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Luckily, there are so many funding opportunities available for charities to take advantage of. From trusts to the government - there’s plenty of packages and possibilities to explore.
The main struggle is succeeding in the application process. When it comes to government funding for charities, we can offer several tips to help you stand out from the crowd and maximise your chances of guaranteeing a prosperous future.
But first, let’s take a closer look at what the government actually offers charities.
How Much Government Funding is There?
According to the Civil Society, between 2019-2020, £118 billion (13%) of total government spending consisted of grants. Yet, very little of this went directly to charities or social enterprises.
It is estimated that charities in the UK are given between £500 million and £35 billion in grants. While this is a very wide-ranging window - previous research using registered charity numbers found a total of £492 million had been granted. This shows that while the government does offer a big grant pot, only a small portion is actually allocated to charitable causes.
As a result, this does limit the amount of money available for charities to apply for. This means that charities have to remain competitive if they want to secure funding from the government in order to continue their positive work.
We suggest that if you are a charity looking for government funding, you should invest time in researching as many options as you can, so you can prioritise the opportunities that are most relevant to your charity. From here, you can create an effective funding application strategy. You can do so through handy databases which can help you easily find new and existing opportunities - like FundReady.
Start Your Research With FundReady
FundReady is responsible for supporting not-for-profits with all their funding needs.
It is Ireland’s leading subscription support service, offering a digital platform that’s rich with information and a team of specialist consultants who have extensive third sector experience. Its aim is to provide not-for-profit organisations with access to the latest funding packages, professional advice and practical support to write and submit applications. It does this by updating the funding database daily, with new opportunities being uploaded as and when they are announced by key funders.
The service is tailored and aligned to the funding needs and profile of each organisation. In the past, FundReady has supported clients across Ireland to secure over £120 million of investment for new capital projects, services, equipment and organisational developments.
For a productive kick-start to your funding search, we highly recommend making use of helpful resources such as FundReady. For more information, you can simply contact the S3 Solutions team.
How to Secure Government Funding: Top Tips
Once you have done your research, gained valuable advice and listed all the government funding opportunities you want to apply for: it is then time to strategise and plan the case you want to put forward so you can secure success.
In the initial research stage, you will have assessed whether or not you meet the key criteria for the government funding. Usually, the government will be specific about these, so you must keep this in mind when writing your response.
Our top tips are as follows:
Outline a Specific Plan
The more specific your strategy is - the better. We suggest writing down the government’s key aims and specifications on a piece of paper, and having it in front of you so you can apply these to your plan.
For example, if the government is keen to boost children’s sporting activities in the local area, rather than stating that you want to simply ‘run sports activities for children’, specify how you plan to do this by saying ‘we will run weekly football sessions and weekly hockey sessions for 8-11 year olds over a six month period. Each session will be 2 hours long and will be attended by 15 children’ instead.
This way, it shows that you have considered the exact resources and activities that the funding will ultimately go towards.
Provide Evidence That Your Work is Essential
If you can prove in your application that the work your charity does is vital to the community, then you can maximise your chances of success. You can provide evidence of this by pulling information from previous years. Consider including facts and statistics such as:
Who you have helped in the past
How many people you have helped
The solutions you have offered
What makes these solutions different from other alternatives
Testimonials from beneficiaries
What gaps still need to be filled and how you plan to address these
If you can include all of the above, then you can be rest assured that you have built a strong case to put forward in your application.
Apply Well Before the Deadline
While this may seem like an obvious tip - the earlier you start your application process, the more time you have to review, tweak and improve. With this time, you can be proactive and recruit a consultant to assess your application, with enough leeway to apply their suggestions that will help strengthen your efforts.
Plus, late applications will not be considered - no matter how well strategised and written they are!
Consider the Budget Carefully
While it is understandable that a charity will want any and all funding they can get - you have to spend time proving that you are value for money, and that you have actually thought about how you plan to use the funds.
It could be that you have lots of activities that you want to carry out - but don’t forget that you need to show responsibility and consideration. To do this, prove that your plans align with the government’s. We suggest that you revise the application several times, match your spending with the government’s priorities, and make sure that you can provide solid reasoning for every single penny.
For more advice on securing government funding for charities, contact the S3 Solutions team today, and our qualified consultants will be more than happy to help.
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