Project Planning and Funding Guide PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE AONB Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty BIG The Big Lottery BTCV BWPA The British Trust for Conservation Volunteers British Women Pilots Association CASC Community Amateur Sports Club CCW Countryside Commission for Wales CNCC CPRE CSP Council for Nature Conservation and the Landscape Council for the Protection of Rural England Community Sports Partnership CVS Council for Voluntary Service DEFRA Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs DSC Directory of Social Change ESA European Sponsorship Association ESF European Social Fund HLF Heritage Lottery Fund JNCC LIO NAVCA RAeS Joint Nature Conservation Committee Local Voluntary & Community Sector Infrastructure Organisation National Association for Voluntary and Community Action Royal Aeronautical Society SNH Scottish National Heritage S&RA Sports & Recreation Alliance VCS Voluntary and Community Sector Author: Alison Randle, BGA Development Officer Published by The British Gliding Association, 8 Merus Court, Meridian Business Park, Leicester, LE19 1RJ Tel: 0116 289 2956 email: office@gliding.co.uk www.gliding.co.uk © 2014, British Gliding Association Limited The contents of this publication are meant as an aid to planning and funding projects and are not intended as legal, tax or financial advice. No such advice or service will be provided by the BGA or its employees or representatives. We are not authorised to provide advice under the Financial Services Act 2012. If you require such advice please seek advice from an authorised adviser. Gender: All references in the text to “he/him/his” shall mean “she/her/hers” where applicable. Second Edition Page 2 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE THE BRITISH GLIDING ASSOCIATION................................................................................................ 5 INTRODUCTION ..................................................................................................................................... 5 PART 1 - PROJECT PREREQUISITES ............................................................................... 7 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 8 2 Club Profile.................................................................................................................................... 9 3 Available Support ....................................................................................................................... 12 4 Putting Your House in Order ..................................................................................................... 14 PART 2 - PROJECT PLANNING .........................................................................................17 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 18 2 Consultation ................................................................................................................................ 20 3 Research...................................................................................................................................... 22 4 Project Criteria ............................................................................................................................ 25 5 Partnerships and Networks ....................................................................................................... 31 6 Monitoring and Evaluation......................................................................................................... 32 7 Your Resources .......................................................................................................................... 33 8 Writing the Project Plan ............................................................................................................. 39 PART 3 SOURCES OF INFORMATION & ADVICE ...........................................................41 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 43 2 Legislative ................................................................................................................................... 44 3 Sport............................................................................................................................................. 46 4 Education and Training .............................................................................................................. 47 5 Environmental ............................................................................................................................. 48 6 Business ...................................................................................................................................... 50 7 Funding........................................................................................................................................ 51 8 Age Related ................................................................................................................................. 52 9 Heritage........................................................................................................................................ 53 PART 4 FUNDERS .............................................................................................................54 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 56 2 Funders and Their Requirements ............................................................................................. 57 3 Sources of External Funding..................................................................................................... 59 Second Edition Page 3 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 4 General......................................................................................................................................... 60 5 Specialist Aviation Schemes ..................................................................................................... 65 6 Sport............................................................................................................................................. 67 7 Education and Training .............................................................................................................. 68 8 Age Related ................................................................................................................................. 69 9 Environmental ............................................................................................................................. 71 10 Heritage........................................................................................................................................ 72 11 Donations from individuals ....................................................................................................... 73 PART 5 CASE STUDIES .....................................................................................................75 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 76 2 Scottish Gliding Union – Hangar, £170k .................................................................................. 76 3 Cairngorm Gliding Club – Purchase of Tug, £40k................................................................... 77 4 Borders Gliding Club – Construction of 22 Glider Hangar of Novel Design, £206k ............ 78 5 Burn Gliding Club – Flying Start Scholarship Youth Project, £5000 ..................................... 80 6 Dartmoor Gliding Society – Purchase of New Parachutes, £1000......................................... 81 7 Ulster Gliding Club – A new two-seat training glider fitted with hand controls to provide access for people with physical disabilities, £102k......................................................................... 82 8 South Wales Gliding Club – a) Purchase of additional Land, £35k; B) Purchase of Grob 103, £34k............................................................................................................................................... 84 9 Southdown Gliding Club – Site purchase ..................................................................................... 86 10 Norfolk Gliding Club – Aiming High .............................................................................................. 87 11 Summary...................................................................................................................................... 