Fund-Raising

Disability Awareness in Action
Resource Kit No. 5

by Agnes Fletcher
© 1996 Disability Awareness in Action, All rights reserved

Download the "Fund-Raising Kit" as a PDF file (120 KB)

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Preparing a Budget
A proper budget is the central part of your funding proposal. It must be based on amounts that you know are correct - don’t guess! Funders will want to know how you came up with your figures.

Follow the outline given below, which should ensure that everything is covered.

Budget and Finances

Budget

Give a complete budget for the project’s first year and a budget summary for each year of a multiple-year project. Check you have included all costs. (What about the costs of collecting and compiling data before the project starts and at the end of the year, and other expenses connected with the evaluation?) Double check that you have added everything up correctly. The funding agency is certain to check proposal budget totals to see if they are correct.

Budget Justification

Put notes into the budget to explain any expenses that are high - for instance, if you have to use expensive hotels because they are the only accessible ones or that translation includes sign language interpretation. Double check to be sure every item in the budget clearly relates to your plan of action.

In-Kind Contributions

Some experts recommend that you put a money value in the budget for volunteers’ time, loaned vehicles or office space and other "in kind" donations. Since it is often difficult to give a realistic value to many of these items, you might prefer to simply list and explain them. For example:

• Volunteer Time: 100 people will each volunteer about 200 hours per year as literacy teachers, for a total of 20,000 hours.
  
• Office Space: a local authority will donate 1,000 square feet of office space for the exclusive use of the project for one year.

Future Funding Needs

Some of your budget costs may be for one-time expenses, such as buying equipment. If there will be major costs to maintain or repair these, explain how this will be covered. If a large part of the budget is for running costs, the funder will want to know how these expenses will be covered after the project funding ends. What sources of self-support, if any, have been built into your project to keep it going? It helps to work out a complete programme budget for one or two years after the requested grant ends, along with estimates of how much money you know will be available.

Financial Management

Explain briefly the financial management system that will be used for the project. Where and in what account will funds be deposited? How is spending controlled and by whom? Who does financial reports and how often? Are your accounts audited? If so, by whom?

Example Budget Worksheet

Project Title ____________________________
Starting Date_____	Ending Date_____
Personnel - wages and salaries
Title of position	% of full-time	Grant Supported	Other Sources of Support
1. ____________________	_____	_____	_____
2. ____________________	_____	_____	_____
3. ____________________	_____	_____	_____
4. ____________________	_____	_____	_____
5. Employment taxes and benefits __________	_____	_____
Total personnel wages and taxes		_____	_____
Space
1. Office rent $_____ rate per month x 12		_____	_____
2. Other space (specify uses)____________________		_____	_____
3. Telephone		_____	_____
4. Utilities		_____	_____
5. Maintenance and repairs		_____	_____
6. Other (specify)____________________		_____	_____
Total space costs		_____	_____
Materials and supplies
Items to be purchased	Unit cost x quantity	_____	_____
1 Postage	__________	_____	_____
2. ____________________		_____	_____
3. ____________________		_____	_____
4. ____________________		_____	_____
Total materials and supplies costs		_____	_____
Equipment, furniture and vehicles
Description
1. ____________________		_____	_____
2. ____________________		_____	_____
3. ____________________		_____	_____
4. ____________________		_____	_____
Total equipment costs		_____	_____
Major capital expenditures (construction, land purchase, etc.)
Description
1. ____________________		_____	_____
2. ____________________		_____	_____
3. ____________________		_____	_____
Total capital costs		_____	_____
Travel
Purpose
1. Local mileage _____ miles/month x cost /mile x 12 months		_____	_____
2. Car fuel and maintenance cost month x 12 months		_____	_____
3. Car insurance premiums		_____	_____
4. Food and lodging, out of town trips _____ days @ cost/day		_____	_____
5. Other (specify) ____________________		_____	_____
Total travel costs		_____	_____
Other direct costs
Description
1. Accountant’s services		_____	_____
2. ____________________		_____	_____
3. ____________________		_____	_____
4. ____________________		_____	_____
5. ____________________		_____	_____
6. ____________________		_____	_____
Total other costs		_____	_____
Total direct costs		_____	_____
Indirect costs
@ _____ % of direct costs		_____	_____
Total budget		_____	_____

Support Materials
You will want to include copies of documents with your proposal that:

1. are needed by the agency to which the proposal is being sent, and/or
   
2. provide information about your organisation to add to the earlier description.

Only Include One of Two of the Following!

• Most recent annual report and accounts.
  
• Newsletters, news clippings, or other documents of the organisation’s activities.
  
• Mission statement of the organisation.
  
• Description of the background, purpose, structure, activities, and/or achievements of the organisation.
  
• If the organisation is a coalition, a list of member groups.
  
• List of officers and members of board of directors and their affiliations.
  
• Chart showing relationship of various parts of your organisation.
  
• List of staff (and possibly volunteer) positions with brief description of responsibilities of each position.
  
• Résumé or CV of the person with primary responsibility for direction of the project for which funding is asked.
  
• Letter of commitment to take part from the executive officer of any outside organisation that will undertake major responsibilities for the project.
  
• The organisation’s budget for this year and planned revenues with their sources.
  
• List of major donors for the past two to three years, size and purpose of each grant.
  
• Equal opportunities statements or human rights commitments that your organisation has made.

DON’T ADD THEM ALL, THEY WON’T GET READ!

Include copies of all documents needed by the funding agency that will receive your proposal.

Auditing of Financial Reports
More and more funders ask for examinations (audits) of financial reports by a certified public accountant or professional accountant. An auditor looks at financial statements of an organisation and, if they consider them to be free of errors and in line with the organisation’s objectives, certifies that they are correct.

The accountant also certifies that the organisation follows standard book-keeping procedures in keeping its accounts. If you are a new organisation, evidence of past accounting or financial experience of some board members or staff will be helpful.

The Covering Letter

Purpose
This letter is included when you send your proposal to the funding agency. It is not a mini-proposal. The letter serves to show that the proposal is being submitted with the official approval of your organisation. It should be sent on the organisation’s letterhead, be only one page and be signed by the president, chairperson or other chief officer.

Content
The covering letter should describe the proposal in one to three sentences, including how much money is being asked for. It should make clear the organisation’s commitment to the proposed project and should mention the director’s confidence in the ability of the project’s director or its professional staff to carry the project to a successful conclusion.

Below is an outline of a covering letter.

Your organisation’s name, address and telephone details Funding agency’s address Date Dear... Enclosed is a funding proposal for a project that we have identified. The project is concerned with [give title or brief description of the project idea, including its objectives, expected activities, outcomes and estimated budget requirements].The budget for the project is [state amount]. It is my belief that the personnel named in the plan of action can run this project in a way that will significantly improve the lives of local disabled people. Please let me know if there is any further information that we can provide. I look forward to hearing from you. Yours sincerely Name and position within the organisation

continue...Reporting to Funders

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Contents Fund-Raising

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