Step 6 – Find funding and support

Funding is required for almost all activities, ranging from providing tea and biscuits at meetings to hiring a venue for an event or perhaps even investing in a community building.

If you are setting up a community group – as opposed to holding a one off event or project – it’s important to think through your organisational costs carefully so you know how much money you need to bring in every year.

Once you have a good idea of your costs and your planned activities, you can start to identify possible sources of funding for community projects.

Fundraising

There are many tried and tested methods to raise money for community projects, some of which are:

• Sponsorship to take part in a challenging event or activity

• Selling goods with the profits going towards your project

• Donation appeals to the public, either in person or via an online platform

• Sponsorship, pro-bono support or social investment from a business

• Running an online crowdfunding campaign, which is where you decide on how much you want to raise and set a fixed deadline to do this – the sense of urgency really works to get people to donate.

Applying for funding

Here are the three key questions that funding bodies are likely to consider when reviewing your application:

1. What you need the funding for

2. How long you need the funding for

3. How important the funding is for the project

Of course, each funding body will have set criteria and processes, but these are the main questions to base your application around.

Below are some links to free guides, software and websites that can help you apply for funding and help you fundraise.