88 APPENDIX 1 – SKELETON BUSINESS PLAN ...................................................................89 APPENDIX 2 – SKELETON PROJECT PLAN ....................................................................96 Project development plan................................................................................................................... 98 APPENDIX 3 – SPORTS DEVELOPMENT PLAN ...............................................................99 APPENDIX 4 – COVERING LETTER FOR FUNDING APPLICATIONS............................106 APPENDIX 5 – USEFUL PUBLICATIONS ........................................................................107 Second Edition Page 4 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE THE BRITISH GLIDING ASSOCIATION The BGA is the national authority for sporting gliding in the United Kingdom under delegation from the Royal Aero Club which in turn is a member of the Federation Aeronautique Internationale (FAI). The BGA operates through an elected Board of Directors, specialist sub-committees and a small professional staff. INTRODUCTION Building on the BGA’s last edition of ‘Financial Help for Gliding Clubs’ (2003), this guide, with sections on Project Prerequisites, Project Planning, Sources of Information, Funders and backed up with Case Studies, is intended to set out, stepby-step, how best to go about creating a successful project. When considering a new project, the application for grant monies from a funder is but a small part of the overall scheme. There is much that you can do to retain control of the process and ‘place’ your project so that the detail is clear and the project appealing to potential funders. The aim is to present a well-researched project that has a clear purpose and clear benefit; in short you need to demonstrate that there is a ‘point’ to it. Writing a project plan is strongly recommended (even for small projects) and you should be able to show how the project plan relates to the club’s business plan and overall aims and objectives. Other vital factors for a successful project include active involvement of the club’s members and developing dialogue and working in partnership with agencies outside the club. Most people are keen to support projects if they are well informed of the project’s aims and the relevance to them. Best of all is being able to create a project that helps other people do their jobs. An example of this would be working with the local Council’s youth team to create a youth project or youth scheme. This helps clubs with fresh blood and helps the Council Officers to hit their targets. Quite incidentally to these other aims, some young people may end up enjoying themselves too… Please note that there may be differing agreements and arrangements in the four home countries. We have flagged up those we are aware of with reference to specialist agencies. You may come across other variations not covered in this guide. This guide is intended to summarise how to set about project planning for a successful project. It is set out in five parts plus a set of appendices. Each part has its own contents and introduction. You may sit down and read the guide from cover to cover, but it is more likely that you will dip in and out of the guide, concentrating on the section that best applies to the immediate task at hand. There are some areas that you will address in detail and others that will not be applicable to your project. We hope this guide will form a useful aide memoire to help you to discern between the various areas and decide how best to deploy your resources; the limiting factor to most gliding clubs being man hours. This guide could have been a great deal larger and is certainly not exhaustive. There are many ways of achieving success. However, it would not have been possible to write a short and snappy definitive ‘show you the money’ guide. Every case is different. Every funder is different. Funders change their criteria. Some are hopelessly oversubscribed. Some even run out of money. There is no substitute for preparation. It is hard work, but rather like working your way up a ridge and nudging out over the valley repeatedly to try and make contact with wave, once you are in tune with what is going on and what you are capable of, something clicks, you get those extra few feet and you’re away. Of course there are days when Second Edition Page 5 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE nothing works…However, you should accept that securing funding for projects is a numbers game – not every application or avenue will bear fruit. Please ensure that all people who have helped are somehow thanked privately, publicly and in a lasting way. Write thank you letters and think of an unusual way of thanking people publicly. This is the sort of detail that matters and makes a tremendous difference to the overall success of your project. Projects are hard work and full of challenges so this is a job for a team. You will all get through plenty of midnight oil. It is an opportunity for some remarkable times when you discover new friendships and new depths to old ones. This is the sort of experience that makes you feel alive! Of course there’s nothing like hard work for uniting a club and all that hard work makes it all the sweeter when the funding comes in and the project is completed. Clear cause for a decent celebration! Finally, given that no guide is ever complete, we wish to make a request of you; that you inform the Development Team of any other ways you find to fund your projects. Good luck and remember that we are here to assist you, so do please contact us if you need us. Roger Coote BGA Development Officer Alison Randle BGA Development Officer Diana King Chairman BGA Development Committee June 2007 INTRODUCTION TO 2nd EDITION Much has happened since the last edition was published and we are experiencing some challenging economic times. However, funding is still available for the well planned and properly evidenced project; the numbers game may be harder, but the principles remain the same. New to this edition are sections on Education & Training and information about gifts and legacies from individual donors. The amount of information and the ease of internet access have improved immeasurably in the last few years. It is a fact of our fast-paced modern society that inevitably some of the links and specific information will be out of date by the time you read this, but at the time of writing, everything had been checked. If you notice any broken links or out of date information, please do let us know so that we can correct them. Alison Randle BGA Development Officer May 2014 Second Edition Page 6 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE PART 1 - PROJECT PREREQUISITES 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 8 2 Club Profile.................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1 Letters of Support ................................................................................................................ 9 2.2 Networking............................................................................................................................ 9 2.3 VIPs...................................................................................................................................... 10 2.4 Local Businesses ............................................................................................................... 11 2.5 Partners............................................................................................................................... 11 2.6 The Neighbours .................................................................................................................. 11 3 Available Support ....................................................................................................................... 12 3.1 BGA Development Team ................................................................................................... 12 3.2 Local Council...................................................................................................................... 12 3.3 Rural Community Council ................................................................................................. 12 3.4 Local Council for Voluntary Service ................................................................................ 12 3.5 Professional Advice........................................................................................................... 13 4 Putting Your House in Order ..................................................................................................... 14 4.1 The Governing Document ................................................................................................. 