Big Lottery Fund Veronika Karailieva 11 July 2012.

Big Lottery Fund

Veronika Karailieva11 July 2012

Our Mission

“The Big Lottery Fund is committed to bringing real improvements to communities and to the lives of

people most in need”

How the Lottery £ is spent

BIG is responsible for delivering 40% of all funds raised for good causes - about 12p of every £1 spent on a Lottery Ticket

BIG Funding – Three main themesOpen Funding:

—Awards for All (Small grants £300-£10,000)

—Reaching Communities (Larger grants £10,000-£500,000)

Targeted funding:

─ E.g. Older people, Young people, complex needs

Place-based funding:

─ Intense support to areas of acute need eg. Big Local

Awards for All in London

April 2009 to April 2012:

─ 6573 applications

─ 2796 awards totalling £24,573,553

─ Success rate 42%

Reaching Communities in London

April 2006 to April 2012

─ 1874 applications

─ 468 awards totalling £110,963,662

─ Success rate 10%

Our equality principles

Underpin our internal and external business:

• promoting accessibility

• valuing cultural diversity

• promoting participation

• promoting equal opportunities

• promoting inclusive communities

• contributing to the reduction of disadvantage and exclusion

BIG’s equality requirements

• Our requirements – at the beginning of your project, then every year and when you’ve finished it.

• See BIG’s Grantholders guide for tips on:

• Gathering your evidence

• Equality data collection tools

• Reviewing your evidence – data quality

• Reaching everyone

Improving your chances of gaining funding from BIG

Start by defining Need

─ Go back to basics – assume the Grant Officers assessing your application know nothing about the needs of the people you are trying to help

─ Quote your sources - make sure all sources of evidence are listed and dated, and all the information is up to date and relevant to your project

─ Make a strong case – use a broad range of hard and soft information and if in doubt add more rather than less

How much evidence do you need to provide?

Depends on:

─ The scale of the problem

─ What capacity you have

─ How much funding you are

─ applying for

....... the important thing is to make a strong case

Defining Project Aim, Outcomes and Activities

─ Project aim - one simple sentence to closely reflect the need identified

─ Outcomes – strong and clear points to explain the change you want to make for the project beneficiaries

─ Project activities - together should add up to show how the outcomes and aim will be met

The triangle approach

Project OutcomeProject OutcomesThe difference you want to

make or the change you want to bring about for your

beneficiaries

Project AimThe overall

point of your project

Project ActivitiesThe services and activities you will carry out

to meet the outcomes and achieve the project aim

Project Need Project Need

Pitfalls to Avoid

─ Don’t.....

• Just jump right in without reading the guidelines

• Assume the need for your project ‘speaks for itself’

• Forget to include sources and dates for all your evidence

• Omit to consult beneficiaries and stakeholders

• Focus on the organisation, building or activities rather than the people you want to help

Tips for Success

─ Do.....

• Read the guidelines and use all other help available

• Start by defining need – make it the core of your application

• Ensure all parts of your application build on and support each other

• Get a ‘critical friend’ to review your application before submission

Support and Guidance Available

─ Programme Guidance Notes

─ Getting Funding & Planning Successful Projectshttp://www.biglearningzone.org.uk/

─ Good Practice Guides e.g. young people, equalities

─ BIG Lottery Fund website – funding information, case studies

─ Awards for All website

─ BIG Advice Line: 0845 10 20 30

─ Email enquiries: [email protected]