What difference will you make by undertaking the activity?
A key issue for all funders is what difference will it make if you have the money?
Funders often ask questions like "What do you expect to achieve?", "What will be the outcomes?", "What are your objectives?" or "What are the benefits?". Another way of asking this question is "what will be different as a result of doing what you are proposing?"
Identifying the benefits (the outcomes) can be very tricky. We often get confused about what are outcomes and what are outputs. The simple guide below is a good way to think about it:
The "outcomes" are the benefits that result from undertaking activities.
The "outputs" are how much of the activity we do
For any project there might be more than one benefit and more than one group that benefits. Thinking through the different benefits / outcomes of a project can be a very creative process and can also help in thinking about different possible funders that you may approach.
For example if you are looking for funding for a project to provide sport activities for children during the summer holidays in an area with a high number of refugees and asylum seekers the outcomes might include; reducing crime and anti-social behaviour, reducing childhood obesity, and improving community relations.
For small and / or simple projects the requirement may be simply to state broadly what the benefits are. However, for larger and more complex projects you are likely to be required to provide information about the scale of the benefits and information about the likely beneficiaries.
If you feel that you need more guidance please look at examples of benefits / outcomes and calculating the benefits in this part of the website
.
