How to make a good application

Big Lottery Fund

How to make a good application

How to make a good application

What we’ll cover today

Overview of Big Lottery Fund in Scotland

Brief look at funding available

How to make a good application

How to make a good application

Big Lottery Fund Overview

Bringing about

social change to

communities most

in need

£257million for

Scotland between

2006 and 2009

BIG distributes 14p

of every £ spent

on Lottery

Commitment to voluntary and

community sector

UK wide but Scotland has own

programmes

How to make a good application

Funding Programmes

Small grants programme (up to £10k) for one-off costs run in partnership with other Lottery distributors

Programme run in conjunction with BBC Scotland £3m for projects aimed at encouraging the over 50s to have a healthy body and mind

£25m put into projects aimed at encouraging 11-25 year olds to take part in activities that make them feel good about themselves

UK wide small grants programme promoting improvement of green spaces and biodiversity amongst community groups

Young People’s

Fund

People’s Millions gives the public the opportunity to decide where lottery money in spent by funding local community-based projects

How to make a good application

Investing in Communities

One to five years funding

Up to £1,000,000 but average grant c£300k

Capital and/or revenue

Up to 100%

How to make a good application

Process

Outline Proposal(10-15 days)

Application form(6 months to complete)

Assessment(4-6 months)

Quick process for early feedback

Grants officer allocated Writes report for Committee

You’re in control, most take around 4 months

How to make a good application

What this session will cover

Assessment Criteria

Key elements of an application

Supporting Documents

Points to remember

What this session will cover

How to make a good application

Introduction

The key elements of writing an application:

Criteria

Evidenceof Need

Project Activities

Feedback letter

MeasuringProgress

Outcomes

Budgeting

Sustainability

Planning

How to make a good application

Criteria

criterion oneYour project outcomes meet an identified need and help to achieve the changes we want to make through the area of investment relevant to your project.

criterion twoYour organisation can deliver the project well and achieve the proposed project outcomes.

Make sure your read our criteria and judgement points, as these is what your application will be scored against (in guidance notes).

How to make a good application

Feedback

Your Grants Officer will check to see that you have responded to feedback.

Read your feedback letter and requirements

Check you have addressed every point

Respond to any feedback we’ve given in other correspondence or meetings

Feedback

How to make a good application

It should be clear what your activities will be and how people will engage with the project

Focus on what you’re asking us to fund – don’t give us too much organisational history

Be consistent – avoid confusing the application with details of other projects

Use short (a paragraph) case studies

Avoid broad terms – you must tell us what you’re actually doing

Activities

How to make a good application

ActivitiesExample

What they say…‘Facilitate a wide range of environmental engagement opportunities for disengaged young people experiencing ongoing confrontational lifestyle issues.’

What they mean…‘Take 35 young people on a 2 week outward bound trip. They will take part in 5 different team-based activities, such as canoeing, rock climbing and orienteering. The young people all have a history of being involved in territorial gangs and have been excluded from school.’

Activities

How to make a good application

You must be able to demonstrate that there is a need for your project and this must be backed up with evidence.

Our assessments can only be based on what is contained in the application form, and we are unlikely to fund projects which appear to be based on assumption or hearsay.

Evidence of need

How to make a good application

Evidence of needYour evidence should:

be relevant to the project you are applying to us for and specific to your client group

be in proportion to the size and scale of your project

show why your project is the most appropriate way to meet the identified need

show user involvement in project development

Evidence of need

How to make a good application

Evidence could include:

• good quality recent inclusive consultation internally (with participants, staff board members etc) and externally (with stakeholders, partners, wider community etc)

• recent relevant research undertaken in-house or using results from research already undertaken by other organisations

• beneficiary engagement in the development of the project

• the experience & knowledge of people in your group (e.g. highlighting a case study)

• relevant, recent statistics (e.g. census, SIMD figures)

• evaluation of a successful pilot project or previous similar work

Evidence of needEvidence of need

How to make a good application

Outcomes

What are outcomes?

Outcomes are the changes that will come

about as a direct result of your work.

Why are outcomes important?

Our assessment of your application is based around your outcomes – how well your outcomes are meeting an identified need, how likely you are to achieve them and how well they fit with the aims of our funding.

How to make a good application

Outcomes – Who, how, what

Who – organisationsor people who will benefit

How – should relate to change or difference

What – what is changing?

• Young people• Lone parent• People with

learning disabilities

• Older people who are experiencing loss of mobility

• Improve• Decrease• Reduce• Expand• Develop• Sustain

• Knowledge• Skills• Environment• Ability• Relationships• Opportunities

25 young carers experience

improved support through

better coordination of services

How to make a good application

OutcomesTracking and Measuring outcomes

Your Milestones tell us how your project will progress.

You can also use Outcome Indicators to tell us how you will measure progress.

Outcome Milestones - Progress of Activities

Milestones - Outcome Indicator

• 40 people with ongoing mental health difficulties have increased confidence by the end of the project.

• 40 service users attended discussion meetings by month 6.

• 20 people take part in shopping trips with befriender by month 8.

• 40 people able to take part in discussion.

• 20 people report feeling less nervous about going out in public.

How to make a good application

Sustainability

Demonstrate how the project complements or fits with national and local objectives

Tell us how you will create and develop good working partnerships

Show clear systems for evaluation and learning as the project progresses, and how this learning will be able to inform the future development of the project

Show how your project adds to existing services or fills a gap in services

Show a clear exit strategy – who are you going to approach for funding?

If your project can generate an income, tell us how this will work

Tell us how your projects will provide benefits beyond the life of the grants

How to make a good application

Budgeting

Check that your totals add upPoor budgeting, calculation of costs or inconsistencies in totals do not demonstrate good financial management, and could not only delay your assessment, but could affect your grading.

Full Cost RecoveryWe can provide a proportionate contribution towards overheads that are indirectly incurred as a result of the project. You must show how you have worked this out – we have spreadsheets that can help you.

Size of Grant• Find out what our average grant size is – we have a very high demand for funding• Match funding - it’s important to build relationships with other funders• Focus what you’re asking for on what fits best with our aims• Ask for fewer years of funding• Think about tapered funding to show a commitment to sustainability

How to make a good application

Tracking and measuring progress

Evidence that plans are in place for monitoring progress on this particular project

What systems you will use to effectively measure progress on your milestones and outcomes

How you will involve beneficiaries in measuring and tracking progress

Evidence of ongoing self-evaluation and how you will recognise internal issues and build on successes

How to make a good application

Business Plans

Your Business Plan (if required) is a useful tool. It should:

Should show exactly how the project will work, down to the last detail.

Show that you are aware of the risks involved in the project

Tell us who will be responsible for delivering the project

Tell us how the project fits into your organisation's wider work (if relevant)

How to make a good application

Skills and experience

Tell us what you can bring to the project.

Learning and evaluation from previous work or a pilot

Individual skills and experience

Existing partnerships

Learning from other organisations or similar projects

Plans for recognising training needs and building capacity as project progresses

How to make a good application

Points to remember

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Be simple, clear and specific and consistent;

Don’t assume that we know anything about your area of work;

Remember to budget for everything i.e. inflation, auditors,

evaluation costs;

Act on any feedback we have given; read the guidance notes

Don’t rush – plan carefully. It might take longer than you think to set up your project;

Proofread your form or ask someone else to read it; talk through what you’ve written.

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