South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau Information Sheets Last updated January 2004 All our information is produced in a standard sized typeface, but we can produce it in other formats on request 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 Funding Advice Line 0114 276 5460 Registered Charity No: 1061118 Reg. Company No: 3030641 The main sources of funding Funding for voluntary and community groups comes from seven main sources. Each has different characteristics. Which of these sources to apply to, and for what, will depend on what you want money for, the sort of group you are, and the opportunities you have. The seven sources: Public money - also called statutory funding This is money that comes from the taxpayer through a variety of routes, such as local authorities, central government departments, the Health Authority, Government Office for the region, Yorkshire Forward (Yorkshire’s regional development agency) and the Learning and Skills Council. It also includes all the various pots of European money. For information and advice on European funding sources contact South Yorkshire Open Forum, Tel: 01709 519 100. The main advantages of getting funding from public bodies are that: • large sums are available; • they will fund ongoing running costs (revenue); • they will often fund unglamorous work; and • grants can be lobbied for. The main disadvantages are: • the procedures for applying can be very bureaucratic; • there can be lots of strings attached; • that grants can be vulnerable to sudden cuts; • the amounts available are often reducing and competition is very high; • the jargon can be hard to understand; • the level of accounting and monitoring needed can be very daunting; and • grants to groups are being replaced by contracts to provide particular services. Charitable trusts and foundations These are bodies set up (often by people who are now dead, like the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust) with an amount of money to do good. That money, or capital, is invested and the income generated from the investment is spent each year on charitable causes. The money is given away in accordance with the objectives of the trust fund. There are both national and local charitable trusts. The amount of money each of them has to distribute varies. For more information see our information sheet ‘Charitable trusts’. The main advantages of charitable trust funding are that: • some give away large lump sums; • their only reason for existing is to give money to good causes; • some will take risks and will fund unpopular causes; • they are flexible; and • groups can develop long-term relationships with particular trusts. The main disadvantages are that: • most only give away small sums of money; • it can take a long time to get a decision from them; • it is a very competitive source of funding; and • there may be some strings attached. The National Lottery This is a major source of funding for voluntary and community groups. It has five different ‘good causes’ which between them share 28p from every £1 spent on lottery tickets. The five good causes are the Community Fund, the New Opportunities Fund, Arts, Sports and Heritage. Each has its own rules about who can apply and how to apply. Generally the advantage of National Lottery funding is that: • they can give relatively large amounts of money; The disadvantages are that: • some of their funds require that you match their grant with money from another source; and • the total amount available varies according to lottery ticket sales. Companies Companies give in a variety of ways. They may donate materials or equipment or offer their services for free or lend their staff out to help with a particular piece of work. Or they may give money either in the form of donations or sponsorship. Donations are like any cash gift. With sponsorship the company expects to get something back in return for its money - usually advertising and positive publicity. For more information see our information sheet ‘Getting Support from Companies’. The main advantage of company support is that you can develop longterm relationships. The main disadvantages are: • it is hard to get; • it can take a long time and a lot of effort for very small returns; and • the ethical considerations of being associated with a particular company. Individual giving This is money given by members of the public directly to your organisation or group. It can be payroll-giving, covenants which are tax exempt or leaving money to a charity in a will. For more information see our information sheet ‘Raising money from individuals’. The main advantages of receiving money in this way are that: • there are no strings attached; • it can gain your group publicity; • it can provide a regular income; and • large amounts of money may be raised. The main disadvantages are that: • it can take a lot of work to get it started; • it needs a long-term approach; and • small, local groups cannot compete with the big national household name charities like Oxfam and the RSPCA who are the main beneficiaries of this type of giving. Earned income or trading This is money you earn directly from selling your goods and services. The advantage of earned income is that there are no strings attached at all - you can use the money as you wish or bank it as savings. The disadvantage is that some groups are not in a position to charge for their services. Do-It-Yourself fundraising This is a more informal way of getting money from individuals and can be done in a whole variety of ways. Jumble sales, summer fetes, raffles, sponsored walks and social evenings are just a few examples. For more information see our information sheet ‘ Fundraising Events’. The main advantages of raising money this way are that: • it can be a fairly quick way of raising small amounts of money; • it can be fun; • it’s a good way of involving lots of people; and • it can cost very little to set up. The main disadvantages are that: • it is an unpredictable way of raising money; • it can be hard work and time consuming; • there are legal considerations to take into account such as licences for street collections and rules on gambling; • events may even lose money. Useful books A Guide to Funding from Government Departments and Agencies by Susan Forrester and Anthony Stenson, Directory of Social Change, 2001 A Guide to European Union Funding by Peter Sluiter & Laurence Wattier, Directory of Social Change, 1999 Trust Fundraising edited by Anthony Clay, Charities Aid Foundation & Directory of Social Change, 1999 The Guide to UK Company Giving by John Smyth, Directory of Social Change, 2002 The Complete Fundraising Handbook by Nina Botting and Michael Norton, 2001, Directory of Social Change, 2001 For information about charities and earned income see the Charity Commission leaflet CC35 ‘Charities and Trading’ and the Inland Revenue leaflet IR2001 ‘Trading by Charities’. The Association of Charity Shops can help charities that run shops to raise funds: http://www.charityshops.org.uk or telephone 020 7422 8620. Directory of Social Change, 24 Stephenson Way, London NW1 2DP Tel: 020 7209 5151 Fax: 020 7391 4804 e-mail: books@dsc.org.uk online: www.dsc.org.uk/charitybooks © SYFAB 2003 All rights reserved. Our information is produced for local community and voluntary groups. No permission is needed for limited reproduction if the Bureau is acknowledged. Large scale reproduction or inclusion in publications for sale must have written permission from the Bureau. The South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau welcomes your comments and criticism. You can talk to any member of staff, or contact us by post, phone, fax or email - see the front page for details.