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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Reporting to Funders

Reporting to Funders is Important
It is vital to send clear, complete, accurate progress reports to your funders. The further away you are from the agency that makes a grant to your organisation, the more critical it is that you provide prompt and adequate reports. Your reporting does not just influence a funder’s willingness to award a second or third grant to you. It will also determine the kind of information the funder will give to people from other agencies who may ask about the sort of work your organisation does and its reliability.

Agencies that fund the major part of a project have a keen interest in its budget. They may ask that changes in expenses in any budget category of more than a certain percentage receive prior approval from them. This need not be difficult to do. Sometimes it just takes a phone call. (You should confirm changes agreed in this way in writing.)

If you produce any newsletter or printed material, make sure it is sent to your funders. Also send copies of positive newspaper articles, announcements or photographs of special events at the organisation or educational materials you have developed.

Below is an outline of a progress report to funders.

Progress Report on
[Title of Project]
[Name of Organisation]

Introduction (summary and acknowledgements)

Write a short paragraph summarising the goals of the project, what was done, most significant results and important new directions. Express thanks for the support of the agencies that provided a major portion of the financial backing for the project.

Activities

Provide a description of activities. Mention if and why any of them differed from plans in the original proposal. Describe any unexpected problems or developments. Which kinds of people - volunteers, community participants, advisers, cooperating organisations - have contributed greatly to the programme’s progress? From which kinds of people did you need more effort or efficiency? Who or what group has drawn these conclusions?

Evaluation of Results

State each project objective and show progress made towards it. Give quantitative results, such as numbers of people reached. If you have any tables of data, put them in an appendix. Mention any good results not described in project objectives, whether they were expected or a pleasant surprise.

Anecdotal Information

Write several very short (three or four sentences) stories about incidents or events that illustrate project operations. You can use quotes. These stories can’t go in place of your other reporting but they can give the reader the feeling of "being there". They can show vividly what the project or programme means to the individuals involved - disabled people, their families and the community, even staff or volunteers.

Recommendations or Next Steps

Explain briefly any project changes suggested or planned for the coming year or reporting period. These might include activities added, got rid of or changed, changes in staffing, methods or anything else. Explain how these recommendations were decided upon.

Conclusions

This should simply cover the main outcomes of the project so far and your hopes for the future. What are the main conclusions you can draw from the evaluation and monitoring so far? Where has progress been excellent, where has it been less than satisfactory? What were major problem areas?

Financial Report

This report should be a reproduction of the items in the proposal line budget (see example budget ) and have two columns:

1. budget - the figure in your original budget
2. expenditure - the amount spent to date for each line item.

Explain any major differences between the amounts budgeted and the amounts spent. At the end, show:

1. the total amount of grant money received from the funder
   
2. the amount of grant money spent to date
   
3. the unspent balance of the grant.

Support Materials

These might include evaluation data, newspaper clippings, photographs, interesting brochures or educational materials produced by the project.

Name of Project Director and Date

Other Uses of Reports
The report you have written can be useful in other ways. You may not want to circulate the financial part of the report but there are many things you can do with other parts of it.

Send copies to:

• People in the community who helped the project. Attach personal notes thanking them for their contributions to its success.
  
• People in organisations you would like to have help from in the future. Attach notes inviting their comments on the report.
  
• People in organisations who might appreciate learning from your experience and who might copy your project model.
  
• A newspaper, magazine, radio or television station. Invite them to visit you to learn what you are doing. Good publicity can help to generate local support.
  
• Any national or regional associations your organisation belongs to and any professional associations that might be interested in the project.

Facts and Figures

About DAA
Disability Awareness in action (DAA) was set up in 1992, to promote, support and coordinate national action by disabled people’s own organisations and their allies to further the equalisation of opportunities and the human rights of all disabled people, in accordance with the United Nations World Programme of Action concerning Disabled Persons and the Standard Rules on the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities.

With a small staff of four in the United Kingdom, DAA produces and disseminates information to help disabled people and their organisations to use the channels and contacts needed to influence governments and policy-makers and to raise awareness of disability issues.

DAA works to implement the philosophy that disability is a human rights issue.

DAA Staff

Project Director:	Rachel Hurst
Finance Officer:	Kate Gane
Information Officer:	Agnes Fletcher
Administrative Assistant:	Amina Ariqy

Organisations Involved

Disabled Peoples’ International (DPI) advocates the rights of disabled people. Its philosophy is that disabled people should achieve full participation and equality in all societies. The DPI network has over 100 national assembly members, over half of which are in developing countries. National affiliates aim to be cross-disability, grassroots organisations. DPI has consultative status with the United Nations.

