Raising Funds for Digital Projects Identifying funders and writing grant proposals

1. Raising Funds for Digital ProjectsIdentifying funders and writing grant proposals

2. Getting started • Formulate ideas • Develop project • Identify potential funders • matchmaking • Prepare proposal • Target the proposal • Administer the grant

3. Getting started • One thing to remember: fundraising is a profession • If you are a large institution and significant fundraising is needed, then hire a professional • Or you can bring in fundraising consultants • Good fundraisers will always bring in much more than they will cost you

4. What’s the Big Idea? • Identify priorities • Build consensus • Include all stakeholders • staff, board members, volunteers, outside groups, users • Which ideas are candidates for grant funding? • Prioritize these candidates • Who will: Identify potential funders • Who will: Research and write proposal

5. What’s the Big Idea? What’s Your Big Idea? • Let’s come up with a Big Idea for a project • Identify potential funders • Scope the project

6. Funders What is the goal? • To develop a network of funders that • match your ideas • provide regular small grants • periodic larger grants

7. Working with different funders • There are different requirements involved in working with different funders • Know what they are! • Keep excellent records • fundraising database • there are specialist software packages • but that is only for institutions that are likely to be making many applications • Know when the application dates are likely to be

8. Working with different funders • Government bodies • likely to have very structured requirements • standard forms to fill in • good guidelines on web sites etc

9. Working with different funders • Foundations • incorporated non-profit organizations • generally have policies which establish the nature and limitation of support • type of program • geographic region • min/max funding • type of organization that can receive funding • most foundations have web sites nowadays that list their criteria • don’t waste their time and yours with inappropriate applications

10. Working with different funders • Applying to foundations • do your homework • there are thousands of foundations, but you will find the number of possible funders for YOU will narrow rapidly • there 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.html • and www.trustfunding.org.uk (there is an annual subscription)

11. Working with different funders • Private donors • Research is similar to foundations • look at newspaper and magazine articles about prospects • never, never approach donors directly • unless they are personally known to you • find routes to them through other people • successful grantees, friends, agents, volunteers

12. Working with different funders • Corporate sponsors • what 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 imagination • American Express funded the multimedia gallery of the National Gallery in the early 90s

13. The proposal • What is it? • A written presentation to another party in order to gain its acceptance

14. The functions of a proposal • Represents a program, project, activity, or function that an organization wants to undertake in response to a need • Request for the allocation of resources • Instrument of persuasion • Promise to the funder to do certain things in certain ways • A plan that serves as guidelines for the organization to implement the activity

15. The proposal • Specifies • the need • the proposed solution • the result of the solution • the activities to be carried out • the way they will be accomplished • the number and type of staff needed • the management of the program • the required equipment and facilities • the cost • the starting and completion dates

16. 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”

17. The proposal: need • Clear relationship to your organization’s mission and purpose • Focus on a need in a broader community, not in your organization • Any assertions should be supported with evidence • The need should be expressed in a ways that is consistent with your organization’s ability to respond • Easy to read; no jargon

18. The proposal: need • Use facts and statistics, not assumptions • Focus the need on your community --don’t make it too broad • Models • if your solution can act as a model, mention this • “addressing the need on a larger level through the development of a model program”

19. 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 finances • conflict resolution • one leader

20. The proposal: objectives Objectives/Goals/Strategies/Outcomes • What will your program accomplish? • Derived directly from the need statement • Indicate action and a measurable result • “To” statements • Measurable • How would the situation look if the need were satisfied?

21. The proposal: objectives • Stated in quantifiable terms • if you can’t measure it, you may need to rethink it • State outcomes, not methods • the result of an activity, not the activity itself • Identify the population being served • REALISTIC

22. 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.

23. The proposal: organizational plan Organizational/Administrative Plan • essentially defines how the project will be administered • could make this part of the methodology section

24. The proposal: budget Budget • translates the methodology section into cash • government sources require more detail than foundations (usually) • follow funder forms and guidelines

25. The proposal: evaluation • Outputs are facts • Online History • number of items digitized • number of users logged • number of students who write essays based on web based materials • number of teachers who use online resources

26. The proposal: evaluation • Outputs may not tell us if our goals and objectives were met • Evaluation - how did we do? • Measure Outcomes • has our target audience changed or improved skills, attitudes, knowledge, behavior, status, or life condition by experiencing our program

27. The proposal: helpful hints • One writer, many contributors • outline 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?

28. 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

29. 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)

30. The proposal: helpful hints • And remember that a good proposal doesn’t automatically result in obtaining a grant

31. The Proposal: Helpful Hints • Clarity • logical, easy to follow • Completeness • including all items specified • Internal consistency • parts consistent with each other • External consistency • recognize accepted ideas of field

32. Administering a grant project • This is a lot of work • ensure that sufficient resource is allocated • Reporting, reporting, reporting • know 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

33. Know your funders, involve your funders • Different funders need different tracking and reporting mechanisms • Make sure you ALWAYS know when deadlines are for reporting • Allow plenty of time to get financial reports prepared: there is often a significant time lag in processing transactions through systems • If there is going to be a problem, tell them in advance. Don’t just miss a deadline!

34. Closure • Very important to know when you have finished a project, a grant, or a phase of a project • Staff need to be rewarded for a good job done • Funders need to be thanked • So throw a party! • Launch your project! • There’s a time to have fun and let your hair down