Big Lottery Fund
Greenwich Action for Voluntary Service
17th April 2015
Introduction
─ Hugh Stultz - Funding Officer
─ Key role
─ Supporting applicants and potential applicants
─ Raising BIG’s awareness of local needs and priorities
Aims of today’s talk
To give a brief overview of BIG
To highlight some of the funding streams most
relevant to you
Give some hints on writing a successful bid
Big Lottery Fund Mission
“The Big Lottery Fund is committed to bringing real
improvements to communities and to the lives of
people most in need”
What do you do
I
• What does your organisation do
• What is the greatest areas of need
• What is the biggest challenge your organisation
faces
Big Lottery Fund
─ BIG is one of four distributors of Lottery funding
─ We are responsible for 40% of all the money raised for
good causes by the National Lottery
─ We distribute £600 million in funding each year
─ 80-90% of our funding goes to community and voluntary
organisations
How the lottery £2 is spent
Retailers
10p
Operating
Costs 10p
Lottery Tax
24p
Prizes
£1
Good
Causes
56p
BIG is responsible for delivering 40 per cent of all funds raised for good causes - about
12 pence of every pound spent on a Lottery Ticket
BIG is an outcomes funder
Your project must meet at least one of these four outcomes:
People having
better chances
in life
Stronger
communities
Improved
rural and
urban
environments
Healthier and
more active
people and
communities
Big’s Funding Principles
─ Partnership
─ User Informed
─ Local
─ Long Term
─ Evidence, Impact and Influence
Headstart
Ageing
Better
BIG
Talent
Match
Multiple
Needs
BIG targeted funding programmes
Heroes Return
BIG
Awards for
ALL
(A4A)
Reaching
Communities
BIG open programmes
Awards for All Programme
─ Small grants scheme awarding £300-£10,000
─ Applications from community & voluntary groups, schools,
health bodies and parish / town councils
─ Single stage application process
─ BIG gives decision within 6 weeks of application
─ Project must be complete within one year of award
Reaching Communities Programme
─ Larger grants scheme awarding grants over £10,000
─ Main programme:
o Revenue projects funding from £10,000 (average £300,000)
o Smaller capital projects funding from £10,000-£100,000
─ Buildings programme:
o Larger capital projects funding from £100,000
o Geographically targeted at most deprived areas
Reaching Communities Programme
─ Very competitive programme
─ Applications from community & voluntary groups, charities,
statutory bodies, social enterprises, not-for-profit companies
─ Two-stage application process to identify fundable projects
─ BIG gives decision typically within 8-9 months of application
─ Project can take up to 5 years to complete
BIG Awards in Greenwich
―Awards for All Grants
―Total value £482,313
―Success rate 68%
― Reaching Communities
―Total value £716,344
What is BIG looking for in an
application
─ Project that is appropriate for the programme
─ A good fit with BIG outcomes
─ Strong evidence that your project is needed
─ Proof that your project will make a difference
─ Beneficiaries consulted and involved in all stages of the
project
Tips on completing your
application
Does your
application meet
BIG outcomes
Is there a clear
case (evidence) for
your project
Are your outcomes
(change) clearly
linked to activities
and need
Defining Need
─ Go back to basics – assume the Funding Officers assessing
your application know nothing about the needs of the
people you are trying to help
─ Quote your sources - make sure all sources of evidence
are listed and dated, and all the information is recent and
relevant to your project
─ Make a strong case – use a broad range of information and
if in doubt add more rather than less
Use a broad range of evidence
‘Soft’ Information
‘Hard’
Consultations
Information
Focus groups
Local statistics
Focus groups
Questionnaires
Questionnaires
Letters
of support
Interviews
Interviews and quotes
‘Before and after’ data
Waiting lists
‘Hard’ Information
Local statistics
Census
Strategies and policies
Local & national priorities
Research reports
Deprivation Index
Office for National Statistics
Exercise: What evidence can I use
• In pairs or groups discuss the type of evidence that
you could use to support an application for your
own project.
• You should seek to use ‘hard’ factual evidence and
‘soft’ evidence which focuses on the subjective
responses / needs of the client group you work
with.
Defining Project Aim, Outcomes
and Activities
─ Project aim - one simple sentence to closely reflect the
need identified
─ Outcomes – strong and clear points to explain the change
you want to make for the project beneficiaries
─ Project activities - together should add up to show how
the outcomes and aim will be met
Developing a strong application
Project Need
Project Aim
The overall point
of your project
Project Need
Project
ProjectOutcomes
Outcome
The difference you want to make
or the change you want to bring
about for your beneficiaries
Project Activities
The services and activities you will carry out
to meet the outcomes and achieve the project aim
Developing a strong application
cont’d
Needs
Activities
Beneficiaries
Outcomes
Comments on Unsuccessful Applications
─ ‘The outcomes need to focus on the difference that the
project will make to the lives of the beneficiaries’
─ ‘It is unclear from the activities as to what services they
will provide to achieve the outcomes’
─ ‘Evidence of need could be much stronger and is not
dated so it is hard to establish how current it is’
─ ‘The applicant lists the organisations and people they
have consulted but does not provide any dates or findings’
Comments on Successful Applications
─ ‘Beneficiaries and their needs are clearly identified’
─ ‘A full range of activities has been provided that will
clearly deliver the project outcomes’
─ ‘Varied and relevant external evidence confirms the issues
identified and shows the gaps in current service’
─ ‘Beneficiaries involved in management committee,
consultation, project planning and design, volunteering,
recruitment and evaluation’
Tips for Success
― Read the guidelines and use all other help available
― Start by defining need – make it the core of your
application
― Focus on your beneficiaries and the difference that your
project will make to them
― Get a ‘critical friend’ to review your application before
submission
Leave plenty of time to research and re-read
your application before submitting.
Support and Guidance Available
─ Big Lottery Fund website: http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk
─ Getting Funding & Planning Successful Projects
─ Case studies of successful projects
─ BIG Advice Line: 0845 4 10 20 30
─ Email enquiries: [email protected]
Questions and Comments?