Partnerships
Improvement Funding) which went towards replacing an ageing Portakabin and providing fencing and CCTV. We’ve also raised £17,000 for a portable planetarium and £11,500 for mental health funding. Local charity The Harpur Trust
Laying good financial foundations: Robbie Garner, Business Manager, with a member of the site team and a building contractor
Proving that income generation doesn’t rest with one person, Head of Business and Education Partnerships at Mark Rutherford School, Bedford, Sam Baker, interviews Business Manager, Robina Garner, about the role she plays in fundraising for their school
Collaborate to accumulate A
s a bit of background, let me explain how Robbie and I collaborate to identify and secure pots of money.
Robbie and I have fortnightly fundraising meetings with the Head, where we assess the most critical projects requiring funding (such as mental health or a 3G football pitch), how funding bids are progressing and who we might approach or talk to again for support. We share leads and a number of these come via our Business Partnership Programme. Those that Robbie finds get passed to me so that I can invite them to join the Partnership. A local businessman (and parent) provided the bulk of the funding for our 3G pitch as a philanthropic gesture, but we are using our links with Sport England and local charities and businesses to find pledges for ancillary resources like a sports pavilion and changing rooms. Some of these are my
contacts, some are Robbie’s, others come via the Head. We invite these potential sponsors in to discuss what kinds of synergies can be created.
Robbie, let’s start with a brief background of your career I was in banking from the age of 16. I’ve had 34 years in finance but moved into education when my children went to school. I’d never go back to industry though. It’s more satisfying knowing that I’m helping improve children’s life experiences rather than a business’s profit margin. I’ve had a positive influence on students’ experiences at this school – even though most of them have no idea who I am or what I do!
Tell us about some recent projects that you’ve raised funds for My track record is £3m in five years! However, since September we’ve raised £280,000 of CIF (Conditions
provided the funding for the planetarium and the mental health programme. It’s a charity that only supports community projects in the Bedford borough and they have strict conditions. However, given the number of years we’ve been working with them a relationship has inevitably been built where they understand the ethos of our school – which I’m sure has had a positive impact on receiving funding. We have also done well getting
£400-£500 for sports tops and hoodies – this sponsorship often comes from local electricians, plumbers or builders who are keen to have their logos on our kit – it’s a nice easy way to cover costs.
What methods have you used to raise funds? Is one method more successful than another? If you measure success in terms of the amount of funding received then chasing grants is where you get the big money. But a direct approach can often be successful. Take the leavers’ hoodies, for example – they were sponsored by a local roofing company that had just finished a large (capital grant-funded) roofing contract for the school. They were happy to support the community they were working in and responded positively to the direct request.
What is the best approach to take to get partners’ financial support? It’s important to identify the need for funding. Whenever I’ve said, ‘We want your money!’ the response has always been, ‘What for?’. So, firstly, identify the need and prove that there are no other funding streams available. If people think funding can come from another source they won’t give you their money! Then I gather evidence of the need
in order to fully support my request. For example, for the Portakabin that needed replacing, I decided to take photographs of the poor condition it was in. In fact, I attached the worst pictures possible! For the CIF
FundEd SUMMER 2018 41
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