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If you are thinking of applying for a grant from a trust or foundation, what should you bear in mind? Geoff Howard provides a handy list of do 's and don'ts.
Do be confident and cautiously optimistic -trusts and foundations are in the business of giving money away. Don't be presumptuous of support, the competition is intense. Do invest time in research to identify prospects with real potential and prepare applications tailored to each prospect. Don't take the longest list of trusts you can obtain and mail-merge a standard letter to them all. Do treat each trust as 'an individual'. This can be daunting when you are starting out and looking at the hundreds of trusts you have to consider. Sub-divide your data into a, b, c, d, and e lists. The 'a 'list might be those trusts with an annual grant-making capacity of £1m plus and those with whom you already have a special relationship or contact. The 'b' list those with, say, an annual grant-making capacity of £500,000 -£999,999, and so on. Giving individual attention to an 'a' list of nine and a 'b' list of fourteen suddenly becomes a more manageable task. Do identify those aspects of your project or cause, which are relevant to individual trusts and construct your application accordingly. Do apply the principle of personal approaches -invite trust representatives to visit and see the project, meet the beneficiaries, experience the needs. Don 't assume your data is up to date or gospel -every source of data is fallible. If you are simply submitting a written application, telephone-check in advance that you are sending it to the correct person. Do respect the requirements of trusts with regard to the format of application specified. If a trust has its own application form, make sure you answer the questions that are posed. Don t append a core document and then on their form simply say 'please refer to page x of attached'. They are unlikely to give such an approach preference over an applicant who has conformed to the requested format and so made the assessment process easier. Don't forget to say thank you, not just once, but invest the time and resources in keeping trusts informed of progress and the outcomes of their grants. Invite trustees and correspondents to milestone occasions. Do remember the principle of spread giving. A trust may only be able to give £x, 000 in any one year to your cause, but may be able to agree to give £x,000 a year for, say, three years. Don 't ignore and forget those who say no. Be sensitive to how they say no. If they write appreciatively about your cause, but regret that shortage of funds currently makes support impossible, diarise the fact and consider re- approaching in the next financial year. Do share the burden. Whether all your work is trust orientated or trusts fundraising is part of your remit, the task is probably too big for one pair of shoulders. The sort of support you might seek:

colleagues to review written applications before they are dispatched

colleagues 'co-operation in providing key information requested by trusts or needed by you in writing applications

colleagues 'co-operation in including trust contacts in your organisation 's usual pattern of communications, cultivation and public relations activity
otrustees 'involvement in identifying contacts with trusts and fully exploring local knowledge of local and new trusts. (New trusts, which have not yet made their way into all the standard directories, can be a very rich vein of support.)

trustees 'involvement in hosting visits from representatives of trusts - fundraising, including trusts fundraising, is a 'Board of Trustees 'issue and needs to be considered and supported at Board Level

Geoff Howard is Director of Craigmyle Fundraising Consultants
t: 01582 762441
e: geoff@craigmyle.org.uk