Step Two: Who's got the money?
There is a lot of money out there but it often seems really difficult to get hold of it.
For many groups and organisations it is helpful if there is a diverse range of sources of money. This could be a number of different grant givers supporting a project or different projects run by a group. The more diverse the sources of funding the less vulnerable groups and organisations are if one of those sources dries up.
When you are trying to find money it is important to think about the easiest way to get it. For small amounts of money it may be easier to do some simple fundraising such as holding a raffle, a fete or some other event rather than trying to get a grant.
Sometimes it may be as easy to find a sponsor for what you want to do rather than apply for a grant. If you need is to support a very local project you might approach local shopkeepers or businesses and have as much success with this as with grant applications.
Increasingly voluntary and community organisations are being encouraged to think of ways of earning the money they need. This approach is often called Social Enterprise but may be called trading. This is not always easy and not always possible but should be considered.
Of course another way is to apply for grants.
One thing is clear, if you have a good idea and have prepared well it is nearly always possible to find the resources you need - even if it takes a lot of hard work.
In this section of the website you can look for information about all these forms of finding resources, but in particular you can search a database of funding sources
to find the funders who are most likely to fund your project or activity.
Having a plan or strategy for finding the resources your group or organisation needs can be very helpful. We have prepared some information about doing this in Step 5: Funding Strategies.
