Funding

 In this resource video Simon & Carolyn from Acts Trust in Lincoln share with us their wisdom on finding and applying for external funding. 

Before you apply for funding:

• Provision must follow the Vision, don't water down your vision by chasing money
• Stay Focused - Ideas are great, but discern these first before you start too many things
• Try not to get too growth focused, funding can be hard to maintain and getting too big too quick can lead to you having to stop lots of things later.
• Start with making sure you have a strong sense of Vision & Values - You say the yes or no before any funder does!
• Be clear in your motivation from the very beginning. 

How do we find funding?

• Subscribe to websites and newsletter of funding finders like funding central, your local community foundation or local authority. 
• Build relationships locally - like Voluntary Centres
• Check if you're eligible, most funders will have a variety of criteria you need to meet in order to apply, if these will water down your mission you may need to reconsider. 
• Build a team of people who can support you in gathering information

How do we write a good application?

• Understand what the funder is asking
• Let your heart come through
• Use tools to help you like AI, but don't get it to do your job for you
• Be realistic - what will we actually achieve
• Think through your budget, make sure it adds up and what a funder will actually pay for

How do we monitor funding well?

• Look at what is expected before you even apply, the reporting could be onerous. 
• Gather data anyway if they need it or not, it will help you to review your projects later
• Don't only report on good news - you can bring your funder in on how things are going