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Funding strategies

Sustainable Funding Project is a first-stop shop helping voluntary organisations explore a full range of funding options to develop a sustainable funding mix. It is part of NCVO. It promotes thorough organisational planning, grant diversification and income generation as 3 key means of enhancing organisational financial stability.

Fit for Funding, from the Charities Information Bureau, provides advice via the web for community groups and voluntary organisations who are seeking funding.

Funders with useful web sites

• BT Community Connections is a UK wide awards scheme to e-enable local community projects. Awards of internet ready computers are made to individuals or groups who wish to make a positive impact in their community. There is an online application form.

• CAF Grantmaking As well as own small programme, they distribute funds on behalf of others.

• The Community Foundation Network promotes local 'endowment funds' made by pooling donations that will generate ongoing income, for local grant-making. In 2006, these local community foundations made grants worth over £70 million.

• Esmée Fairbairn Charitable Trust Makes grants in five sectors: arts & heritage, education, environment, social & economic research, social welfare.

• Lloyds TSB Foundations Application form can be downloaded from the website, which also has application guidelines. Also see Lloyds TSB Foundation for Scotland; Lloyds TSB Foundation for NI.

• Voluntary Action Fund, an independent grant making trust, gives grants to, and work with, local voluntary organisations in Scotland.

Governmental/agency

• DCMS Funding for the arts page, for Guide to arts funding in England.
  
  
• Government Funding, managed by Directory of Social Change, provides details of grants available from 4 government departments - Home Office, Department of Health, Department of Education and Skills, Office of Deputy Prime Minister, plus Government Office for Regions.
  
  
• Sector development info from Office of the Third Sector (part of Cabinet Office) includes funding guidance.
  
  
• RDInfo connected with Department of Health. "Up to the minute information on health-related funding" for researchers.
  
  
• Welsh Assembly Government grants guide should be available via voluntary sector pages.
  
  
• VolcomGrants Northern Ireland's web site search for government grants.
  
  
• European Social Fund.

Lottery related

• Big Lottery Fund (includes the Community Fund - was National Lottery Charities Board and New Opportunities Fund). Can be a good funding source for certain groups - main aim is "to help meet the needs of those at greatest disadvantage in society and to improve the quality of life in the community".
  
  
• Department of Culture, Media & Sport's Lottery site has info on the distributing bodies and an awards search facility.
  
  
• Other lottery money sites:
  • Arts Council of England.
  • Try UK Sport.
  • LotteryGoodCauses is an umbrella site for all the lottery funded grant schemes.

Also see

• Directory of Social Change** is putting smaller grants info online - look under Charity Exchange/Resources. Also see their site for printed guides.
  
  
• ACF (Association of Charitable Foundations) gives details of member sites - we try not to duplicate this.
  
  
• Open4Funding from j4b is working with local council web sites to provide facilities for charities and community groups to find relevant funding sources (for example Wakefield).

Online Grants

We haven't seen much development of tentative steps towards 'electronic grantmaking' which we mentioned some time ago. But check CyberGrants.Com - American of course, or Bell Atlantic Foundation (not got link info yet) who only accept online proposals.

Grants for Business plc (j4b), is developing online matching of companies wishing to distribute grants and charity grant-seekers.