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by Conor Gibson, Content Researcher and Writer, Directory of Social Change
A panel of funders at Directory of Social Change’s Funding your Future conference advised applicants to focus on outcomes with tighter budgets looming in the year ahead.
The panel, containing representatives from the BIG Lottery Fund, the Community Development Foundation (CDF), and Suffolk County Council were discussing their plans and predictions for the funding climate in 2010 and beyond.
Mark McGann from BIG said their greatest current concern is the diversion of funds towards the 2012 Olympics. This means in 2009-2011 BIG have ‘just under half’ the funds it normally would. This represents ‘no more than £300 million this year UK-wide’.
McGann believes a Conservative government would divert BIG funds away from projects run by local authorities. In his view this would leave BIG with ‘£500-odd million’ annually from 2012, exclusively for charitable purposes. This would be a reduction from the pre-2012 Olympics level of over £600 million.
Applicants can expect ‘an awful lot of continuity’ in BIG’s funding programmes following their strategic framework consultation. This includes maintaining the emphasis on need in funding schemes and providing longer term funding (up to 5 years). BIG have also set a target to distribute ‘at least 80%’ of all funding to the Voluntary and Community Sector.
As part if a new grants management system, BIG plan to ‘provide earlier notice of whether you are likely to be funded’. They also plan to provide quicker turnaround on grants of £10,000-£100,000.
Significantly for fundraisers, McGann said that BIG are ‘experiencing low demand for our open programmes’ such as Awards for All and Reaching Communities, so now is a good time to apply to those programmes.
Debbie Ladds from CDF then talked about their role in distributing central government funding to local groups. She said CDF emphasise the importance of grant funding, and try to be responsive to needs identified by the voluntary sector ‘rather than the government saying this is what we want you to do with the money’.
Ladds highlighted a number of grant programmes still open for applications, including Grassroots Grants and the Endowment Match Challenge. She stressed that applicants for the Hardship Fund – designed to help organisations through the recession – must explain how their service or users have been impacted by the recession, or risk being rejected as ineligible.
Looking towards the election, Ladds raised concerns about the uncertain position of funding quangos like CDF. A change in government could see many such bodies reframed or even liquidated.
However, with funding plans likely to be up for review, now is the time for voluntary organisations to try to influence political parties to shape their future funding strategies and make the case for continued support in the future.
Stephen Watt of Suffolk County Council provided a local authority perspective. He stated that tighter budgets will see local authorities want ‘more for less’ from existing funding relationships. Watt believes charities should start to view local authorities as ‘strategic grant funders, not donors’.
Watt said voluntary organisations should be proactive and approach local authorities with evidence of how funding will meet their priorities, save money in the long run, and develop the community. An increase in smaller, locally-focused services could provide ‘huge opportunities’ for charities. However, they should ensure these projects don’t ‘bend you too far from your mission’.
In a message for fellow councils, Watt discussed Suffolk’s ‘strong commitment to the promotion and relevance of grants as part of the commissioning process.’ He warned that focusing solely on procurement and cutting grants leads to a lack of diversity and innovation, as the same larger organisations dominate the pool.
In summary, DSC’s Chris Wells – himself a county councillor – reminded the audience that the full social impact of a recession is usually felt 18 months later. This puts charities in a ‘phony war position’; they haven’t seen the full increase in demand for their services, but are likely to face restricted budgets when it comes. Charities should act now to influence funders and develop services to meet the imminent impact.