CIB Training Programme

The Charities Information Bureau

Funding Point

Free sessions aimed at any voluntary and community group looking for funding.  They will both introduce your group to the wealth of information available on funding streams from Funder Finder, websites, publications, and local sources; and also show you how best to access them.

The session will allow you to:

• Use the Funding Point's computer search systems
• Identify appropriate funders for your project
• Access information about these funders
• Discover handy tips for accessing the right funders in the best way

Fundraising Skills

Raising Money from Charitable Trusts

This session is designed for any voluntary or community group looking to approach charitable trusts and foundations for funding

The session will cover:

• Identifying appropriate trusts which might fund your work
• Clarifying trust's eligibility and criteria
• What trusts want to see in an application letter or form
• Using trust money as match for other funding sources e.g. European funding pots
• What trusts expect from applicants after successful bids

Raising Money from Business

This session is designed for any voluntary or community group looking for funding from business.

The session will look at:

• The ways companies can support voluntary organisations e.g. cash donations, sponsorship, gifts in kind, secondments, advice, training
• The types of work companies will support
• What are your groups selling points as far as companies are concerned
• How to approach a company for support – including cash donations and sponsorship deals.

Why Funding Bids Fail

This session is designed for any voluntary or community group looking for funding.

This session will address the main reasons why applications to a range of funders fail, to help groups get it right next time, or first time round.

The session will cover: Common reasons for failure

Applying to Large Funders

Aimed at groups who are considering applications to larger funders such as The Big Lottery, larger Charitable Trusts, European sources and Government funding streams.

The session will give participants an understanding of:

• Eligibility and criteria
• The application procedure and assessment
• Key questions including monitoring, evaluation and costs
• Sustainability issues

6 Steps to Success

If you are thinking of applying for that first lot of funding, it's worth taking a step back and thinking - after all, being a new group you have the luxury of making sure everything is as prepared as it can be before you go ahead. Together, The Charities Information Bureau and Voluntary Action Wakefield District are offering a "Six Steps to Success" course designed for groups new to fundraising to help you avoid the many pitfalls that can come with that first funding bid.

You will be guided through the stages needed to start applying for small grants (up to about 15,000). We will support you so that by the end of the sessions you will have developed your fundraising skills and produced a draft fundraising application. As well as attending the practical workshops there will be one to one support for available.  We can also accredit your work with the Open College to give you a recognised qualification to demonstrate your achievement. If you want to receive accreditation, stay with us until 1.00pm and we will help you with your work.

Attend all the workshops, or dip in and out. Attend one of the introductory sessions to find out more (light refreshments provided).

5th May 10.00am—12.00pm

The introductory sessions and all of the six steps training will take place at The CIB.

To book a place on any of these, please contact The Charities Information Bureau on: 01924 239063

1st Step: Getting Fit for Funding

12th May 2006
9.30am—12.30pm
To help with the basic practicalities of getting your group ready to start applying for funding.

• The purpose and content of a constitution (or rules) to govern a group
• Clarifying why your group exists (aims & objectives)
• Roles & responsibilities of a management committee
• Practicalities of setting up a bank account
• Policies & procedures your group may need in place

2nd Step: Planning Projects

19th May 2006
9.30am—12.30pm
To help you plan projects and activities, this session will cover:

• Identifying and meeting the need for the project
• Involving people and equal opportunities
• Planning the project
• Showing what it will achieve (outputs and outcomes)

3rd Step: Budgets for Bids

26th May 2006
9.30am—12.30pm
To help you budget for your project, this session will cover:

• Identifying the resources you will need to run your project
• How to cost your project (including apportioning)
• Using Excel spreadsheets to work out and keep budgets

4th Step: Finding Funders

16th June 2006
9.30am—12.30pm
To help you identify funding for your project, the session will cover:

• Types of funding from grants to income generation
• Where you can find out about funders and their criteria
• Selecting the right funders for your project
• How best to approach funders

5th Step: Measuring Success

23rd June 2006
9.30am—12.30pm
To help you plan to show what you have achieved and will cover:

• How to monitor the progress of your project
• Keeping records
• Proving your success
• Planning monitoring & evaluation systems for funding bids

6th Step: Keeping Projects Going

30th June 2006
9.30am—12.30pm
Preparing for the end of your project funding? What will happen when your grant comes to an end? This session will help you plan to develop your project and a fundraising strategy, and will cover:

• Looking at different exit strategies
• Planning and prioritising projects for the future
• Looking at marketing, income generation—funding for the future

Applying to Small Funders

Aimed at groups looking for small grants (around £1000), to help run and expand their activities and services. We will look at identifying appropriate funds such as local council pots, global grants, community and learning chests, charitable trusts and how best to approach them.

