trusts and foundations - proposal...

TrustsandFoundations–ProposalWriting ÓApolloFundraisingLimited2016

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SharedEnterpriseandApolloFundraisingTrustsandFoundations–Workshop1–ProposalWriting

WhatisaTrust?TheAssociationofCharitableFoundations(ACF),theUK’smembershipbodyforgrant-makingorganisations,definesaTrustorFoundationasbeing“charitieswithprivate,independentandsustainableincomethatfulfiltheirpurposesbyfundingorotherwisesupportingindividualsorotherorganisations.”Therearetwokeypartstothisdefinition:Thefirstisthattheseareprivateandindependentbodies.Theyareavehicleforindividuals,groupsorcompaniestomanagetheirownphilanthropy.Whiletheyaresubjecttocharitylaw,thedecisionastowhoorwhattofundisaprivatematter,decidedbythefounderofthetrustandthetrustees.Thesecondisthattheyexisttofulfilapurpose.Theyarenotpurelycashmachineswhichexisttosupportyourwork.Theyhaveasetmissionthattheyarelookingtoachieve.Therefore,anyrelationshipwithaTrustorFoundationshouldfocusonthismission.CharacteristicsofTrustsTherearealotofTrustsandFoundationsintheUK–theACFestimatesthatthereareover10,000givingawayapproximately£2.7billioneachyear.Theserangefromsmall,localtrustsgivingawayafewhundredpoundsayear,tomulti-nationalfoundationsgivingawayhundredsofmillions.In2015,theWellcomeTrustgave£673millioningrants.Generallyspeaking,truststendtopreferprojectfundingtocore/revenuefunding,withapreferencethatisnewandinnovative.Almosteverytrustwillreceivemoreproposalsandapproachesthantheycanfund,whichmeansthereisacompetitiveprocesstoawardgrants.Theturnaroundtimeforaproposalisrelativelyshort,withanaveragetimeof6to9months(somecanmakegrantdecisionsquickerthanthis,whileotherswithatwo-stageapplicationprocesswilltakelonger).However,everytrustisdifferentanditisamistaketoassumethatalltrustswillbehaveinthesameway.TypesofTrustWhilethereislittledifferencebetweena‘Trust’anda‘Foundation’–thenamesareusedlargelyinterchangeablyintheUK–therearedifferenttypesofTrustthatyouneedtobeawareof.

LivingDonorFoundations–ifawealthyindividualorcoupleknowthattheywillbegivingawayasimilaramounteachyeartheymaysetupapersonaltrustasataxefficientapproach,whilealsoprovidinganefficientstructuretotheirgiving.ExamplesincludetheCloreDuffieldFoundationandthePeterMooresFoundation.

FamilyFoundations–wealthyfamilieswilloftensetupaFamilyFoundationasawayofengagingallgenerationsintheirphilanthropy.Someusethisasawayofteachingayoungergenerationaboutthevalueofmoneyandtheimportanceofphilanthropy.AstimegoesbythecontroloftheFoundationwillpasstothenextgeneration.ExamplesincludetheSainsburyFamilyCharitableTrustsandtheWatesFoundation.


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AppealsandDonor-AdvisedFunds–ifadonoriskeentomakeadifferencebutdoesn’thavetheexpertiseordesiretosetuptheirownTrust,theymighttrusttheirmoneytoanexistingfoundationtodistribute.ThiscanrangefromHighNetWorthIndividualssettingupaDonor-AdvisedFundwithspecificaims(ascanbefoundwithalotofCommunityFoundationsintheUK)toalargenumberofindividualsgivingsmalleramountstobeusedforaspecificpurpose(suchasChildreninNeedandComicRelief).

PooledFunds–occasionally,groupsofindividuals,trusts,companiesorstatutorybodiesmightcometogethertosolveaspecific,oftentime-limitedproblem.Thismightbeinresponsetoanidentifiedchallengeorasawayofspreadingtherisktotryanewapproach.TheArtsImpactFundisanexampleofdifferentfunderscomingtogethertoexplorethefeasibilityofanewfundingmodelforartsandcultureorganisations.

