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Serving God and Sharing Good News |
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thisischurch.com
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Simply click on the links below to navigate to the required pages
| Introduction |
| 1. Getting a project off the ground |
| 2. Sorting out the management |
| 3. Making an application pack - policy documents |
| 4. Writing a letter of application |
| 5. Who to apply to for funding |
3. Making an application pack
I once spoke with somebody from a grant making body and asked her how many grant applications she received. She said that there were far too many to count and most of them just went in the bin. Clearly some charities are overwhelmed by the volume of unsolicited applications and you are probably lucky if they bother even opening the envelope. So you need to do something to give you an edge.
There are many ways to do this, and some of them are covered under section 5 'Who to apply to for funding'. One of the most important ways to make your application stand out is to make sure that it looks good. A carefully and well structured application pack is going to have far more impact than a single side of A4. I usually include an annual report with lots of photos of what is going on and there are many more things which should be included. Sometimes funders will say they don't want additional information, but I include it anyway, they can always ignore it. I have never had a funder ring up and say they would not give us any money because we included too much information.
What an application pack should include
1. Letter of application or other form provided by trust
This is covered under section 1 'Writing a letter of application'
2. Most recent audited accounts
Never send off an application without including your accounts, you should never need to be asked. Obviously nobody is going to give you any money unless they can establish how much money you already have and what you are doing with it. Make sure that they are recent and that they make sense.
A business plan will show a funder that you are serious. It will deal with you as an organisation and tell who you are. It will deal with the project and demonstrate why it is needed. The business plan will identify strengths and weakness and show how you intend to make sure that the project succeeds. the business plan will deal with numbers, it will show how many beneficiaries there will be as a result of what you propose to do.
Value for money and statistics are important, it helps a grant making body to be able to recognise the number of people who will be helped by the money they give. Here is a diagram which I used recently. It gives funders a clear visual picture of how many extra people will benefit if they give me the money.
When we presented our first plans to Wren for funding in 2006, we used a powerpoint briefing which included material from our business plan. You may find this helpful and it can be viewed in adobe St Mark's briefing
If you don't know where to start in putting together a business plan, here is a sample copy with some of the major points. When you have all of the information together, include such things as plans, accounts and drawings, then take it to a shop and have it ring bound to make it look more professional. Sample copy of a business plan.
Annual reports are important to show that you are accountable, you consult, you communicate and inform. All of these things are important to funders. Some grants are awarded by bodies which are not so diligent, but it it getting harder all, the time. If I sat on a grant making body and I received an application which did not include an annual report I would not want to give a grant. I would assume that there isn't one and that the group was not accountable to its users, that it did not consult, communicate or inform.
Annual meetings with a good annual report are an important way of demonstrating that you listen and involve people from the community. It is always good to be able to show records of such meetings, and a copy of the annual report is great to include with an application. Considering that annual reports are going to be sent to funders, always write them in a way which blows your trumpet and tells about all the good things which are going on. Make sure that they mention things like the consultation which is going on and the recent surveys which have been conducted.
Click here to see a copy of an annual report
5. Supporting letters from community leaders
In my experience most local parish councillors, county or borough councillors are more than happy to act as independent referees. They do of course like to be asked first. It is a really good idea to start cultivating a good relationship with them. These people often have access to funds from time to time, they know what is going on and they can be of enormous help to you. Invite them to your church centre, entertain them, take them to lunch, look after them and make them your friend! Always invite them to community events at your centre, it is good practice and it bears fruit.
6. Building plans if capital project
Some architects are very good at doing not just plans but also artistic representations to go with them. It is important to have both, official looking architects scale drawings show that this is a serious project, the drawings give a feel for what is being created. I have found that sometimes architects will produce these free of charge, knowing that if the project goes ahead they will be paid later.
Grant making bodies are full of ordinary people. As they look through countless applications it only makes sense that the ones which stand out will have lots of lovely pictures. For this reason it is worth making sure that you application has drawings and plans and photos. It is obvious really, but lots of applications are just masses of writing and numbers. Give these poor people a rest and refresh them by including some photographs of what the building will look like.
I had to make a presentation to Gwynneth Dunwoody MP to ask for money for a project. I took along two huge drawings by a local artist. One showed the building without the money spent on it, it was obviously mostly black and white and looked drab. The other painting showed the magnificent improvements. It cost a few pounds to have the artist produce these for us, but the investment in such things is important to produce results.
| An architects drawing |
Architects plan |
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7. Job description and person specification if employment
Many churches are now seeking to employ people to carry out specific types of work in the church and community, indeed the number of youth and children's workers has exploded. However there is often poor attention given to the conditions of employment and subsequently there are unrealistic expectations and disappointments. The church has been notoriously bad at employment, getting into all kinds of problems by not issuing proper contracts and job descriptions. There can be very different expectations as to what is required. Some members of the church may want somebody who can go and run a youth club, others may want a street evangelist, the vicar might just want an extra pair of hands.
Funders are well aware of the need for there to be clearly established needs and specific objectives. If you are seeking money for employment then it is a really good idea to include the details of what is expected. Attach a copy of the job description and person specification and why not include a copy of your employment contract and equal opportunities policy. It shows that you have thought these issues through, that you are professional and can be trusted to employ somebody. The last thing a grant making body want to do is to spend money employing somebody who ends up in an employment tribunal.
Here are examples of some documents which you might find helpful
Job Description Staff Contract Handbook
8. Copies of all policy documents
Any professional organisation now needs a huge investment of time in policy documents. These are not negotiable, they are expected and many are required by law. Since you will have to formulate policies on so many things, it makes sense to include copies in your application pack. We produce our policies using Microsoft Publisher and then staple them together into an A5 booklet. It costs about 5p a copy to produce and it might make the difference between impressing a grant making body and not.
Policy documents will include
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Constitution
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Aims and objectives - Your mission statement
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Health and safety (risk assessments)
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Equal opportunities policy
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Safeguarding policy for children and adults
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Sustainability policy (this is becoming increasingly important)
Here is an example of a set of policy documents
Make sure that you itemise exactly what the costs of the project are expected to be. With capital projects it is always best to involve a quantity surveyor who can give a realistic assessment of what is needed. At a later stage you will be advised to have the quantity surveyor complete a detailed specification for the project. Even for quite small building projects this can be helpful, as it ensure that companies in the competitive tendering process are quoting like for like. Otherwise one quotation might be for solid wood doors and another for cardboard. There is a cost for this process, but it is well worth the savings later.
Remember that at this stage you are seeking funds for the project which you want, so ask for the most you can. You may have to
If funding is being sought for a job application then include all of the costs, advertising, training, expenses.