Successful Bid Writing The workshop will look at

Successful Bid Writing: The workshop will look at bid writing from the perspective of the charity and help you recognise the key requirements of writing a winning bid, which will include each of the following steps: ü The pre-application preparation process ü How to write and design a successful funding application ü Plan and build an effective budget ü Bid Writing fundamentals ü The do’s and don'ts for bid writers ü How to ensure project sustainability ü How to research and build a funding portfolio

Activity 1: ü In groups of three, spend ten minutes to discuss what steps and information you will need to complete when preparing to write a funding application

Pre-Bid Preparation: ü Pre-bid meeting to establish why the project is needed and what outcomes will need to be achieved ü Identify and match the new funders criteria to the project idea ü Research the funding websites that have been identified to approach ü Identify and accumulate evidence of need for the new project ü Identify if the project will be for core, capital or project funding ü Identify how the project will be delivered and where ü Case studies and pictures to support the bid ü Articles of association ü Year end audited accounts and project budget ü Letters of support from partnerships or stakeholders

Activity 2: ü In groups of three, take ten minutes to discuss the ten steps every funding application must include.

How to Write a Successful Bid: ü Who you are ü What you do ü Why you provide your service ü Where the project will take place ü When the project will take place and for ü Need for the project ü How the need will be addressed ü Impact and outcomes of the project ü Monitor and evaluation methodology ü Budget and project sustainability

Plan and Build an Effective Budget: ü Create clear costings, outlining the costs for pilots, the development phase or an investment-ready proposal ü Be realistic when breaking down costs; budgets should accurately reflect the planning, research, project delivery and evaluation ü Grant and funding assessors will always look out for over and under-estimated costings ü Most funding bodies will want to know if you have approached any other funders or secured any other funding ü Make sure you have researched whether the funding body you are applying to prefers to be the sole funder or understands that there may be other investors ü Provide details of multi-year funding requirements with a detailed forecast budget

Bid Writing Fundamentals: ü Understand exactly what the funder wants to support ü Ensure there is funding match for the charity ü Ensure the evidence of need supports the core, capital or project idea ü Keep things clear with subheadings using the ten point rule ü Keep things concise with relevant information and detail to support your application request ü Ensure there is a balance between text and statistics ü Illustrate your application with case studies, pictures and visual data ü Ensure the long-term change of the beneficiary is clearly demonstrated using outcomes, which can be tracked to show change ü Ensure the application goes through a rigorous review process

Do’s of writing a successful Bid: ü Question what you want to do and why it's important ü Chose a title for the project that is accessible and self-explanatory ü Are you responding to a problem? If so, outline why it needs to be solved ü Make time for expansive research around your subject - collate statistics, facts and quotations that prove the need for your proposed activity ü Detail how you will go about achieving your ultimate aims, referencing short, medium and long-term objectives ü Understand what you will create or provide ü Decide who you will be working with to implement these plans and why ü Outline what progress you have made to date ü Build a timeline to detail what is required to take the idea further: outline any roles that you would like to recruit for, the next steps you want to take and the time this will take you

Don'ts when Writing a Funding Bid: ü Do not apply to a funder without fully researching their criteria ü Do not apply to a funder unless the pre-application process has been completed ü Do not apply to a funder unless the needs led assessment process has been completed ü Do not apply to a funder unless the funding budget has been approved and agreed by the project manager ü Do not use in house acronyms ü Do not over complicate your answer with unnecessary text

Project Sustainability: ü Develop portfolio of trust and foundation funding opportunities ü Develop a bespoke legacy strategy to approach potential legacy donors ü Develop local funding opportunities to reach the hearts and minds of potential new supporters ü Review your external environment to identify new funding opportunities ü Engage in a funding discussion with stakeholders, staff, management, trustees, volunteers, beneficiaries, and the wider community to secure new funding ü Ensure you diversify income generation through a number of sources ü Utilise assets of the charity, particularly your own business income generators, to provide long-term sustainability of projects ü Increase relationships with local businesses to become their charity of choice

Activity 3: ü In groups of three, discuss projects you currently require funding towards or new projects you would like to deliver

Researching Funders: ü www. trustfunding. org. uk ü www. grantsonlinelocal. uk

Questions: Damon Musgrove Bid writing consultant damonm 2@Hotmail. co. uk 07584426440