14 4.2 Committee........................................................................................................................... 15 4.3 Bank Account ..................................................................................................................... 15 4.4 Last Year’s Accounts......................................................................................................... 15 4.5 Policy Documents .............................................................................................................. 15 Second Edition Page 7 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 1 INTRODUCTION Would you give money to strangers? Do you consider your club to be in isolation, a field in the middle of nowhere that you and your friends escape to? In reality, your gliding club is (or should be) an integral part of the local community. Very often, the locals like seeing gliders flying about and enjoy the chance to come to open days and will occasionally even buy a gift voucher for friends and families. Local businesses may buy one as a reward for a hard worker. This offers tremendous opportunities for you. Some clubs are better than others at making the most of integrating with the local community. Invariably more can be done and time spent reviewing the opportunities and making more of building relationships with other organisations will be well worth it. It is important to make time to go and meet people who are in a position of influence, so that you can be introduced to decision makers in the community. The benefits of building goodwill cannot be underestimated – especially as one can never be too sure when you may need to call on it. There can be no doubt that having a decent standing in the local community (e.g. with local councils, local MP and immediate neighbours) will pay dividends if, for example, someone decides to contact the Council about the noise of engines disrupting their Sunday afternoons. If the club and its aims and activities are well known, Council Officers will be much better equipped to respond to a member of the public. If the PR the club has done is such that there is a level of awareness amongst the local population, it reduces the chance of spurious complaints being made. (Especially if, to take the example further, the club concerned operates a sympathetic aerotow pattern and has explained it to the local community). These good working relationships within the club community and the wider geographical community need to be kept ticking over. They require further work in the run up to a project (see Part 2, section 5), so that when the time comes to ask for support, people understand how it fits in and what you are asking for. In short, it will help them to understand the benefits for the entire community. What to do if you are in the midst of a project now and have not done any of this preparatory work? Quite simply, whilst not ideal, it is never too late to start but you will need to work on it - even if it means delaying your project slightly. Look on it as an investment. Now with these issues in mind, let us turn to the structure of Part 1. ○ Section 2 considers the club profile, its natural market and networking ○ Section 3 considers the available support that you can call on for wider networking and for activities in the run up to and during your project ○ Section 4 addresses putting the club’s house in order in readiness for project work. Time spent here will reduce the administrative aspects of applying for funding. It will enable the club to be nimble when reacting to funding opportunities. However, the aim of proper project planning is to be proactive, rather than reactive, so this forms part of the preparation that will position your club so that you can remain in control throughout the project process. Second Edition Page 8 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 2 CLUB PROFILE It is crucially important to appreciate the level of support that is available to your club. These include the club members, the local community, external organisations and the BGA. The support available is unique to each area. However, none of these people will be able to help effectively if the gliding club asks in a hurried manner at the last minute. The best way to access support is to get to know your local communities and communicate regularly with them so that they understand the nature of your business, how the club already does much to benefit the local community and the aims of your club’s business. Then, when your club has a project that requires support, they are in a position to give the support and assistance required. 2.1 Letters of Support These demonstrate that a club has explained their project to people outside of the organisation; they help to show support; they demonstrate ‘need’ for a project and its potential benefits. You can get these from within and outside of your club – as appropriate to the project. As with the committee related documents (Section 4), have several copies on file ready for making funding applications. Also see Part 2, section 5.1. 2.2 Networking This is hard to do at short notice. It is the sort of good habit a club should indulge in before it draws up a new project. Networking with external organisations should be covered in the club’s strategy or business plan. Several of the case studies in Part 5 demonstrate how valuable good networking is for projects that are both large and small. People will give money to people they know, they rarely give it to strangers. The gliding club will need to raise the club’s profile in the following areas: ○ Within the sport of gliding ○ Within the wider sporting environment ○ Within the funder movement ○ Within the local community There are probably forums locally that you could get involved with. It will mean spending time in meetings, using up evenings and days to listen to other people, but it should pay off. Remember, this is about teamwork, so spread the load and let different people take different roles; one person is not expected to do it all. Your local council Sports Development Officer will hold the key to the local sports community or Sports development network. Use their contacts and get the gliding club known. If nothing else, it will show people who have problems to solve (for instance, where can I take my youth group to for a day trip, or how do I organise extra Duke of Edinburgh Award Scheme activities?) what you do and that you are approachable. Some clubs have found that they are the largest sports club in the area; or that there is an existing Air Sports forum; and at least two have been founder clubs in air sport forums or networks. Second Edition Page 9 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Your local council Grants Officer and local development organisations (Council for Voluntary Service, Rural Community Council and the like) will have contacts and should be able to introduce you into the local funding arena. Increasingly Funders are setting up local forums with the voluntary and community sector, as they want to open dialogue with the sector. Within this sector there are quite large numbers of employees. If nothing else, you have a new source of flying evenings and potential new members. I have been in funding meetings where the conversation runs something along the lines of: Officer 1: ‘We’ve got a very different project here’ Officer 2: ‘Oh yes what’s that?’ Officer 1: Explains and expresses disquiet about departing from the norm. Officer 2: ‘Who did you say was doing it?’ Officer 1: ’A group called xyz’ Officer 2: ‘Oh yes, I know it, Chaired by chap called Bloggs – he’s very dedicated’ Officer 3: ‘Aren’t they the group that did up their village hall last year on a tiny budget and made a very good job of it? Everyone got involved’ Officer 2: ‘Yes that’s right. Great group’ People give money to people they know and they generally prefer to give it to groups with a proven track record in successful projects, so be prepared to share the ways in which your club has grown or overcome particular problems. To help you to keep a finger on the local pulse, find the local paper that they all use and read it every week. It will really help you to understand the issues that make the local community tick and it will be appreciated if you are au fait with local current affairs. 