Trusts & Foundations – great support system for Fund Raising
Trusts or Foundations are organizations that help people who are keen to start something on their own and want funding, they distribute funds from a Charitable Trust or a Foundation associated with a large company or philanthropic donor.
To encourage community charitable bodies there are different sources, such as central, state or federal government that are keen to help the cause, and there are many thousands of grant-making Trusts and Foundations that give millions away annually to worthy causes.
Making Grant Applications
First and foremost you need to prepare yourself and understand about the organization you want to approach because this is a key part of your fundraising strategy and plan. Spending time on applying for a grant, doing a research on the organization, preparing documentations and other miscellaneous works is the foundation of success for your project.You will probably need to spend quite some time on researching the grant-making bodies that might be interested in your project. Doing this online is usually quite easy and there is loads of information on the internet - or try checking it out at your local library.
There are many fundraising ideas - projects that address key issues such as education, health & social welfare, housing & homelessness, disadvantaged youth and minority groups can be a great way of raising money to cover your set up or running costs .
Usually people say they reach out to the Trusts & Foundations, and have success rate of 50% with fundraising but others says that it is rather less.
Depending on the sources and information one should not ignore smaller grant-making bodies. Gaining funds and grants depends on the way you communicate your project, timing and the cause. Accept the grants irrespective of whether they are small or large. Often people get comfortable and motivated by seeing others also funding your project.
Check out for information online to look at what grants are available. Read in detail about the organization, rules and regulations, deadlines and criteria. Make a note of all the details (including smaller details). It is wise to prepare a check list of what documents are necessary and the information required. (Like budgets, vision statements, statistics, who you are helping by this project, goals, deadlines etc. Then get organized with the details you want to submit one by one and double check your documents before submitting the application.
Keep in mind while writing your cover letter to introduce yourself and your organization, outline how you fit their funding criteria, what’s your action plan, who are your target group and what are your deliverables with details.
