Teresa’s Fundraising Tips
Sarah, our Project Coordinator, met up with Teresa from Sustainable Tiverton’s fundraising group to get some tops tips for groups trying to get organised and more successful with writing funding applications.
Sustainable Tiverton is an umbrella organisation. Which means people with good ideas in the town can develop projects under an organisational umbrella, which provides the legal structure and bank account so the people running the project don’t have to think about that bit. There are 12 projects under their umbrella.
The fundraising group is small. Along with Teresa it includes the group’s Secretary and Treasurer. And one other person, who has previously been Chair and is one of the long-standing Directors.
The conversation started with Sarah asking Teresa how she became a fundraising volunteer.
“I joined as a beekeeper for one of the projects about 10 years ago, then I volunteered with the ReRooted Café (one of the 12 projects). In 2021, they put out a plea for people who were interested in governance and finance. I didn’t want the responsibility of being a Director but was happy to join the fundraising group being set up. It’s been going just 21 months.”
They went on to talk about the most important things a group should know, if it wanted to focus on fundraising and set up a funding application working group. They meet once every 6 weeks. Agree which funder to apply to next and who’s doing what.
Teresa said “the most important thing to say is that everybody, in all the projects, are always on the lookout for sources of funding. In the 21 months, we’ve had 13 successful applications. 7 of those were from people within a projects, spotting an opportunity, filling in the form. The last thing we want to do is centralise everything. And we celebrate when people are successful. Everybody is in looking for opportunities and raising money mode.”
Teresa commented that the 50% success rate was “ever so cheering, really”. We agreed, fundraisers we talk to would say that’s a high rate of success! She had a top tip that could help keep success rates high; to keep a track of the unsuccessful applications and always try and get feedback. This can help you improve applications.
Sustainable Tiverton’s fundraising group have deliberately kept things small scale. Favouring small grant pots. The smallest for £200 and the largest one for just under £10,000. We thought this was wise as there are many more smaller pots than larger ones and they are often easier to apply for.
Sarah and Teresa went on to talk about what she thought makes a good application.
“I’m sure it comes across, you know, if you really believe in what you want the money for, what you’re doing, then it that comes across in the applications.” Teresa said
But she also remarked “don’t waffle! It’s very easy with your word count to fill it up to the maximum with waffle, and one of the things that we do is to go over and over and over it to see if we can say the same thing in fewer words. That leaves space for evidence.”
She went on to explain that the group will try to accumulate evidence which backs up the applications from whatever sources they can. “Volunteer numbers. how many customers, how many vulnerable customers, and what’s the census now saying about the population, about deprivation, or about energy use.”
The CAG team know that evidencing applications can be onerous for groups but listening to Teresa talk really brought the subject to life for Sarah. It highlighted the benefit of Resource CIT, which all members have access to, to help record activities. It’s a great tool for recording and calculating volunteer hours, tonnes of waste saved from landfill as well as carbon emissions.
Teresa continued, “so, we’re now accumulating pieces of evidence because evidence in one application can then be used in another.” Our main statistic we use is that last year we estimated there were just over 7000 hours of volunteer time. We have lots of volunteers and they give lots of time. But if you say 7000 hours, which is 4 1/2 full time workers. When you communicate it like that, it’s big. It’s a big thing, isn’t it?”
After a short pause, Teresa remarked again. “It is quite boring keeping statistics, isn’t it, but incredibly valuable. It helps paint the picture, doesn’t it?”
“I always try and envisage the person who’s reading it, you think this poor person, they’ve got hundreds and hundreds of these and we’re all saying the same thing and they’ve got to find a reason to turn you down.”
Another thing she said was important was the ability to say no, and not apply. “saying this is not for us”. Thinking about which funders are local and which are national – and how many groups might be applying. Find one that you think “this is right up our street.”
When discussing timings of applications and building relationships with funders. Teresa said it was good to have relationships with local funders. Especially at some points in the year when funds need to be distributed quickly before a close deadline.
With regard to the process, Teresa’s top tip was “read the small print! You have to be really good at reading the small print.” She was referring to not only what you can apply for but also how to fill in the application form. “You can get caught out when the funder wants 600 characters and you’ve written 600 words.”
The group copy the questions into a Word doc. And work together, with somebody commenting and somebody drafting. Applications with large word counts might take 3 weeks.
She went on to explain some of the ways the group got organised. Starting off, they went right back, looking through the accounts and asked everybody to try and remember which funders had been applied to before. Important to know, as there is nothing wrong with going back to ask again. Teresa called this “the organisational memory”. They keep a record of the ones which have been submitted and the result.
Sarah asked if she thought there are certain skills or experience that a person needs to have to be a fundraising volunteer? She replied “I don’t think you need prior knowledge because there are monthly newsletters you can receive, like the one from CAG or Devon County Council. There are lots of places that give you leads.”
“You do have to like writing and reading. If a person likes writing stories or are part of a reading group it might suit them. Also people who can’t physically do a lot. They can sit at home and do this and feel part of something. They do need to be a long-term person and want to be in the role for a couple of years.”
Sarah is always curious to know what motivates people to volunteer. She asked Teresa what she enjoyed about being a fundraising volunteer.
She said “I really don’t know because it’s half an exam and half a job application. Quite a lot have very specific questions and you can imagine the person at the other end with their tick box, giving marks. You need to have your individuality shine through and your enthusiasm. Selling yourself in a way. Then you send it off and wait for the result. When you get turned down, you mustn’t be too disappointed. And when you are successful. You’ve got the job.”
It was a pleasure to speak to Teresa and find out more about how Sustainable Tiverton raises funds. In 2025 we will be running a Collaborate Session on Trust Fundraising and we’re hoping to bring groups and funders together too in a Meet the Funder event. Helping groups to build their fundraising know how and find the right funder for their projects. Keep reading our newsletters for more information!
