Charity Bid Writing
Writing successful funding bids to charitable trusts, the National Lottery or government sources requires both time and expertise, yet is one of the most cost effective ways of raising money, with a good ratio of return and a relatively short pay-back period.
The problem for many organisations is a lack of capacity and sometimes experience in preparing funding bids.
Charity funding bids are a demanding area of work, where bids can take anything from a few hours to a week to produce. In addition, some larger funding bids also require detailed business plans or evaluations, which are time-consuming to develop - but we can help!
Over the years, our team has built a solid track record of success in preparing charity funding bids for our clients, raising many millions of pounds from a wide range of sources.
Our Founder Simon George, who founded the Institute of Fundraising's Trust and Statutory Special Interest Group, says "Most organisations can raise money through bid writing, but not all have the time or knowledge to do this successfully. With good returns on investment, charity funding bids are a very cost effective way to raise funds."
Whether you need help with one major bid or support to start or run a programme of funding bids, our team can help. The key elements of the support include developing the case for support (or project materials), carrying out prospect research to identify a target list of potential funders and, if required, hands-on support in preparing applications. We can also provide feedback on bids you are planning to submit yourself via our bid review service.
A good example of where we made a difference to a client in this field is that of Action on Disability, a charity in West London. Initially, we helped prepare a successful Transition Fund bid, which raised £151,000, followed by a major application to the Big Lottery Fund, which raised a further £300,000. We subsequently provided advice on charitable trust fundraising, which Action on Disability is now implementing itself.
Another example is at St George's House charity in Wolverhampton. St George's is a long-standing client, for whom we have provided both strategic and fundraising support. The charity operates a drop-in centre for vulnerable and disadvantaged people in Wolverhampton. Our support has included facilitating the production of a development plan, researching funders, producing the case for support and in helping to generate funding bids. Over the years, we have helped to raise over £1 million for the charity, mainly from charitable trusts and the National Lottery. This has mostly consisted of revenue funding to cover the staffing and running costs of existing work. St George's Chief Executive Fazia Bano says: "As a small charity, we do not need an in-house fundraiser and certainly could not afford one. By working with WGC, we can buy in just the amount of help we need, as well as benefitting from their skills and experience. This has proven to be a very cost-effective way of developing our charity. We would happily recommend them to others."
We have provided support in a wide range of bid writing since 1998 and several of our team are experts in this field, so if you need help with your funding bids, please call us today on 01903 723519 to see how we can help.