2.3 VIPs There will be relevant individuals in the local community, local political hierarchy (e.g. your local MP), in funding and aviation areas, to name a few. Developing a good working relationship with them will pay dividends, not least in terms of contacts. Good communication is key and you also need to bear in mind that these are likely to be busy people, so give them the opportunity to decline to become involved. If you find the right individuals, they will be delighted to be involved with a positive project. Even if they are not in a position to become actively involved, they may be happy to write a letter in support of your project. Second Edition Page 10 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 2.4 Local Businesses The gliding club is a small business and as such you should be considering the wider business community. You should already have strong contacts within this community as it is probably where many of your club members work. Local businesses are a good source of increased revenue and new members by having flying evenings or running team building exercises. In regard to specific projects, work on the general principal that if you don’t ask, you don’t get. They may be willing to negotiate on project materials and the like (always give them an opportunity to say no). Local businesses may also be a potential source of commercial sponsorship. 2.5 Partners These will be external agencies pertinent to the progress of your project. Generally each partner will have a specific role to play during a specific part of the project such as planning or delivery. As soon as you identify a potential partner, open dialogue and ensure that good communication is maintained for the duration of your relationship. Anyone you pay to do a job is unlikely to be a partner. Part 3 of the guide has more details on the sorts of places you can go for help and support. Some of these will become partners. Part 4 of the guide has details of funders; you should view your funders as partners as you are helping them too. 2.6 The Neighbours This is an incredibly important group that is easily overlooked. Some clubs arrange an annual evening gathering for their neighbours (and club members!). I know of at least one club that has an annual firework party where the local community come and join in. It is a good idea to foster a good relationship and make sure that the locals know and understand what goes on at the club. This has two obvious benefits; potential new members; and less hostility when you suggest something new because people who understand what is being proposed are less likely to object. Second Edition Page 11 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 3 AVAILABLE SUPPORT Please make sure that you ask for help before you really, really, absolutely and desperately need it. These people are busy people whose roles exist to help people like you. However, there is no shortage of people in need of assistance, so be aware that their diaries fill up and do ask for support in good time. 3.1 BGA Development Team Your BGA fees help to support the work of the BGA Development Team! The Chairman of the Development Committee is a volunteer, but the Development Officer who works on your behalf isn’t. If we can’t help you, (for instance, on a legal matter where we simply aren’t qualified to comment) we will help you to find someone who can give you the support you require. 3.2 Local Council Sports Development Officer This is a very important contact. You need to develop a good working relationship with this person. You also need to get the gliding club into the local Sports Development Plan, Community Sports Network and County Sports Partnership. This Officer will have all the necessary contacts and be able to explain what the relevant local sports development structure is and what is required. If you want to gain access to Sports Council funding, you have to have built this relationship. Grants Officer Most likely to be found in an Economic and/or Community Development Department or Unit. Their role is to help community groups and to support the local economy. They are very likely to link in with youth, tourism and small business officers – depending on the structure of the council. However, they will be part of a wider network and will have plenty of contacts, in addition to knowledge about specific funding that is relevant to the area. This is also the route to getting involved with local development plans – for both community and planning. 3.3 Rural Community Council These are independent charitable companies that each form part of a national network of Rural Community Councils. They ‘help communities help themselves’ by advising communities and supporting projects throughout specific rural areas. You can find yours through a web based search engine, the local library or through your local council 3.4 Local Council for Voluntary Service NAVCA (National Association for Voluntary and Community Action) previously known as NACVS. It is a growing network of over 400 CVS (Councils for Voluntary Service) and other LIOs (Local Voluntary and Community Sector Infrastructure Organisations) Use their website to find your local CVS and LIO http://www.navca.org.uk/ Second Edition Page 12 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 3.5 Professional Advice You will need to pay proper money for good quality advice. Do not stint in this area. If you have any issues relating to land, go to the best land based specialist solicitor that you can afford. Likewise with accountants, planners and other specialists. If you want assistance in finding a suitable professional, consult the BGA Development Officer. Other clubs may have had similar issues, so there may be firms who already have a good understanding of a similar gliding situation. Also, the Sports Councils and the Sports & Recreation Alliance have put together a useful list of both specialised and more generalised legal firms that offer to work for discounted fees. Second Edition Page 13 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 4 PUTTING YOUR HOUSE IN ORDER When making most funding applications, you will need to produce certain documents relating to the following areas. ○ Governing document – (Memorandum and) Articles, Rules or Constitution ○ Committee ○ Bank account ○ Last year’s accounts ○ Policy documents Therefore it is important to have these to hand and time spent early on in the project identifying their whereabouts, ensuring that they are up to date and creating copies is time well spent. Copies should be initialled by the Chairman. 4.1 The Governing Document The Governing Document sets out the structure of the organisation, how it is run, who can be members and so on. It is sometimes the same document as the ‘club rules’ and will include things like how to call an AGM, rather than how to deal with a cable break. For Gliding Clubs which are Companies Limited by Guarantee, this will be the ‘Articles of Association’ (previously the ‘Memorandum and Articles’ – recent legislation has negated the need for a Memorandum and they can be merged into one Articles document). At the very least, potential funders will want to see a copy and see that it has been adopted and signed at a General Meeting (AGM or EGM). The Articles should show within themselves the details of when they were adopted and who the original subscribers/members were. Depending on when they were adopted, you may need to provide a copy of the minutes from the corresponding meeting. Some types of organisations have ‘adopting the governing document’ as an agenda item at every AGM. Why is it relevant? Simply the governing document tells an outside agency a lot about the organisation. It shows the makeup of the committee and how the organisation functions in most formal situations. Crucially, they will be interested in the ‘Dissolution Clause’ that states what will happen to any remaining funds in the event that the organisation is wound up. They will want to see that the remaining monies go to an organisation with similar aims. This way, funders will see that the money they contribute will be used to fulfil similar aims in the event that the club is wound up. Dissolution Clauses that will not please are the (often older) types that include dispersing remaining monies amongst remaining members. A dissolution clause written like this may make a club vulnerable to a takeover by a small group of people who can take control of a committee, wind up the club and distribute the money among remaining members. If you need to change your dissolution clause, consider adopting a clause that will fit Community Amateur Sports Club (CASC) status. Details of model Article documents can be found on the CASC website http://www.cascinfo.co.uk . Gaining CASC status makes a statement that you are an amateur sports club, operating within a community and have been recognised as such by the Inland Revenue. It is broadly equivalent to charitable