CorporateFoundations–aspartoftheirCSRpoliciessomecompanieswillsetuptheirownFoundation.Theincomeisoftenbasedonthecompany’sannualprofits.LloydsBank,LadbrookesandGreggsallhavecorporatefoundations.

Estates–somedeceasedplaywrights,composersandauthorshaveestateswhichmanagetheincomegeneratedthroughtheperformanceorreproductionoftheirartisticwork.Insomecasesthisincomeisputintoatrustanddistributedtosupportcharitablecauses.Forexample,theBritten-PearsFoundationandtheRVWTrust.

EndowmentandLegacyTrusts–trustscanoftenbecreateduponthedeathofaphilanthropistoralovedone.Alumpsum,orendowment,isusedtocreatetheTrustandtheinterestitgeneratesisgrantedtocharities.Forexample,theJohnEllermanFoundationandtheEsméeFairbairnFoundation.

Understandingthedifferenttypesoftrustsandfoundationshelpsyoutounderstandhowtheymightbehave.Inparticular,itwillgiveyouaninsightintothreekeycharacteristicsthatalltrustsshareandwhatthisislikelytomeanfortheirgrant-giving:

Money–thedifferenttypesoffoundationdrawincomeindifferentways.Ifyouknowwheretheirincomecomesfromyoucanunderstandwhentheyarelikelytohavemostmoneytomakegrants.

o Some,suchasendowedfunds,arecreatedwithonegiftwhichistheninvested.Themoneytheyhavetodonateislinkedtotheperformanceoftheirinvestmentportfolio.o Somehavefixedincome,wherethesameamountismadeavailableeachyear.ThisisoftentrueofIndividualPhilanthropists,orfortime-limitedTruststhatarespendingouttheircapitaloveradefinedperiodoftime.o Somehavevariableincome.Forexample,acorporatefoundationmightreceive5%ofthecompany’sprofits.Ifthecompanyhashadagoodyearyouknowtherewillsoonbemoremoneyavailablefromthefoundation.Similarly,Estates

tendtohavevariableincome.Iftheartist’sworkisbeingperformedorreproducedalot(forexample,duringananniversaryyear),thereislikelytobemoremoneyavailableinsubsequentyears.


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Decisionmakers–thedifferenttypesoffoundationoftenhavedifferentdecisionmakingprocesses,particularlyinrelationtowhomakesthefinaldecisionsaboutgrants.Forsome,oneortwotrusteeswillmakekeydecisions.Forothers,thefullcommitteewillhaveequalsay.SomeTrustswillemploypaidstaffwhoactas‘gate-keepers.Othersworkwithpanelsofadvisorswhorecommendprojectsororganisationstobefunded.Knowingwhomakesdecisionsateachstepoftheprocesshelpsyoutoplanyourcultivationstrategy.

RulesandRegulations–finally,thetypeoffoundationwillimpactontherulesgoverningtheirgrant-making–andtheflexibilitytochangethese.Sometrustshavefixedruleswhichthetrusteesandcharitiesmustadhereto.Otherswillhavevariablerules,wheretheywillsupportdifferenttypesofprojects,withthetrusteesgiventhepowertobendtheruleswhereitisdeemedappropriate.

Preparation–YourCaseforSupportIfitistruethatTrustsexisttoachieveamissionandchangetheworldinapositiveway,youneedtobeclearhowyoucanhelpthemdothis.YourCaseforSupportcanhelpyoudothis.YourCaseforSupportservestwopurposes:

Itisaninternaldocumentthatbringstogetheralloftheinformationyouneedtofundraisewithinyourorganisation.Itensureseverybodyacrosstheorganisationcanfundraiseconfidently,andinaconsistentfashionthroughouttheorganisation.

