Funding advice

• ·         Researching the need

It’s best to make sure that there is a need for your idea before you start work on it. VANL can provide research services if required, or advise how to go about it yourself. This research can be used to establish a base line against which you can measure what improvements your project has brought.

• ·         Planning your project

It is a good idea to write out a plan, with a timeframe and who is responsible for each step.

• ·         How to fund the work

A VANL Development Worker can help you look at the different options and decide which one (or ones) to use. This could include methods such as business sponsorship, tendering for contracts or applying for loans.

• ·         Raising funds yourself

If you decide to raise some or all of the funds yourself, VANL Development Workers can advise on ways to do this. VANL can also hire out equipment which you may be able to use.

• ·         Applying for funding

This could be from Trust Funds, The Big Lottery, or smaller pots of grant funding. VANL Development Workers can search for suitable funders, help you write the application and check it over before you send it (with the best will in the world, it’s very easy to miss something when you have written it).

• ·         Reporting back to the funders

Many funders will want reports during the course of the project to show that their money is being spent wisely. VANL Development Workers can help set up monitoring procedures to help with this.