status. [Note: the BGA is producing a generic set of sample Second Edition Page 14 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Articles for gliding clubs – these should be available via the BGA website, or from The Development Officer] A small point of information, as it sometimes is a source of confusion, gaining charitable status is rarely recommended for gliding clubs because for most clubs it is neither practical nor advisable. Often literature will refer to ‘Charities’ as an umbrella statement. With few exceptions, UK gliding clubs are not-for-profit, volunteer run organisations. ‘Not-for-profit’ means that any surplus generated is ploughed back into the organisation; it is not taken by individual(s) as a dividend. In a lot of cases where you read the phrase ‘charity’ understand that this often means ‘not-for-profit, volunteer run’. The exceptions to this would be if it refers to charity law or if it is an organisation that will only work with registered charities. Even then, if their work looks applicable to your work, it may be worth the cost of a phone call to establish what they mean. It may be that they are more interested in the aim of work, and the fact that money given will remain true to the aims. As a gliding club, your aims may match theirs and if your dissolution clause is appropriate, even if your club went bust (unlikely), their money would get passed on to another organisation with the same aims. There is plenty of grey area to be exploited, so be sure to ask. There will be two potential answers – only one of them could be negative! 4.2 Committee Your Committee should be all present and correct as per the Club’s governing document. Have a list of who is in which post. It may be useful to have a brief summary of the duties of each officer, particularly if you have a Vice Chairman as well as a Chairman. A few funders will want to know the scope of responsibility for each. If you’ve got it sitting on a computer, ready to go, it makes answering additional questions much less time consuming. It is also useful to have copies of the Minutes of the most recent AGM to show that the Committee was elected appropriately (the Minutes should be initialled by the Chairman). 4.3 Bank Account Any Club bank accounts should be in the Club’s name and require more than one signatory required to make any debit to the account. There is an exception to this if your bank account offers an internet facility. If this is the case then you should have a threshold amount where amounts above that limit should have two signatures and this should be the limit for internet transfers. Have (initialled) copies of the last six months’ bank statements. Not all funders want to see them, but it is worth having on file to minimise time and hassle. 4.4 Last Year’s Accounts Have a copy of the income and expenditure account and balance sheet and the summary of annual trading accounts as presented to the membership at the last AGM. You should include the sheet with the auditor’s (or if the annual turnover is low enough, the independent assessor’s) signature. Again have several copies initialled by both the Treasurer and Chairman. 4.5 Policy Documents Have copies of your gliding club policies on file. You should have some evidence of how they are put into use and part of the everyday life of the club. You will need to show how they are published and made available to both Club Members and Second Edition Page 15 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE members of the public. For instance, they may be available in a folder in the club room, and/or published on the Club’s website. PART 1 SUMMARY We have seen how much opportunity there is for improving local relations. Work in this area really will pay off. A brief look through the case studies in Part 5 will demonstrate how it can work. In particular it is worth noting the smaller projects from Dartmoor Gliding Society, Burn Gliding Club and aspects of the Borders project where good relationships with the local authority brought in money that made a difference to the club. Ulster provides an exemplary example. Both Borders and Ulster have been involved with leading new sports representation bodies in their area. Gliding clubs can and do have clout! Attention paid to the other preparatory areas will save you time and energy when you get into the swing of applying for grants from funding bodies. Second Edition Page 16 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE PART 2 - PROJECT PLANNING 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 18 2 Consultation ................................................................................................................................ 20 2.1 Keeping People Informed.................................................................................................. 21 2.2 Feasibility includes Time and Energy.............................................................................. 21 3 Research...................................................................................................................................... 22 3.1 Statistics ............................................................................................................................. 22 3.2 Economic Benefits to the Local Economy ...................................................................... 22 3.3 Financial Figures and Modelling ...................................................................................... 22 3.4 Your Club’s Business Plan ............................................................................................... 24 3.5 Project Details and Costings ............................................................................................ 24 4 Project Criteria ............................................................................................................................ 25 4.1 Introduction ........................................................................................................................ 25 4.2 Political Background and Context ................................................................................... 25 4.3 Sport .................................................................................................................................... 26 4.4 Health .................................................................................................................................. 27 4.5 Geographical Criteria......................................................................................................... 27 4.6 Age Related Projects ......................................................................................................... 27 4.7 Youth ................................................................................................................................... 27 4.8 Education and Training ..................................................................................................... 28 4.9 Environmental Projects ..................................................................................................... 28 4.10 Heritage ............................................................................................................................... 29 4.11 Art ........................................................................................................................................ 29 4.12 Disability ............................................................................................................................. 29 4.13 Equality ............................................................................................................................... 29 5 Partnerships and Networks ....................................................................................................... 31 5.1 Letters of Support .............................................................................................................. 31 6 Monitoring and Evaluation......................................................................................................... 32 7 Your Resources .......................................................................................................................... 33 7.1 From the Membership........................................................................................................ 36 7.2 Volunteers and Volunteer Management .......................................................................... 36 7.3 Manpower - Who is Available? ......................................................................................... 