Itisa(TRUE)storyyoutelltopotentialdonorstohelpthemunderstandwhytheyshouldcareenoughaboutyourworktosupport.

Todothis,yourCaseforSupportshouldcommunicatethreethings:

ThesocietalNeedforyourwork ThefinancialNeedforsupport TheurgentNeedforthedonortotakeaction

ArtsandCultureorganisationsoftenstruggletoarticulatetheneedfortheirworkinacompellingway.AgoodframeworktouseistheC.A.S.E.model.C=CriticalChallengeA=AlternativeApproachS=SpecificStepsE=ExpectedEndResult


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CriticalChallenge WhatistheNeedforyourwork?Thiscouldbe:o Anegativeproblemyouaretryingtosolveo Apositiveopportunityyouarelookingtocapitaliseono Anegativeproblemthatwouldariseifyoustoppedyourwork

Whoisthisaproblemoranopportunityfor?Whobenefitsfromyourwork?Whowouldloseoutifyourworkstopped?

Whatevidencedoyouhavetoprovethereisaproblemoropportunity? Howcanyoushowthatactionisneededurgently?

AlternativeApproach Whatisyourhypothesisforovercomingtheproblemormaximisingtheopportunity?

SpecificSteps Whatactivitieswillyoucarryouttoaddresstheproblemoropportunity? Whyisyourorganisationbestplacedtodeliverthisworkoveranyoneelse?

ExpectedEndResults Whatwillbethepositiveresultsofyourwork? Whatwillbethenegativeconsequencesifyoudon’tcompleteyourwork?

WewilltalkmoreabouttheFinancialNeedandtheCallforActioninthenextworkshop.FramingWhiletheartsandculturesectortraditionallydoeswellfromTrustsandFoundations,focusingonlyonTrustswithastatedinterestinthisareaisamistake.(FiguresfromtheCharitiesAidFoundationshowthatonly0.3%ofalldonationsin2015wenttoartsandculturecauses).TomaximisethepotentialofTrustsandFoundationstosupportyourworkyouneedtoconsidertheCriticalChallengesthatexistoutsideoftheartsandculturespace.Forexample,aretherechallengesineducation,health,well-beingorcommunitycohesionthatyourworkcanalsoaddress?Intheseinstances,theworkofthemuseumbecomesavehicletoachievingchange.InplanningyourCaseforSupport,considerallthedifferentwaysyourworkcanbeframed.Thiswillhelpwhenitcomestoresearchingpotentialsupporters.ProposalWritingDuringthecohorttrainingprogrammewearegoingtocovertheTrustSolicitationprocessinthewrongorder.Thereismethodinthismadness.Inworkshop2wewillcoverresearch,cultivationandstewardship.Theremainderofworkshop1willlookat‘theask’.Foralargenumberoffoundations,theprocessofaskinginvolvesawrittenproposal.Sometimesthiswillbeanapplicationformbutoftenthisrequiresafree-formproposalorletter.Thisisyouropportunitytosellyourorganisationandyourprojectbut,moreimportantly,itisyourchancetoshowhowsupportingyourworkwillhelpthetrustachieveitsownmission.ConsideritfromtheTrust’spointofviewWithfiniteresourcesavailable,trusteesandstaffhavetomakethedifficultdecisionofwhichproposalstheyshouldfundandwhichonestoturndown.Inordertomakethisdecisionthereareanumberofkeythingsthatthestaffandtrusteesneedtoknowwhenconsideringyourproposal:


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Howdoesthisprojectmeetouraims?Howdoesithelpusachieveourvision? Whatistheneedforthiswork? Whatimpactwillourgranthave? Howmuchmoneydotheyneed? Isthisvalueformoney? Whataretherisksforus? Whataretherisksforthefundedorganisation?

