Grant fundraising
or environment. Then secondly, you should specify the methods or tools you will use to collect the information you need. A mix of quantitative and qualitative methods will help you provide evidence of what difference you have made, how you have made it, and why it matters to people. These methods could include
attendance records, questionnaires, diaries, interviews and focus groups. Photographs and videos may help to supplement this. Think about who you need to speak to in order to gather this information. Ideally, you should speak to a range of different people involved in your project: children, parents and carers, local people, teachers and project staff. It is important to start this
activity at the beginning of your project and continue at regular intervals. This should enable you to capture baseline data and show the full extent of the impact made. This is particularly effective if you are trying to demonstrate a qualitative change over time.
Appoint a member of staff to take responsibility for grant reporting Thinking about the practicalities of managing a grant is a good idea at this stage. Who will be available to
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Are you a FundEd subscriber? If so, log into the website –
funded.org.uk – to access our grants database for schools and to read more bid-writing advice from Rachel Gordon.
When it comes to writing a grant report, your project’s success will be measured against the objectives you specify in your grant application. So how will you measure the difference your project is making?
take responsibility for monitoring and reporting activity? Do you need any additional resources or systems to support this? Where will the information be stored? How will it be shared? This should help you build up a comprehensive picture of your activities over the timescale of the project, and these can be used in a grant report. You don’t want to be left in a position where a grant report is required imminently but the member of staff who was running the project has left your school with all the knowledge inside their head. It can happen!
Agree to meet regularly to monitor progress Funders like to see that you have plans to learn from, develop and improve your project as it goes along. In a grant report, it is a good idea to reflect on the process you went through to do this. Think about what people told you when you were carrying out monitoring activities, what lessons you have learnt and how they have influenced the delivery of the project. To do this effectively, you should plan to meet at regular intervals to keep track of your project’s progress from the very beginning.
What to do if a grant report is not required You might come across a funder that does not actually ask for an end-of- grant report. Lucky you! But write one anyway. There are several reasons why you might want to do
this. You probably intend to thank the funder for their support when your project ends, so you could send the grant report as part of this communication. If you wish to develop a long-term relationship with the funder, this can help you make a positive impression. Similarly, you can share your
evaluation with parents, staff and the wider community, giving them insight into your work and achievements. Writing a grant report also gives you the experience of monitoring, evaluating and reporting on a project, which can give you a head start with your next grant application. You will be able to tell a future funder confidently about how you ran a successful project, what you achieved, what methods you used and what you learnt.
Coming next issue… In the autumn issue (out 11 October) Rachel explains how to plan, and find appropriate sources of funding, for ambitious school projects.
Rachel Gordon runs the School Funding Service, which helps schools across the UK win grants for a wide range of projects, from playgrounds and sports equipment to after- school clubs and extended services. She writes bids for schools and advises them on how to maximise their funding potential. For details, visit
schoolfundingservice.co.uk.
FundEd SUMMER 2018 35
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