PRISM

Money for the taking

There is help out there in the form of grants, loans, awards, tax relief and funding, but you have to know how to find it. Prism can help you track it down

U

sing the Prism funding search system demonstrates just how much money there is available to support business. Searching on a single postcode for support on business development, the system came up with 39 different schemes including: 12 grants, 13 loans, four awards, one tax relief and 15 venture capital funds. For training there were 24 grants and two loans and for R&D there were 437. Of course this support is not always well publicised and you do need to know where to look, which is why the Prism system is so useful. The advantage of this system is that most funding opportunities detail the name and or address of the individual managing them. This is really important because it may be necessary to get advice on the information required to fill in the application form.

Another key point is that if funds are allocated to a specific area, they must be used otherwise the budget will be reduced or removed in the next financial period. Keeping up to date with changes is crucial because as a fund nears its closing date, there is sometimes an urgency to distribute remaining allocations. This can be an opportune time to bid.

Sources of funding range from the EU to small charities and can be as geographically specific as a particular district in a town. The Prism search system sets users on the way to obtaining financial support. There are thousands of opportunities for financial support of some form or other and when it comes to investing in industry, support is always welcome.

20

SCREEN PROCESS AND DIGITAL IMAGING l April/May 2010

Visit us at www.spdi-online.com

Whether you find funding or not, at times like these, it is necessary to keep motivated. There are some simple guidelines from BNET.com which can help: ● Train yourself to think positive thoughts

● Ignore the prophets of doom ● Always remain flexible ● If it doesn’t serve your goal, it’s wasted effort

● Take responsibility for your own results ● Stretch past your limits on a daily basis

All these ideas make good sense. It is easy to convince ourselves that we behave in the correct manner most of the time, but the reality is that we do make mistakes. The trick is to recognise the error and learn from it – this is what nature does in the process of evolution.

Finally, it is worth noting that Sign and Digital UK was busy, populated

mostly by UK visitors, but with a large number of visitors from overseas as well. Prism was pleased with the interest visitors showed in joining up and it was nice to be able to meet with members attending and exhibiting at the show. The message from the event was that although the market was still tough, companies had adjusted their approach, become more efficient and were set for a long term improvement.

llll www.prismuk.org Page 1  |  Page 2  |  Page 3  |  Page 4  |  Page 5  |  Page 6  |  Page 7  |  Page 8  |  Page 9  |  Page 10  |  Page 11  |  Page 12  |  Page 13  |  Page 14  |  Page 15  |  Page 16  |  Page 17  |  Page 18  |  Page 19  |  Page 20  |  Page 21  |  Page 22  |  Page 23  |  Page 24  |  Page 25  |  Page 26  |  Page 27  |  Page 28