37 8 Writing the Project Plan ............................................................................................................. 39 8.1 Summarise Your Plan ........................................................................................................ 39 8.2 Write the Project Plan ........................................................................................................ 39 Second Edition Page 17 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 1 INTRODUCTION So what are you going to do? Why are you going to do it? What is it for? Who will benefit? Why is it needed? How much will it cost? How long will it take? There are so many possibilities! The most common error at this stage is failing to know and understand the distinction between a wish list and what needs to be part of the project in order for it to be successful. Please make certain that you (and everyone involved with the project) know the difference between what you actually need (reality) and what you would love to do if you were given a blank cheque (dreams). The project could be a new activity, piece of equipment, building or even a new site. It could be replacement or upgrade of equipment. It could simply be a project called ‘the survival of our gliding club’. Please also remember that the purchase of a new piece of equipment (for instance) is merely the stepping stone onto the next stage for the club, so you need to be clear what the stepping stone will enable the club to do, and how you will record those new or additional activities. Whatever the project is, you need to ensure that everyone concerned knows, understands and if possible supports the very basic purpose(s) of your project. It will be necessary to go through several stages to achieve a successful and wellfunded project: ○ Consultation ○ Research ○ Establishing the criteria for the project and how the project performance can be measured ○ Working with the club’s local partnerships, networks and gaining support for the project ○ Writing the project plan Please note that use of the word ‘community’ refers to your gliding club, the members within it, the friends, family, neighbours and any other people who can be described as constituting the community that is your club. Here the word is used deliberately as it is sometimes useful to think of or describe your club as a community in relation to project planning and funding applications. The requirements of each stage are set out in the remaining sections of Part 2: ○ Section 2 looks at consultations; why they are necessary and what are the factors that you need to bear in mind? Your consultation process should have many facets and there is no single correct method. ○ Section 3 sets out the various areas of research the club may wish to consider – the sorts of areas where potential funders will raise questions. For instance ‘Explain why your project is needed’ and ‘Who are the beneficiaries of this project?’ Carrying out research will help you to plan your project and lessen the potential for nasty surprises later. ○ Section 4 considers project criteria and the sorts of benefits funders like to see in a project. This section will help you to build on the research and to develop the ethos for your project. Your project will have many dimensions (more than just getting more people to fly for fun); think about the real benefits and you may be surprised by what you come up with. Second Edition Page 18 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE ○ The club should have developed some partnerships and networks (See Part 1, section 2.1). Section 5 outlines the area of work now required and the importance of securing letters of support. ○ Section 6 briefly explains why planning the means of monitoring and evaluating your project is important ○ Section 7 covers the vital process of writing of the project plan. This may take time, but is well worth the effort and should consolidate the ground work and research you will have carried out. ○ Section 8 throws a bright light on the (many) resources available to your club in order to carry out the project plan. You may be surprised just how much you can do to help yourselves. This will be the sort of thing that will interest your funders too. It is much more refreshing to work with a group that can and does help themselves than one who expects everything on a plate from a grant funder. Second Edition Page 19 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 2 CONSULTATION To ensure the best chance of success and survival for your project, the community where the project will take place needs to ‘own’ it. In short, people who understand what something is for and why it is needed, will support an activity or a specific piece of equipment. The best way of doing this is providing something either because the community asked you to do it, or by doing something in the way in which the community would like to see it done. In reality it normally works the other way round in that the Committee or a single individual often comes up with the original idea. There needs to be a period of education, consultation and negotiation within the organisation. In short, you have to ask the membership a series of questions and be prepared to listen to and take account of what they say. A good way of starting is to brief people on the context of the proposed project; providing answers to questions like ‘so how did it come to be?’ and ‘why was it suggested?’ Good questions to ask the membership include: ○ What do you want? ○ What are the issues? ○ What drawbacks and pitfalls might there be? ○ If we are successful, will you use it? (If not, why not?) ○ What are the alternatives? With consultations, there are no rights and wrongs, but there are plenty of theories about the ‘best’ way to consult a community. However, it is vital to ASK people what they think, to LISTEN to their views and absolutely essential to gauge their level of commitment. Unless you have their commitment, you will have to shelve the project, or adjust it, until such time as commitment is secured. Continuing without commitment will almost certainly result in failure. You need to plan the consultation properly. It is worth taking time to consider all the stakeholders in your project. These may not just be the Club members, but perhaps also their families and friends. What about immediate neighbours and surrounding communities? Also consider the relevance to your project of outside agencies such as the BGA, local councils, sports and aviation organisations. Remember that for substantial projects with the ability to forever change the club’s future, you are likely to need to gain a mandate for the project from the membership at a General Meeting. When planning a project, the first thing to consult is the Club’s Governing Document and the second is the Club’s business plan. Doing this first ensures that the Committee does not act outside its authority as laid down in the Club’s rules. Planning and carrying out your consultation is an area where you could spend thousands of pounds on external consultants. You probably don’t need to do that. However, if you do feel that it is worth buying in assistance, there are different levels you can purchase. Some consultants facilitate a consultation event; others do the whole consultation exercise for you. Regardless of who carries out the consultation (you or a third party), it is essential that you establish what you want to find out from people, why and what for. Then you need to plan the ways in which you will ask for the information. Second Edition Page 20 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Paper questionnaires (which can also be circulated and returned electronically) are good, but only if people take the time to complete and return them; and someone has time to analyse the answers properly. Online surveys are probably easier for people to complete so may generate a larger response. They will also carry out basic analysis of responses for you. There are a number of survey tools available and many of them offer a free service for basic surveys including: www.surveymonkey.com www.kwiksurveys.com www.polldaddy.com There are lots of ways of combining consultations with social gatherings too. It can be helpful to have a third party running a consultation event for you as sometimes it is better to have all club members as equals. However, with the right individuals, the Committee running an event can work well too. It all depends on what will suit the situation. It is well worth talking to the Development Team about your planned consultation. If nothing else, you can use us as a sounding board and we may have useful suggestions. We can also facilitate consultation events. 