Funding

I spend a lot of my time looking for funding. To keep our current work going I need to bring in around £360,000 a year - no small feat. There are basically 5 sources of funding.

First there is fundraising like sponsored walks, donations, etc. Charities like ours bring in very little of our money this way. When people make larger donations such as a legacy, it tends to be to larger high profile national charities like cancer charities, or charities that pull on your heartstrings such as the local hospice or project for disabled children.

The second source is the Government. We get very little from our local Council. Their budgets for grants to charities have been drastically cut over the years, so our local council generally only funds charities it has funded for years. Newer charities like ours can sometimes get small grants for particular projects, but not sunstantial grants to pay for staff salaries. We do get significant grants from Central Government. This is because we work in a disadvantaged area with lots of problems.

The third source is the Lottery. Here too we have been successful in getting grants. Fourthly there is funding frohe European Union that charities can apply for. We have some funding coming in this way. However, that source of funding is drying up. The kind of money we get goes to the most disadvantaged places in Europe. With the new countries joining taht are poor like Poland, lots of areas in Britain will no longer be eligible for this funding.

Fifthly we get grants from trusts. These are bodies set up be companies, families or private individuals to give grants to charities or individuals. They range from the local bank giving money for toys for a children's group to rich families giving millions to repair or conserve historic buildings.

However none of these places just give you money. You have to complete application forms and sometimes provide lots of extra information like policies and business plans. Most also insist that you achieve outputs for your funding. This might include the number of people who use your services, the hours you are open and measures of quality.