Introduction
Community organisations are delivering amazing projects across Argyll and the Islands, often led by volunteers who are working hard to raise the funding they need.
A survey that was carried out to inform this Toolkit, showed that applying for grants is the most common way that third sector organisations raise funding for their core costs, projects or to start something new. Applying for grant funding isn’t easy. It takes time and hard work but can be a very productive way of securing funds, if a good proportion of your at deal of competition for grant funding, so funders look for strong organisations with well planned projects that clearly show how they will make a positive difference. This Toolkit therefore focusses on what makes a strong project and organisation, supporting you to write successful funding applications. It will help you tell funders clearly and concisely why you should be awarded funding, giving them the information they need to be confident that your organisation is going to deliver the outcomes they want to achieve.
Grant funding opportunities range from small grants of around £500, up to major capital grants of over £1 million, with everything in between. This means application forms and processes vary from relatively short and simple, to complex and very time-consuming, depending upon the amount of money you are looking for. This Toolkit aims to provide detail that is useful for large scale, capital and public sector grant applications, as well as smaller ones. Don’t be overwhelmed if you are just looking for a small amount of money to start with, you can pick and choose which sections are most relevant to you!
Small or seed corn funding
If you haven’t applied for grant funding before or are looking for a relatively small amount of money, the quick start summary link below will guide you through the things you need to think about and give you some useful tips.
Core funding
If you are looking for core funding for running your organisation then think of your whole organisation as a ‘project’ when you work through the Toolkit. This will help you to make sure you have everything covered and have a strong offer for a funding organisation.
Larger applications
These will need time and patience, as funders must carefully assess whether funders must carefully assess whether you are offering them the best way of achieving the outcomes they want to buy. This Toolkit covers all the main areas likely to be of interest to larger and public sector funders, giving advice on how to approach them and potential areas of development to strengthen what you have to offer.
