Awards for All success for Powys groups

6 Powys groups have been successful in gaining Awards for All funding to joint value of £28,944. for a wide variety of projects that will benefit the community.  Congratulations to them all.

For more information about Awards for All go to:
http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/global-content/programmes/wales/awards-for-all-wales

Meeting with millionaires

Looking to meet with millionaires to get funding for your organisation?

Here's some top tips:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2013/jun/20/fundraisers-meetings-millionaires

Keeping the Spirit of 2012 Alive

The Keeping the Spirit of 2012 Alive Fund aims to develop and extend the positive impact of the events of the London 2012 Games for communities across the UK. Funding is available for projects that will achieve one or more of the following:

• Harness the energy, commitment and organisation of the volunteering legacy of the 2012 Games for ongoing community benefit.
• Build on the energy, creativity and positive spirit inspired by the London 2012 Games, which went beyond mere sport, to galvanise and inspire groups of people into social action of benefit to the wider community.
• Use local and national events as a catalyst for the creation of partnerships which will develop community activities and wider social actions in order to encourage full and active participation from all community members.
• Enhance the greater understanding of the issues facing disabled people, which came from the success of the London 2012 Paralympic Games, in order to achieve a step-change in positive attitudes to disability.
• Inspire new and fresh ideas which look beyond the London 2012 Games but which will perpetuate its spirit.
• Disseminate the learning gained from these priority areas for activity to help the organisation of future UK events.

Projects can deliver this through sport, culture and the arts, heritage, educational activities or a mixture of these.

Small grants from £200,000 to £500,000 and larger grants from £500,000 to £1.5 million are available to organisations in the UK.

The deadline for applications is 28 June 2013 (23:59).

http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/

(Source: Grant Finder)

Welsh Language Technology and Digital Media Fund

The Welsh Language Technology and Digital Media Fund has been established to provide grants for projects that encourage activities aimed at promoting the use of the Welsh language, through technology and digital media. The scheme's main focus areas are:

• Raising awareness of, or promoting the use of, Welsh language software, applications, online services, content creation tools – and Welsh language digital content.
• Supporting the development of Welsh language software and digital services available online.
• Increasing the amount of digital content available in Welsh online.

The programme has an indicative budget of £150,000 available to be awarded during 2013-2014. Individual grants will usually range from a minimum of £5,000 to a maximum of £50,000 per application; however, bids for smaller or greater amounts can be considered.

Examples of activities that are eligible for support include:

• Development of Welsh-language software applications (apps) for a variety of platforms, including mobiles/smartphones, tablets, PCs and internet-enabled- televisions.
• Training initiatives and coding courses, including training for young people.
• The development of text-to-speech, voice recognition, e-publishing, machine translation and translation memory technologies.

Applications will be accepted from voluntary and community sector organisations, charities, social enterprises, private sector businesses and public sector bodies located in Wales. Bids involving a consortium of the aforementioned organisations may also be accepted.

Applications must be submitted in electronic form to mewnflwch.grantiau@wales.gsi.gov.uk by midday on Friday 26 July 2013. Following this, hard copy applications must be received Wednesday 31 July 2013.

(This report was the subject of a GRANTfinder Newsflash.)

http://wales.gov.uk/

SMALL CHARITIES WEEK - SPOTLIGHT - ARTS ALIVE

Powys charity Arts Alive have very kindly shared some information with us in response to our request for groups to celebrate Small Charities Week. 

Arts Alive Wales is an educational arts charity based in Crickhowell, Powys. We are driven by a passion for using the arts to engage, inspire and enhance the quality of life of people in our local rural communities.  We work across Mid and South East Wales with professional artists to provide opportunities for active and meaningful participation in the arts, particularly for adults and children whose lives are challenging.  Arts Alive Wales (www.artsalivewales.org.uk), is a small  but dynamic charity offering a range of high quality opportunities for art engagement, working with a wide range of community groups.

How we go about fundraising

 Arts Alive Wales, has limited resources, and currently employs a fundraiser for one day a week. This person is both fundraiser and development officer, and helps with new project ideas and with the strategic development of the organisation. Fundraising for Arts Alive Wales is a continual challenge, particularly in the current economic climate and the greater competition that there is for pots of money. The Arts are not a high priority for most funders, and so we must continually develop and adapt ourselves, be creative and responsive to opportunities, as well as focus on building a strong evidence base, so that when we do apply for funding, we have lots of research and consultation evidence to call upon. We make a range of funding applications to both large and small trusts for different purposes. However our real challenge is always ensuring that we have adequate core funding available, particularly when funders often want 'new activity' and new 'additional' projects.  We organise a bi-annual Fine Art Auction, the proceeds of which contribute significantly to our running costs- it is also an opportunity to raise the profile of Arts Alive Wales, and a thoroughly entertaining and exciting event in itself. The last one took place in March at the Angel Hotel in Abergavenny and raised over £16,000. 

Challenges that we face

 We are not a revenue funded organisation, but depend entirely on project funding, commissions, event fundraising and earnt income. We try and maintain a diversity of income streams so that if one income stream ends, that we still have other incomes to rely on. As we are a small staff team ( 3 part-time workers), a big challenge for us is to keep on top of all the different community projects we run, whilst also needing to take a step back, monitor and evaluate our work and do all the other things that need to be done such as marketing and promotion, administration, financial record keeping, liaising with partners, developing ideas with artists, exhibiting work, writing up reports, and all the health/safety and risk assessment side of things. We also have a full programme of activities and classes for the community and this requires alot of planning and management to ensure that the programme continues to be fresh and exciting, and that the needs of our customers continue to be met. We have lovely premises in a converted Victorian School House, yet this can also be challenging as the building currently requires some modifications to make it more accessible.

Tips for Success

Our main tip for success is to ensure that as an organisation, you are able to evidence your impact and that you record your successes and positive outcomes. Whether this is a case study of an individual whose life has been transformed by your service, or evidence of the changes in a community that have been brought about by your work, or a really good consultation with your target group, we have always found that we have had the most success when we have been able to strongly evidence and argue our case, and our 'need'. It is also very useful for someone associated with your charity to read your funding applications so that they can give you neutral feedback.

Recent News

We have had some recent funding success with £5,000 awarded by the Big Lottery's 'Awards 4 All' scheme, and another £5000 from the John Paul Getty Trust. And we have just had news of another successful bid to the Dulverton Trust for £2,500. All these grants will go towards community art projects working alongside people who are at risk of homelessness. We are also in the process of developing a project for young people who are 'not in school' due to a mental health issue or other barrier which has resulted in them being 'school refusers', based up our research that shows that there are growing numbers of children and young people who are 'school-phobic' and for whom there is limited support.

A big thank you to Arts Alive for sharing that information and being so honest.  Keep in touch and congratulations on your recent funding success!

Closing the funding gap through skills sharing

http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2013/jun/17/skills-sharing-funding-gap

(Source: Guardian Voluntary |Sector Network)

Fundraising by telephone

http://www.guardian.co.uk/voluntary-sector-network/2013/jun/19/raise-money-telephone-fundraising

(Source: Guardian Voluntary Sector Network)