2.1 Keeping People Informed This is important to maintain momentum during the project. Use website, social media, notice boards, newsletters, briefing notes, committee meeting minutes and so on. This is particularly important in the run up to meetings where you may be asking the membership for decisions or assistance. 2.2 Feasibility includes Time and Energy Important to note: If you are having difficulty getting the support you require from your fellow club members you need to assess if the project is viable in terms of time and energy. Projects should carry a health warning as they can and do burn people out and, in some cases, contribute to health problems. A project’s appetite, if left unchecked, can be voracious in this respect. Call a halt to the project if support falls below what you need it to be. It is much better to be in control by calling a halt yourself, rather than have it fail later. Whilst optimism is a fabulous quality, there are times when it is decidedly unhelpful. In any case, taking such drastic action will cause others to assess whether they really want the project and will help drum up the support that is required to make a project successful. You could liken it to cross country soaring. If the lift isn’t there, you will be going to visit a farmer (and possibly the glider repairers if you really fail to plan effectively). Second Edition Page 21 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 3 RESEARCH This part of the project is vital. You need to know as much as possible before you start the practical phase (implementation) of the project. Even then, you will get nasty surprises that will make executing the project challenging. Work now will reduce the midnight oil consumption later. Spread the workload. This is an easy area for delegation and a good opportunity to get plenty of people involved. The project manager should purely co-ordinate the incoming information into the project plan. 3.1 Statistics Gliding is a sport that attracts a wide variety of people. Use this to show funders that their money will be helping different sectors of society. One of the joys of gliding is that people’s backgrounds don’t matter; people are judged on ability and experience within the sport. It is true that on first glance the sport looks like a white, middle-aged male thing, but take a closer look. It is well worth compiling some statistics on membership. Be able to analyse it by geographical or age distribution and be able to combine the two. Also don’t forget to include analysis of members with special needs (labels that could be described as a disability) and those from ethnic minorities. Oh, and don’t forget gender. It is worth using this opportunity to carry out a member skills audit to establish what their skills and knowledge are in fields beyond gliding. As for data protection, do tell the membership what you require the information for and remove names from any tables presenting analysis; this is a charting of the club’s membership profile, not of the individuals that make it up. This is a good job for one person who can drive an Excel spreadsheet; or two if you need an additional person with the necessary charms to get extra information out of the membership. 3.2 Economic Benefits to the Local Economy The gliding club does benefit the local economy. People going out to eat after flying, purchasing of provisions and fuel, renting holiday cottages when they visit, tourists coming to sample gliding and so on are all quantifiable economic benefits. It is worth talking to the Economic Unit at the local council, as they will have tried and tested means of quantifying various sectors of the local economy. You will need three figures: current, with the project completed, and without the project. By the way, when one club did this they were amazed to discover that they were the largest creator of income in the (admittedly very rural) area! 3.3 Financial Figures and Modelling The annual accounts form a useful document. However, it is vital to understand what they are and therefore how they can be used. The Balance Sheet is a snapshot of how the club stands at a moment in time. One can be drawn up at any time by simply listing Liabilities and Assets. It is not exclusively a year-end function. The Income and Expenditure figures are a video of a period of time, i.e. what has happened in the last year (past tense). Overall, they say a great deal and show the distribution of spending and where the income comes from but, for project planning, you need to add something organic and living, i.e. a budget calculator that can be used for historical and future modelling. Please do contact your BGA Development Officer if you have queries. Second Edition Page 22 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE It may also be useful to do a cash flow analysis. The most profitable business can go down the pan if cash is not available to meet bills when they come in. Historical analyses will show times during the Club’s financial year when life gets a bit tricky (for instance around the time insurance bills etc. come in). You should aim to create a simple cash flow analysis. Future modelling will allow you to look at the ‘what ifs’ and allow you to show the parameters of the project. For instance, updating your fleet in a sustainable manner may involve increasing launch fees or flying activity or recruiting new/retaining more existing members – or a combination of these and other parameters. Also, what if membership should fall in the next five years? Use current figures as a baseline to show what would happen if no action were taken. Looking at the various scenarios in this way will give less opportunity for nasty surprises which leave the Committee feeling clueless and helpless. It will also show what level of activity is required to support employment of staff. Despite gliding being a fun sport run by volunteers, this is a harsh economic world and running a gliding club requires business management and, sometimes, tough and unpopular decisions. Producing figures that explain what is happening and help Committee members understand the factors at work will make joint management discussions and decisions more straightforward. Be sure to only give those figures that are required. Many people find spreadsheets either terrifying or simply just too befuddling. It is also important to give people enough time to digest the information that is being presented and to ensure that they understand what is before them. For financial modelling, you require someone who can work with the Treasurer, can drive an Excel spread sheet and vitally, someone who can communicate in English. The person for this job may well be the Treasurer, but if it isn’t already part of the role, give them the opportunity to accept or decline some or all of the additional work before asking for other volunteers. From the project planning point of view, it is good to be aware of what represents ‘core’ activity. How many pilots fly; what type of flying do they do? A keen private owner will take 1 launch per day and aim to fly for several hours. If they fly on 30 weekend days per year, they will feel they have had a good season. A trainee pilot will fly many times per day. Perhaps the drop in people learning to fly is a major factor in falling revenues at clubs? What is the level of trial flight activity, how does it work with or impact on ‘core’ flying activities within the club? What are your fixed costs? What flexibility is there within them if the club’s financial situation was to be altered by external factors or the need to react to a changing situation? For instance, does your club have staff? If the club were hit by something with a major financial impact and those staff had to be made redundant, how long would this take and how much would it cost? As you research your project, take time to put these assumptions into the spreadsheet to create the financial model. For instance, an updated fleet will result in a change in insurance and maintenance costs. Or the employment of a member of staff will have effects – not just the pay, but NI, tax, insurance plus any beneficial aspects such as promotion of trial instructional flying packages. Look at realistic strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, threats and constraints or challenges for the club. Debate all the way round subjects and use the modelling to give the entire committee a real understanding of what proposed changes would mean. Second Edition Page 23 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Recently