Inordertohelptrusteesandstaffanswerthesequestionsyourproposalshouldincludethefollowingelements:ASummary Unfortunately,alotoftrustswon’treviewyourfullproposalattheirmeeting.

Thereissimplynotenoughtime.Instead,onetrusteeortheadministratorwillwriteasummaryoftheproposal.Ifyouwritethesummaryyouhelpthetrusteesbutyoualsoensurethatwhatgetscirculatedisatruereflectionofyourproposal.Thesummaryshouldbe2to3lineslongandshouldinclude:

ThenameoftheTrustyouareapplyingto Abriefdescriptionofhowyoumeettheiraims Theamountyouareapplyingfor Whatthiswillenableyoutodo

OrganisationalBackground

Itislikelythatsomeofthetrusteesordecisionmakerswillnotknowanythingaboutyourorganisation.ThisisyouropportunitytobuildcredibilityandshowtheTrustthatyoucanbetrustedwiththeirmoney.Theorganisationalbackgroundshouldinclude:

Yourtrackrecordofdeliveringsimilarprojects Anyawardsorachievementsthatarerelevanttothisproposal Endorsements Informationaboutanyoneelsethatisinvolved

CriticalChallenge Youthenneedtosetouttheproblemyouarelookingtosolve,ortheopportunityyouarelookingtorespondto.ThisshouldbeframedinlinewiththeTrustsownaimsandmission–thechallengestheyaretryingtoovercome.Asmentionedabove,thisshouldinclude:

Anyevidenceyouhavethatprovestheproblemoropportunity Whyitisurgent(withTrustsreceivingsomanyproposalsyouneedtoshowwhyyourworkneedstobefundednow,notinthefuture).

ThepeopleaffectedbytheproblemthatwillbenefitfromyourworkAlternativeApproachandSpecificSteps

Havingsetoutthechallengeyouthenneedtooutlinetheactionsyouwilltaketoovercomeit.

EndResultsandEvaluation

Trustsprovideoneofthebiggestandmostefficientnetworkstocirculatelearningwithinthesector.Youneedtoshowhowyouwillknowifyouhavesucceededinsolvingtheproblemandhowyouwillmakethelearningavailabletothemandotherorganisations.Thisenablesthemtoevaluatetheirown


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impactinachievingtheiraimsandcirculatebestpractice.Itcanalsoimpacttheirfuturegrant-making.Youshouldshow:

Howyouwillknowifyouhavesucceeded Howyouwilldisseminateyourfindings Howyouwillrespondtochallengeswithintheproject

FinancialOverview WhilemanyTrustswillaskforadetailedbudget,yourproposalshouldincludeafinancialoverviewoftheproject.Thisshouldinclude:

Thetotalcost Theamountraisedsofarandthefundersinvolved Whoelseyouhaveappliedtofortheshortfall(experiencedfunderswillexpecttoseethatyouhaveappliedtoanumberofotherTrustsfortheshortfallastheyknowyouwillnothavea100%successrateforproposals)

HowmuchyouareaskingtheTrustforFuturePlans/ExitStrategy

Finally,youshouldoutlineyourplansfortheendoftheproject.Willtheprojectstop?Ifso,whatisyourexitstrategy?Iftheprojectiscontinuing,howwillitbefunded?Willitbeself-sufficientorwillyoubereliantonfuturefunding?

TipsforProposalWriting

1. Keepsentencesshort–fundersandadministratorswillnothavemuchtimetoreviewyourproposal.Shortersentencesareeasierforthemtoreadandtoremember.

2. Keepitto2pageswherepossible–youshouldbeabletogivetheTrustalltheinformationtheyneedintwopages.Ifyoucan’t,youneedtoconsiderwhatthekeymessagesareandwhatisunnecessarydetail.Becarefulthatyouarenotobscuringyourkeymessages.

