Funding comes in all shapes and sizes. To name just a few: impact investing funds, mission investing, private investors or public grants. Thousands of different funding programs with bureaucratic restrictions and stringent guidelines make it very difficult to find a match. The following steps will provide you a comprehensive introduction to the most strategic methods of locating and securing public grants.
Scoring funding – the first 5 steps:
- Mind mapping of potential projects
- Time management
- Research
- Database and Analysis
- Customize
Step 1: Mind mapping of potential projects
Everybody is excited about your idea. Everyone needs to hear more with regards to the association you are working for. However, eventually, you will feel as though you’ve reached a stopping point: “Extraordinary thought, yet we can’t give you any cash – unfortunately your arrangement isn’t essential for our portfolio technique; we have an alternate center this year. Assuming that you made something different, or changed your thought, then, at that point, we could talk about it once more. However, good thought! Truly incredible!”
You needed to change the world with your thought. Presently, the world needs you to change your thought. Indeed, even the possibility of transformations gives you the “heebie-jeebies.” headed straight toward effective subsidizing, one day spent creating a psyche map with your group is a day all around spent. For the good of fun, we should refer to it as “the Find Map.”
Make a stride back – think about the entirety of your association’s conceivable objective gatherings and the compass of your expected ventures. Make a partner map for each project and meditate on how your current organization could possibly contribute. The key inquiry: which task has the most potential to target explicit specialty gatherings, while simultaneously associating with significant accomplices?
Step 2: Time management
Art of Funding is also the art of patience. Think hard: are you equipped to handle the funding process on your own? Do you have enough time to dedicate large chunks not only to finding the right funding, but also to networking, the application process, and reporting? If you do not have the resources, make it clear when and to whom you delegate the task – it is extremely important that a member of your team is responsible for the entire process. If you do not consider this up front, you will lose a lot of valuable time, even after you’ve successfully funded a project. Because receiving money also means providing proof that the funds have been used as expected, if the project budgets have been planned unrealistically or sloppily, you will be forced to enjoy many a cancelled holiday.
Step 3: Research
You proudly decided to do it yourself. Take your “Find Map,” and begin to reflect on the social and economic impact your potential projects might have. This information will give you the direction you need – they are your North Star on the funding horizon (aside: Horizon is an infamous European public grant program). You may now be overwhelmed by the thousands of program and funding options. Don’t panic! Start at the local level – check out what your city and state have to offer. Then, consider all the national ministries that are thematically compatible with your endeavors. At this level you will find information concerning the strategies that influence the offered funding programs, as well as important announcements related to these programs. Each program that, at first glance, suits the needs and qualifications of your project should be considered as an option. Now search the even wider web of European funding; after a week you will be able to observe which topics are more likely to receive funding and prioritize the remainder of your search accordingly. Now, stop messing around and dig in.
Step 4: Database and Analysis
Despite the fact that all the data is by all accounts available on the web, be guaranteed that this isn’t true. Go purchase books and information bases of subsidizing associations and projects. These will incorporate genuinely necessary contacts. Your “Track down Map should now comprise of potential tasks, summed up as far as their effect. Each of these ought to preferably be connected to various program prospects. Fundamentally, you have made a financing channel. Presently the frenzy can start – make a fundamental data set containing your thoughts for every possible task, in light of the fact that subsequent stage on your street to fruitful securing of financing is to stick yourself to the phone. Rules mean two things: severe guidelines and administration, yet in addition space for translation.
Step 5: Customize
You finally have a shortlist of programs to lead you in the right direction. But, there are certain things that just don’t seem to be a fit. The time has come to think outside the box. This means finding partners that make you eligible to apply for certain programs and drafting concepts for projects perfect not only for those programs, but also for the mission of your own organization. Meet with the people in charge and ask the right questions. Here’s an example: one guideline might suggest that you need to cover 30% of the project’s costs with your own contributions. Sadly, you might not have that kind of money. A perfectly good question to ask could then be: “Is it acceptable to list volunteer contribution as our own contribution?”
It’s not all about the money. I want to finish with some extra motivation. Mastering the art of funding doesn’t mean just digging for money. It is actually an excellent way not only to get better acquainted the goals of your own organization, but also to network and develop your business model. Don’t take the fun out of funding!