Biodiversity Funding
Chris Pethers
Development Manager
What Funders are there?
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Lottery Funders (HLF/BIG)
Statutory Bodies
European Funding (LIFE+)
Landfill Communities Funders
Charitable Trusts
Companies (Donations/Sponsorship)
Others?
Funding Principles
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People Give to People
Your Aims and the Funder’s Aims
Assume the Funder knows Nothing
Full Cost Recovery
Find out what “No” means
Strategic Planning for Funding
People Give to People
• Funding is not: an organisation giving
money to a project
• Funding is: people in an organisation
giving you money to do the project
• As well as selling the project, you need
to sell you and your organisation as the
right people to do that project
Your aims and
the Funder’s aims
• You have aims you are hoping to meet
• The Funder also has aims to meet
• A successful project and funding
relationship will meet both sets of aims
• If the project doesn’t meet the Funder’s
aims, they are the wrong funder
• If the project doesn’t meet your aims,
why are you doing it?
Assume the Funder
knows Nothing
• The Funder does not know your
Business Plan, local circumstances, etc.
• The Funder may not understand sectorspecific knowledge or technical terms –
use a non-sector proof-reader
• Tell the Funder what your aims are
• Tell the Funder what the benefits are
• TLAs are bad!
Full Cost Recovery
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Cheaper isn’t necessarily better
Don’t leave out the “hidden” costs:
Overheads: premises, management
Administration: reporting/monitoring
Grant funding is incorporating full cost
recovery; you don’t ask, you don’t get!
• www.philanthropycapital.org
Find out what “No” means
• “No” might not be an outright rejection, it
could mean any of the following:
• “Not right now” – when is the right time?
• “Not quite that” – can you adjust it?
• “Not that small” – can you increase it?
• Find out what the “No” means – you
might be able to turn it into a “Yes”
Strategic Planning
for Funding
• Know what you want to do and when
• Know what funds are out there, when to
apply and when you will get the money
• Don’t rely on one funder – they may not
fund for reasons beyond your control
• Think “outside the box” – who else
might want to support this work?
• Plan time to research/write applications
Corporate Sponsors
Chris Pethers
Development Manager
Are you really looking for
Corporate Sponsorship?
• Not necessarily….
• Corporate Donations
• Corporate Sponsorship
Corporate Donations
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Charitable, CSR, small pot
Sideline to main business
One-off funding
Quick decision
Funding the project budget
Corporate Sponsorship
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Commercial, Marketing, large pot
Integral to main business
Longer-term relationship
Medium term funding
Buying benefits for the company
What is a company after?
• Companies are there to make a profit
• Companies are looking for benefits to
their business prospects
• Most likely, PR/Marketing benefits:
- Brand awareness
- Brand positioning
- Brand reach
How can you deliver?
• People you can help them reach:
- Who?
- How many?
- What mechanism?
• What you can help them say:
- Message
- Impact
How to approach a sponsor
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Personal contact - networking
Meet the right person
Initial meeting – the decision maker?
Written proposal – to decision maker
Charge what it’s worth, not what it costs
Follow-up meeting – the decision maker
Sign on the dotted line
Are you ready for
sponsorship?
• Who will manage the relationship?
• Is your organisation behind the idea of
sponsorship?
• Can you spend the time to build
relationships?
• Can you offer something better than
commercial advertising agencies?
Further information
• “Finding Company Sponsors”
Chris Wells (DSC)
• DSC training courses
• For Corporate Donations: “The Guide to
UK Company Giving” (DSC)
• Networking:
- people who work for companies
- each other!