhelming if it is left to just one person in your group. It should be allocated to a ‘fundraising sub-committee’ – a smaller group (at least two) of your committee members who take on the task. But make sure that they report back regularly to the rest of the group on what they are doing and the progress they make. Be realistic You need to be realistic when you approach funders. Any potential funders will want to be sure that your group is able to manage any money that they give you. They will also want to know that your group will have the capacity to carry out the planned activities. The usual way to do this is to gradually build up a track record of raising money and delivering the activities you say you will. If you are a new (or small) group, you are unlikely to be able to secure large amounts of funding until you can show how you have successfully managed smaller amounts of funding and smaller projects in the past. Plan ahead Raising money can take quite a long time. Most funders work to strict timetables and lots of funders only consider applications every few months. So, as a general guide, you should 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 employ staff. 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. Keep up to date Whilst you do not want to be ‘money-led’, you do need to keep up to date about funding and issues that are relevant to your group. One way of doing this is by getting into networks with groups doing similar work. Another advantage of networking is that you will be able to share ideas and find out about the creative approaches other groups have found to deal with the same issues that you face. You can also subscribe to relevant websites and journals to find out about funding and funding related events and training. SYFAB provide up to date information on funding, see below for more details. Fundraising skills The prospect of having to raise money for your group can seem daunting if you have never done it before. Funders often ask for a lot of details about your project and this can seem complicated and overwhelming. Even if you are a complete beginner, you can learn how to fundraise for your group and you can build up your experience. You’ve already started by reading this information sheet. You could also read some of the others in this series. SYFAB have development workers who can work with your group to help you put together your applications. We also run training and workshops about fundraising. Contact us for more information or look at our website www.syfab.org.uk You could also get advice and information from other local organisations, such as your local Council for Voluntary Service (CVS) and you may also be able to get some help from a local community worker or from someone in your local authority. Which funders to approach You may have to approach different funders for different aspects of your proposal. If you have a funding proposal that contains different elements (for example, workers’ salaries, office equipment, building alterations) you will often need to break it down into a number of projects and seek funding for each project rather than the whole thing. SYFAB provide free online funding information services to help you find sources of funding for your organisation easily and quickly. You can keep up to date with the latest funding opportunities using our Funding News website and email service, and you can find possible funders for your activities with our funding search website. Go to www.syfab.org.uk for more information and to sign up. If you don’t use the Internet, then our Funding News is available monthly by post and our Information Service can help you identify appropriate sources of funding by doing a free funding search for your group. Contact SYFAB for more details. A step-by-step approach to fundraising Step 1 – decide what you need and why Before you approach people for money you need to carefully think through your ideas. You need to decide what the issues or needs are that your group wants to tackle and why it is important that you tackle them. Then you can decide what you need money for (for example, it might be rent for a meeting place or the costs of producing a monthly newsletter). These ideas can then be turned into a written funding proposal which should contain the following: • A clear description of the problem, need or issue • Evidence in the form of facts and figures or any research to back up your case • A list or description of the things your group wants to do in order to meet this need • How you will go about doing these things – the methods you will use • Reasons why you have chosen these methods – perhaps it has been tried before elsewhere successfully • How you intend to measure the success of your proposal • An explanation about how this work or project will fi t into the rest of your organisation’s work • An account of how you will manage the work – have you got the people, the skills or other resources needed to cope with it? • How you will manage and keep account of the money. When you have thought through all these things you need to decide whether you really want to take it on. If the answer is still ‘yes’, then think about how you will show that your group is capable of carrying out your proposal to a good standard. Your written proposal should fit on to one or two sides of A4 paper once typed. Step 2 – work out how much money you need Once you’ve decided what you want to do, you can work out exactly how much it will cost. This is your budget. You may need to fundraise all the costs or just part of them if you have other income that can be used as a contribution to the project. Some funders will not fund the whole of a project so it is helpful to show them how you will make up the difference between their funding and the total cost. • Make sure that your figures are as accurate as possible, don’t guess costs or use old figures. Get reliable quotes and estimates, use catalogues, talk to other groups running similar schemes, check out pay rates • Make sure you budget enough money to actually do the work; otherwise you will get into financial problems. But, just as importantly, don’t budget too much or your work will look like poor value for money and funders will reject your application. • Make sure you don’t miss out any ‘hidden’ costs like insurance, VAT and delivery costs, maintenance, repairs, travel, training, heating, lighting, rent and so on • Are your costs one-off capital items, like equipment; are they project costs with a clear start and end date; or are they on going, revenue costs, like wages? You could produce a list like the example below. This one is for a local history and archive group trying to raise money to computerise its records and purchase new software. computer hardware software furniture (desk & chair) peripheral equipment installation and delivery costs software consultancy training for members stationery transfer of existing records equipment insurance maintenance contract electricity bill contribution VAT Total If you are applying for money for more than one year it is important to allow for inflation, replacing items, and staff pay increases and increments in your budget. Step 3 – draw up a fundraising plan Once you have your written proposal and a budget, you need to plan how you will actually raise the money – this is your fundraising plan or strategy. There are lots of different funding sources and many ways of raising money. Try to limit yourselves to things you can do well rather than spreading your efforts too widely. You need to think about: • Which funders are most likely to be interested in your work and what their guidelines and criteria are. You need to target your fundraising and only apply to funders that have an interest in the type of work your group is doing. Don’t just send the same letter to lots of funders, you won’t be successful and it’s a waste of your time • When you need to raise the money by. It might help to draw up a timetable, remember to build in time for funders to consider your application • Have you got people in your group with the skills and time to do the work? Do they need to prioritise this work over their other tasks? If so, the group need to allow for this and allocate the other tasks • Do you know other groups who have done similar work? If so, talk to them and find out how they raised their money • Could you raise all or some of the money yourselves? Some funders will require you to find some funding from other sources. Help for groups in South Yorkshire Voluntary Action Barnsley The Core County Way Barnsley S70 2JW Tel: 01226 320 100 Website: www.vabarnsley.org.uk Doncaster Council for Voluntary Service 5-6 Trafford Court Doncaster DN1 1PN Tel: 01302 343 300 Website: www.doncastercvs.org.uk Voluntary Action Rotherham The Spectrum Coke Hill Rotherham S60 2HX Tel: 01709 829 821 Website: www.varotherham.org.uk Voluntary Action Sheffield The Circle 33 Rockingham Lane Sheffi eld S1 4FW Tel: 0114 253 6600 Website: www.vas.org.uk Together for Regeneration (work across South Yorkshire) Sheffield Diocesan Church House 95-99 Effi ngham Street Rotherham S65 1BL Tel: 01709 309119 Website: www.tfr.org.uk Further reading Voluntary but not Amateur Ruth Hayes and Jacki Reason (Chapters 1 and 2). Available from Directory of Social Change (DSC) and other book sellers and possibly your local library too. Directory of Social Change Tel: 0845 077 7707 Website: www.dsc.org.uk © SYFAB 2003 All rights reserved. Our information is produced for local community and voluntary groups. No permission is needed for limited reproduction if SYFAB is acknowledged. Large scale reproduction or inclusion in publications for sale must have written permission from SYFAB. Version 1 SYFAB welcomes your comments and criticism. You can talk to any member of staff, or contact us by post, phone, fax or email. Registered Charity No: 1061118 Reg. Company No: 3030641 South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau The Workstation 15 Paternoster Row Sheffi eld S1 2BX Tel: 0114 249 4343 Email: enquiries@syfab.org.uk Website: www.syfab.org.uk We can provide this information in other formats on request. Please get in touch to discuss your needs.