3. Useleft-alignedtext–whileblockjustifiedtextmightbeaestheticallypleasing,itcantakeupto10%longertoread.

4. Getridofthejargon–themuseumsectorisfullofjargonthatmakessensetothoseofususingiteverydaybutwhichcanbafflepeopleoutsideofthesector.Rememberthatmosttrusteeswon’tusethislanguageornecessarilyunderstandwhatitmeans.

5. Clearlyarticulatehowyoumatchtheiraimsandusetheirwordsandphrases–notonlywillthismakelifeeasyforthetrust,itwillalsoshowthatyouhavetakenthetimetoreallyrespondtowhattheyarelookingfor,ratherthansimplymail-mergingthesameproposaltoeverytrustyouknow.

6. Don’tmail-mergeproposals–everytrustisdifferent,soeveryproposalyouwriteshouldreflectthis.Never,evermailmergeproposals.Ever!

7. Bepassionate–trusteesandadministratorsarehumanbeings,withpassionsandinterests.Helpthemtounderstandyourprojectandconnectwithitbyspeakingpassionatelyaboutyourwork.Thisisyourchancetogetthemexcited!

8. Getyourproposalinaheadofthedeadline–onetrusteeIspoketorecentlysaidthat90%ofapplicationstheyreceivearriveonthedeadline.Gettinginearlywillmakeyourproposalstandout.ItwillalsogivetheTrusttimetocomebacktoyouiftheyhaveanyquestionsorifthereisanythingmissingaheadofthedeadline.


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9. Followalloftheguidelines–checkcarefullywhatyouarebeingaskedtoprovide,andalsowhattheydon’twant.Theguidelinesareinplaceforareason,tomakethingsasefficientaspossibleforboththeTrustandtocharitiesapplyingforfunds.Youareunlikelytowinfriendsifyoudon’tfollowtheirguidelines.

10. Considerthephotocopier–ifyouhavebeenaskedtosendonecopy,oranelectroniccopy,itislikelythatitwillbeprintedorphotocopied.Don’tstapleorbindyourproposalinawaythatwillmakeitdifficulttocopy.Similarly,considerhowanyimagesorcolourtextwillappearifitisprintedinblackandwhite.

11. Othercollateral–sendinglinkstoexamplesofyourworkonline,orenclosingotherpublicationsandCDsisoktocomplementtheproposal(aslongastheyhaven’texpresslysaidnottointheguidelines)butrememberthatmosttrusteeswon’tlookatitandtheyprobablywon’thaveaccesstothisinthemeeting.Don’trelyonthistoexplainakeypartofyourworkortoanswertheirquestions.

12. Avoidsendinglargepackagesorrecordeddelivery.Ensureyouhavepaidallpostage–mosttrustsdon’thavefulltimestaffandmanyoperatefrompersonalhomesoroffices.Ifyouneedtosendlargeparcelsorrecordeditems,checkwiththeTrustfirstthattherewillbesomebodytoreceivethemandsignforthem.(Again,youwillnotwinanyfriendsifsomeonehastogotothePostOfficetopickupyourapplication.Worsestilliftheyhavetopayafeebecauseyouhaveputtheincorrectpostageonit!).

Finally:Check,checkandcheckagain!Checkspelling.Checkgrammar.Checkyourbudgetaddsup.Checkitmakessense.Checkit’sreadable.Youwon’treceiveagrantforgoodspellingalonebutyoucancertainlyloseone.CheckingyourproposalGivetheproposaltosomebodyelsetoread.Ideally,theyshouldnotworkforyourorganisationorbeinvolvedintheproject.Askthefollowingthings:

Cantheyreadthefullproposalin5minutesorless? Askthemtowritea3-linesummaryoftheproposal.Doesitmatchyourownsummary? AskthemtoidentifytheaimsoftheTrustfromtheproposal.Ifyouhavemadeitclearenoughtheyshouldbeabletodothiswithease.

Askthemtoidentifyanybitstheydidn’tunderstandorstumbledover.


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trusts and foundations - proposal...

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