The session will cover:

• Identifying small and local funding sources
• What the funders want to know about your work
• Completing application forms
• What funders will expect from you if you get the money

Planning Your Fundraising

Are you responsible for your organisation or group? This friendly and informal training day will include:

• Developing a fundraising plan—the importance of, and how to plan and implement a fundraising strategy
• An introduction to project planning—focusing on the importance of planning and how this fits with your organisation's overall aims and objectives
• A guide to basic budgeting—what a funder needs to know

Keeping Projects Going

If you are already being funded but want to develop further projects, or if your present funding is coming to an end but you want to continue, we will look at how this can be done.  The session is appropriate for managers and those with a remit for fundraising and project development.

It will cover:

• Reviewing where you are now and what you might do next
• Project planning and apportioning
• Developing exit strategies - funding sources and income generation

Project Planning

This course is suitable for anyone working in a voluntary or community group who is looking to develop the activities or services they provide.
The session will focus on the importance of planning, and how this fits within your organisation’s overall aims and objectives.

It will include:

• Identifying new projects and existing work that can be developed
• What funders need to know

Sources of Funding

Local Network Fund

The Local Network Fund for children and young people gives grants of £250 — £7000 to local groups in West Yorkshire who want to organise or run a project or activity with disadvantaged children or young people aged 0 –19.

Your group can apply if you:

• Are based within West Yorkshire
• Focus your work on children & young people, most of whom are facing disadvantage or poverty
• Are a locally managed community or self help group
• Have local people volunteering to help with your project
  

The following training sessions are to help you discover:

• If your group is eligible and what the fund might pay for
• How to make an application and what it should include
• Help and support available in the local area

All sessions are from 10.00am — 4.30pm.
Briefing sessions will take place in the morning 10.00—12.00, then the afternoon 1.00—4.30 will be individual surgery sessions for you to receive more indepth support on your ideas and application.

Fundraising Skills—Accredited

A number of our training courses are accredited through the Open College Network West and North Yorkshire.  The courses lead to 3 credits at either level 2 or 3. Through the Open College, the level of study needed for Level 2 is roughly the same as for NVQ level 2 or GCSE; level 3 is similar to NVQ level 3 or A Level. Don't worry about choosing which level you want to go for now — you can decide this during the course unless stated otherwise.

Three credits are equal to around 30 hours of work. There is no exam involved — work completed during the sessions and at home is assessed by the tutors, and then checked by an independent moderator.

Some of this will be written work, but credit is also given for good points made in group work, and discussions.

Funding and Fundraising for the Voluntary and Community Sector

A practical and informal 4 day accredited course leading to three credits at level 2 or 3 through the Open College Network.

The course is aimed at: Workers, Volunteers, and Management committee members active within a community or voluntary organisation and
involved in (or hoping to contribute to) raising funds for it. No formal academic qualifications are needed, except basic literacy and numeracy (with a calculator!).

The course will cover:

• Developing a fundraising strategy
• Planning and costing projects
• Identifying a range of appropriate funders—from trusts to European sources
• Making funding applications
• Monitoring and evaluation

Dates of training: 14, 15, 28, 29 June 2006; 9.30am — 4.30pm
Venue: Mabel Booth Room, Bradford CVS

For details of cost and to book a place, contact:Diane Fox, at CVS Training on 01274 722772

Advising Voluntary and Community Groups on Funding Issues

A practical and informal 4 day accredited course leading to three credits at level 2 or 3 through the Open College Network.

This course is aimed at: Specialist funding advisors, Community / umbrella agency workers whose remit includes giving funding advice

Usually with at least a year's experience of working with voluntary or community groups.

The course will cover:

• The role of the funding advisor
• Good practice in giving funding advice
• Diagnosing groups' needs
• Clarifying complex funding criteria
• Giving feedback on draft applications, and
• Voluntary sector funding trends
• What makes a good application

For any enquiries or bookings with the CIB, please contact:

Bev Poppleton
The Charities Information Bureau
93 Lawefield Lane
Wakefield
WF2 8SU
Tel: 01924 239063
Fax: 01924 239431
E-mail: funding@the-cib.demon.co.uk