IMPACT is an international initiative against avoidable disablement, launched in 1983 by the UN Development Programme, WHO and UNICEF. The international office in Geneva and the national IMPACT foundations in a number of developing and developed countries join forces with governments, institutions and the mass media to develop and initiate low-cost measures to combat disability.

Inclusion International (formerly the International League of Societies for Persons with Mental Handicap) is the only organisation which speaks for the world’s 50 million people with mental impairments, their families and those who work for them. It now includes 169 societies from I05 countries. Inclusion International exists to help members fulfil their own objectives in response to local need. It has consultative status with the UN and Council of Europe.

World Federation of the Deaf (WFD) is an international organisation of national associations of the deaf. The WFD was established in 1951and is working towards full participation and equal rights for deaf people. WFD has consultative status with the UN.

Addresses
Department of Public Information, United Nations, New York, NY 10017, United States of America, Tel: +1 212 963 0353.

Disability Awareness in Action, 11 Belgrave Road, London SWIV IRB, United Kingdom.Tel: +44 171 834 0477. Fax: +44 171 821 9539 Text Telephone: +44 171 821 9812. e-mail: DAA_ORG@compuserve.com

Disabled Peoples’ International, 101-7 Evergreen,Winnipeg, Canada R2L 2T3.Tel: + 1 204 287 8010. Fax: + 1 204 453 1267. Text Telephone: + 1 204 284 2598. e-mail: DPI@DPI.ORG

Disability Programmes Unit of the United Nations, 2 United Nations Plaza, New York, NY 100726,USA.Tel:+1 212 963 1966.

IMPACT Dr Hikmat Nabulsi, Coordinator c/o WHO, 20 Avenue Appia, CH- 1211, Geneva 27, Switzerland. Tel: +41 22 791 3732/3. Fax: +41 22 791 0746.

Inclusion International, Galeries de la Toison d’Or,29 Chaussée d’Ixelles,# 393/32,B-1050 Brussels, Belgium. Tel: +32 2 502 7734.. Fax: +32 2 502 2846.

Rehabilitation International, 25 East 2Ist Street, NewYork, NY 10010, USATel: +1 212 420 1500.TextTelephone:+1 212 505 0871.Fax:+1 212 505 0871.

United Nations Development Programme, One UN Plaza, New York, NY 10017, USA.

United Nations Disabled Persons Unit, Department for Policy Coordination and Sustainable Development, United Nations, New York, NY 1001 7, USA.

World Blind Union, c/o La Coruna 18, 28020 Madrid, Spain.Tel: +34 1 571 36 85 /12 36.Fax: +34 1 571 5777.

World Federation of the Deaf, Ilkantie 4, P0 Box 65, SF-00401 Helsinki, Finland.Tel: +358 0 5803 1. Fax: +358 0 5803770.

Publications
Contact the organisations mentioned for price details.

The Complete Fundraising Handbook. From the Directory for Social Change, 24 Stephenson Way, London NW I 2DP, United Kingdom.

DPI Funders List. From Disabled Peoples’ International.

Fund-Raising Leaflets. 12 leaflets on all aspects of fundraising (UK focus). From the Directory of Social Change.

A Guide to the Major Trusts,Volumes I and 2. From the Directory of Social Change.

Handbook on Funding and Training Resources for Disability-Related Services in Asia and the Pacific, ESCAP, UN Building, Rajdamnern Avenue, Bangkok 10200,Thailand.

Non-Government Funding and Networking Contact List. National and international funding agencies, their names, addresses, region and target interests. English and French. $30 (Canadian). From DPI.

Programmer’s Tool Kit. How to develop and write a project proposal. 80 pages. From Disabled Peoples’ International. English, French, Spanish and English cassette. $12 (Canadian).

Third World Directory (fund-raising). From the Directory of Social Change.

Tried and Tested Ideas for Raising Money Locally. From the Directory of Social Change.

