Raising Funds for Digital Projects Identifying funders and writing grant proposals

Raising Funds for Digital Projects

Identifying funders and writing grant proposals

Getting started

Formulate ideasDevelop projectIdentify potential funders

matchmaking

Prepare proposalTarget the proposalAdminister the grant

Getting started

One thing to remember: fundraising is a professionIf you are a large institution and significant fundraising is needed, then hire a professionalOr you can bring in fundraising consultantsGood fundraisers will always bring in much more than they will cost you

What’s the Big Idea?

Identify prioritiesBuild consensusInclude all stakeholders

staff, board members, volunteers, outside groups, users

Which ideas are candidates for grant funding?Prioritize these candidatesWho will: Identify potential fundersWho will: Research and write proposal

What’s the Big Idea?

What’s Your Big Idea?

Let’s come up with a Big Idea for a projectIdentify potential fundersScope the project

Funders

What is the goal?

To develop a network of funders thatmatch your ideasprovide regular small grantsperiodic larger grants

Working with different funders

There are different requirements involved in working with different fundersKnow what they are!Keep excellent records

fundraising databasethere are specialist software packagesbut that is only for institutions that are likely to be making many applications

Know when the application dates are likely to be

Working with different funders

Government bodieslikely to have very structured requirementsstandard forms to fill ingood guidelines on web sites etc

Working with different funders

Foundationsincorporated non-profit organizationsgenerally have policies which establish the nature and limitation of support

type of programgeographic regionmin/max fundingtype of organization that can receive funding

most foundations have web sites nowadays that list their criteriadon’t waste their time and yours with inappropriate applications

Working with different funders

Applying to foundationsdo your homeworkthere are thousands of foundations, but you will find the number of possible funders for YOU will narrow rapidlythere are directories of foundations

See for instance the Association of Charitable Foundations (ACF) http://www.acf.org.uk/see also the Worldwide Universities Network http://www.wun.ac.uk/links/funding.htmland www.trustfunding.org.uk (there is an annual subscription)

Private donorsResearch is similar to foundations

look at newspaper and magazine articles about prospectsnever, never approach donors directly

unless they are personally known to you

find routes to them through other peoplesuccessful grantees, friends, agents, volunteers

Working with different funders

Corporate sponsorswhat is in it for them?does your project serve their mission?will your project provide them with an advertising opportunity?

think Ellen MacArthur and B&Q!

do they have a sponsorship department?usually part of the marketing/advertising function

need to capture their imaginationAmerican Express funded the multimedia gallery of the National Gallery in the early 90s

Working with different funders

The proposal

What is it?

A written presentation to another party in order to gain its acceptance

The functions of a proposal

Represents a program, project, activity, or function that an organization wants to undertake in response to a needRequest for the allocation of resourcesInstrument of persuasionPromise to the funder to do certain things in certain waysA plan that serves as guidelines for the organization to implement the activity

The proposal

Specifiesthe needthe proposed solutionthe result of the solutionthe activities to be carried outthe way they will be accomplishedthe number and type of staff neededthe management of the programthe required equipment and facilitiesthe costthe starting and completion dates

The Proposal: statement of problem/need/purpose

Describes the conditions in a certain place at a certain time for a particular group of people

This is often the motivator

If the funder agrees with the need, you have them “hooked”

The proposal: need

Clear relationship to your organization’s mission and purposeFocus on a need in a broader community, not in your organization Any assertions should be supported with evidenceThe need should be expressed in a ways that is consistent with your organization’s ability to respondEasy to read; no jargon

The proposal: need

Use facts and statistics, not assumptions

Focus the need on your community --don’t make it too broad

Modelsif your solution can act as a model, mention this

“addressing the need on a larger level through the development of a model program”

The proposal: need

Focus on what you can accomplish

What need YOU have a solution for

Collaborative projects are attractive to some funders

but make sure that all collaborations are tightly controlled

legal agreements and clear agreements on financesconflict resolutionone leader

The proposal: objectives

Objectives/Goals/Strategies/OutcomesWhat will your program accomplish?Derived directly from the need statementIndicate action and a measurable result“To” statementsMeasurable

How would the situation look if the need were satisfied?

The proposal: objectives

Stated in quantifiable termsif you can’t measure it, you may need to rethink it

State outcomes, not methodsthe result of an activity, not the activity itself

Identify the population being served

REALISTIC

The proposal: methodology

A detailed description of the activities and services to be implemented to achieve the objectives

How are you going to achieve your goals and objectives?

Why did you choose these methods?research findings, experts, past experience, etc.

The proposal: organizational plan

Organizational/Administrative Plan

essentially defines how the project will be administered

could make this part of the methodology section

The proposal: budget

Budget

translates the methodology section into cash

government sources require more detail than foundations (usually)

follow funder forms and guidelines

The proposal: evaluation

Outputs are facts

Online Historynumber of items digitizednumber of users loggednumber of students who write essays based on web based materialsnumber of teachers who use online resources

The proposal: evaluation

Outputs may not tell us if our goals and

objectives were met

Evaluation - how did we do?

Measure Outcomeshas our target audience changed or improved

skills, attitudes, knowledge, behavior, status, or

life condition by experiencing our program

The proposal: helpful hints

One writer, many contributorsoutline before writing

Follow the funder guidelines carefully and thoroughly

Do your research; get the facts right

Appropriate personnel/consultants

One central need -- all ideas flow from that

Know what your institutional requirements are for grant applications: who signs?

The proposal: helpful hints

Be compelling, but don’t overstate

Outside person to edit

Outside person to review budget

Be thorough

Clear, concise

Easy to read

Confident tone

The proposal: helpful hints

Do your research into the latest digitization trends, activities

Be aware of related digitization projects

Show how increased access or better preservation can effect the audience(s)

The proposal: helpful hints

And remember that a good proposal doesn’t automatically result in obtaining a grant

The Proposal: Helpful Hints

Claritylogical, easy to follow

Completenessincluding all items specified

Internal consistencyparts consistent with each other

External consistencyrecognize accepted ideas of field

Administering a grant project

This is a lot of workensure that sufficient resource is allocated

Reporting, reporting, reportingknow all necessary deadlines!

Managing a project and seeing it through to completion

and making sure that you do what you told the funders you would do

Know your funders, involve your funders

Different funders need different tracking and reporting mechanismsMake sure you ALWAYS know when deadlines are for reportingAllow plenty of time to get financial reports prepared: there is often a significant time lag in processing transactions through systemsIf there is going to be a problem, tell them in advance. Don’t just miss a deadline!

Closure

Very important to know when you have finished a project, a grant, or a phase of a projectStaff need to be rewarded for a good job doneFunders need to be thankedSo throw a party!Launch your project!There’s a time to have fun and let your hair down