Finding Funding

Make sure your project is a good fit for the funder. Every funder has their own set of priorities, whether that’s getting more people active, supporting young people, tackling health inequalities, or bringing communities together. It’s important to make sure that your aims and values align with those of the funder. There’s no point trying to make square pegs fit into round holes! 

You can do this by looking at their published criteria, attending any Q&A sessions they host, or getting in touch with a listed contact. 

You’ll also need to check what the funder’s governance requirements are: will they want to review your safeguarding policy? Do they need a copy of your organisation’s charitable objectives or constitution? 

Funders love it when you can show that your project is meeting a real need. One of the best ways to do that is with local data and insights – things like how many people in your community are affected, or what the main challenges your target audience are facing. 

You could also add in some quotes or stories from people in your community – hearing real voices can really bring your project to life and help funders see why it matters. 

You might use datasets like Active Lives, information from the Office for National Statistics, or data and insight specific to your local area. We’ve included some links to useful datasets below. 

Community involvement shows funders that people in your area want and need the idea or project that you’re proposing. And it can boost interest, engagement, and outcomes, too. 

There are loads of different tools and resources out there to support community consultation and engagement activities. You could look at our Engaging Young People: a toolkit, or at Sport England’s Tools to support tackling inactivity through system change for some ideas. 

In most cases, you’ll have to tell the funder how much money you’re seeking, and how you’ll spend it. 

The National Council for Voluntary Organisations has some great information on how to do this. 

Think about the skills you already have in your team, and if you’ll need to invest in any workforce development to support the delivery of your idea or project. This might be recruiting a whole new member of staff, training for your existing team, or networking and peer learning opportunities.  

It’s a good idea to think about how you will monitor and evaluate your project right from the start. What are the things you’re trying to change, and how will you know if you’ve been successful? 

Action Hampshire’s Impact Measurement Guidance Booklet has some great ways to help you do this. 

Lots of funders will ask how you will make your project or your impact sustainable. This might include how you’ve developed your workforce to be able to deliver the project or idea themselves; it might include how you’ll generate further income from participant fees or similar. And you might also include how the project will impact participants or the community, lead to behaviour change, and how that change might be sustained.