Words

Accomplishment something successfully completed
Affiliation association with something
Anecdotal short and personal account of something that happened
Appendix additional material at the end of something
Auditor person who looks at accounts and says they are correct
Benefactor person who supports or helps a person or institution, particularly with money
Beneficiary person who gains and benefits from a benefactor
Bequest something given to a person or organisation in a will
Capital assets and resources
Coalition alliance between people or groups for a particular purpose
Collaborate work with others on a joint project
Covenant agreement in writing to pay a stated annual sum
Criteria standards by which something can be judged or decided
Cuttings articles or photographs on a particular subject cut from newspapers or magazines
Data information; relevant facts
Donor person or organisation making a donation
Elaborate complex and detailed
Evaluation judge or assess the value or worth of something
Expenditure the spending of money
Format style, plan or arrangement
’In kind’ as materials rather than in money
Legacy a gift by will
Letterhead usual design of address and/or logo for an organisation’s correspondence
Methodology ways of working
Milestone significant event
Monitoring keeping a continuous record of something; looking at an activity or performance Multi-year happening over several years
Objective something to be reached or achieved
Overheads business expenses, such as rent, not directly related to a department or product
Participants people taking part
Peer support support from those like you; support of disabled people by disabled people
Per diem allowance for daily expenses
Quantitative capable of being measured
Résumé short summary of events; another name for curriculum vitae or work history
Revenue source of income or gross income from a business enterprise
Running costs money needed to keep ordinary activities going
Schedule plan of procedure for a project Scope range; area covered
Secondment transfer of employee to another post or organisation, while continuing salary
Specify refer to; state as a condition
Target group group of people at which an activity is directed
Track record record of accomplishments or failures

Order Form
If you would like copies of any of these publications, pull out or photocopy this page.
DAA, 11 Belgrave Road, London SW IV I RB, United Kingdom.
Fax: +44 I 71 821 9539. e-mail:DAA_ORG@compuserve.com

[ ] DAA Resource Kit One: Media Information
[ ] DAA Resource Kit Two: Consultation and Influence
[ ] DAA Resource Kit Three: Campaigns
[ ] DAA Resource Kit Four: Organisation-Building
[ ] DAA Resource Kit Five: Fund-Raising
[ ] Information Kit on the Standard Rules for the Equalisation of Opportunities for Persons with Disabilities
[ ] DAA Newsletter (monthly)

These materials are available in a number of formats. Please tick which you would like:
[ ] English
[ ] French
[ ] Spanish
[ ] Large print (tick language)
[ ] Audio-cassette (tick language)
[ ] ASCII on computer disk (tick language)
[ ] English braille

Also available:
Information Kit to support the International Day of Disabled Persons

This Kit is available in a number of formats. Please tick which you would like:
[ ] Danish
[ ] Dutch
[ ] English
[ ] Finnish
[ ] French
[ ] German
[ ] Greek
[ ] Italian
[ ] Mandarin
[ ] Portuguese
[ ] Russian
[ ] Spanish
[ ] Large print (tick language)
[ ] English audio-cassette
[ ] French audio-cassette
[ ] Spanish audio-cassette
[ ] ASCII on computer disk (not Mandarin or Russian)
[ ] English braille

Single copies of each of the above are available free to disabled people and their organisotions. For others interested, or for further copies ofresource kits, we ask for a donation towards printing costs. Developing countries are exempt from this.

Also available but not free:
[ ] Overcoming Obstacles to the Integration of Disabled People, a UNESCO sponsored report. PRICE: £8 (sterling).
[ ] We Have Become People: A Report on the Results of Federal Disability Legislation in the United States of America. PRICE: £8 (sterling).

The above two documents are only available in English. Please tick which you would like:
[ ] Standard print
[ ] Large print
[ ] Braille
[ ] ASCII on computer disk

Please make cheques (only in pounds sterling or US dollars) payable to Disability Awareness in Action.

Your Name:
Your Address:

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’Half a billion voices raised in unison for emancipation will not be denied’ (Justin Dart)

ORGANISATIONS INVOLVED
Disabled Peoples’ International
IMPACT
Inclusion International
World Federation of the Deaf

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
Chair: Joshua Malinga
Vice Chair: Murray Holmes
Treasurer: John Chillag
Jane Campbell
Mary Holland
Sir John Wilson

PROJECT DIRECTOR
Rachel Hurst

Office
11 Belgrave Road
London SWIV IRB
United Kingdom
Tel:+44 171 8340477
Fax: +44 171 821 9539
Textphone:+44 171 821 9812
E-mail: DAA_ORG@compuserve.com

All DAA material is available in English, French and Spanish, in large print, on audio-cassette, in ASCII on computer disk and in English braille.

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Contents Fund-Raising

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