Preparing a summary
Some funders will be happy for you to send them a summary of what it is you want funded and look through it so that they can give you a view about whether or not it is something that they might fund. If they are then it is often a good thing to do as it can save time writing a full application that is not likely to be funded but also its gives your organisation a little bit of profile with the funders and creates the opportunity to begin building a personal relationship with the gatekeepers of the money.
So what should you include in the summary?
A simple structure for a summary could be as follows where each section is one or two paragraphs. Certainly the summary should be as short as possible and certainly no more than three sides.
How much funding are you looking for?
Set out the total budget and how much funding you are requesting from them. If you are asking for less than 100% then say where the rest of the money is coming from.
What will you achieve?
Set out what will be different as a result of the project if it is funded, what problem you will solve. It is useful to put some broad information in here about the evidence that you have gathered that makes the project so important.
How will you achieve it?
Describe broadly what you intend to spend the money, the activities that you will undertake and why you think this will achieve the results you are looking for.
Why is there a need for this particular project?
Set out the main evidence for why the project is needed. This should include a little bit of information about how the project fits with existing provision and activities by your organistion and by others.
Who you are?
Set out some basic information about your organisation such as how long it has been operating, the annual turnover, number of staff, etc. Also write something about past success - something that builds trust for the funder. It will also be important to say what sort of organisation you are; i.e. a charity, not- for-profit organisation, etc.
You can find out how to answer these questions by going to Step 1!