some funders have adopted a sensible concept called ‘Full Cost Recovery’ following the publication of HM Treasury’s ‘Improving financial relationships with the third sector: Guidance to funders and purchasers’ in 2006. Some organisations (even those in the public sector) have yet to read it. Essentially it recognises that organisations in the third sector (volunteer-run, not-for-profit organisations such as gliding clubs) can’t run on thin air and should be able to get funding for the full costs of running a project. In other words costing all aspects of a project and including them in the bid. This means revenue costs (the cost to the gliding club of running the project) as well as capital costs. Even if you are only applying for capital funding, it is a good exercise and there are useful planning tools available. Try the BIG Lottery’s website (which also contains a lot of useful advice on funding). http://www.biglotteryfund.org.uk/funding/funding-guidance/applying-for-funding/fullcost-recovery Other benefits of proper financial modelling: ○ Vital for briefing the wider membership when asking for a mandate to go ahead with a project. ○ Gives funders good information AND ○ Demonstrates that your management committee is a safe pair of hands for their money 3.4 Your Club’s Business Plan This document should be the point of reference for all activity that takes place within the club. All too often serious effort is put into writing a business plan; it gets put in a posh folder and put on a shelf. And there it stays. The business plan should be a living document and as such should be reviewed and updated on a regular basis. It is no use to man or beast gathering dust on a shelf. The question is ‘how does the proposed project relate to the business plan?’ Ideally, the need for the project should already have been identified somewhere in the plan. If it is completely new, the idea should be incorporated into the plan to show where it will sit in relation to the club’s other activities. If it’s not in the Plan, questions should be asked as to why not and why is it now needed? Is it appropriate to do something that isn’t in the Plan? If your club does not have a recent business plan, then take time to write one. If you are seeking a large amount of funding, potential funder(s) will want to see your business plan to assess the Club’s attitude to management. The lack of one will speak volumes… In any case, going through the exercise may well throw up vital information on aspects of the project; information that may well affect the overall success of the proposed project. A skeleton Business Plan can be found in Appendix 2. It is a starting point, not a blue print. 3.5 Project Details and Costings You need a few people to go and scout out the details. Costings will need to be gained – preferably quotes or alternative solutions in triplicate. If this isn’t appropriate, you need to state why (e.g. only one UK agent for brand new DG1000 or DuoX). If you are going with one solution or type over another, you need to state why. Look at alternative ways of solving problems. Find out what opportunities there might be for minimising costs e.g. donations-in-kind. Second Edition Page 24 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 4 PROJECT CRITERIA 4.1 Introduction The ethos of your project will determine the project criteria, or labels, that a potential funder can identify with. These are what the funders use to assess whether candidate projects will be eligible for funding under their schemes. What does your project actually do? How will the benefits show? It is important to think in extra dimensions. Considering the following criteria and the corresponding ideas and descriptions should help you to think creatively about your club and any proposed projects: ○ Sport ○ Health ○ Geography ○ Age ○ Youth ○ Education and Training ○ Environmental ○ Heritage ○ Art ○ Disability ○ Equality These are covered individually in more detail under Sections 4.3 – 4.13 These are not necessarily easily identifiable individually. Let’s look at health. There are numerous areas where gliding can have health benefits – see the sections on sport (4.3), age (4.6) and disability (4.12). Once you have identified what benefits your project has to offer, the way you present that to the funder will depend on what interests them. There is no reason why you shouldn’t emphasise all four aspects of health in one funding application. Similarly, you could use the same beneficial outcomes for four different funders. One might be interested in funding sport, the second health, the third disability and the fourth age. The emphasis here is gaining a really good understanding of what your project has to offer. There is so much untapped potential for gliding clubs. In Section 5, the Borders (4) and Burn (5) case studies offer good examples of inclusive aspects of gliding activity that can be emphasised in order to help secure funding. Take time to think about the benefits that gliding offers. What you will need to bear in mind is that any proposed activities need to be related back to the aims of your club, the needs of your membership and the Club’s business plan. Looking at and taking account of these extra criteria should bring depth to your normal activities, but should not detract from them. Beware of projects that make extra work with little benefit and ensure that they would be practical to implement. 4.2 Political Background and Context The reason for meandering into politics is that there has been a shift of dynamics and emphasis which has changed the landscape within which gliding operates, i.e. more funding has become available to assist good quality projects that are likely to make a Second Edition Page 25 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE difference to government targets. The phrase ‘The Third Sector’ is becoming ever more common. Often this funding has come from the European Social Fund (ESF), about which more can be found in the funding section. A word of warning is that some of these funds have strict monitoring and evaluation criteria that mean the money is more hassle than it is worth, so making a positive choice is important. The background. Broadly speaking, there are three sectors of society: the State, the private (market) sector and the civic (third or voluntary and community (VCS)) sector. The way that any society gets things done depends on the balance and dynamics between them. Gliding clubs in this country are run by volunteers so fall into the VCS. However, to survive and operate, they are very much affected by the market sector. In the last half century, the market has risen to the fore and it has become the State’s role to create good conditions for the market to operate in. As part of this, the last couple of governments have been creating new markets in places we didn’t think likely such as the NHS by contracting certain services out (e.g. cleaning and catering). In 2002, the HM Treasury carried out a cross-cutting review of the Government’s service delivery. A major plank of their findings was that in addition to the private sector, there was vast untapped potential for service delivery within the VCS. Certain targets have been set relating to social and environmental goals – often from Europe. The government is keen to hit them (because in addition to voter capital, their funding relies on it too!) and whilst it isn’t sensibly possible to help them out with all goals (e.g. basic numeracy and literacy), we may well have opportunities that would be of interest in other areas. During and since 2011, it has become clear that the full extent of the deficit is requiring deeper cuts than initially envisaged, resulting in more reliance on the third sector. ‘The Big Society’ had been outlined as an ideal, but talk of it has faded somewhat in recent months. Future opportunities for clubs are not clear. However, they do exist and, regardless of the wider, prevailing political situation, clubs need to place themselves favourably by networking, good practice and building a reputation with local decision makers. 4.3 Sport Well, gliding is one isn’t it? Yes – most definitely. However, most funders do not give money to people just so that they can go and have some fun (even though sport is a serious activity in itself). They generally fund activities that promote beneficial outcomes in other areas, for instance projects with health benefits for communities. So does this rule out the sport of gliding? No! But it depends on the benefits that the proposed project will bring. A good example was the Government’s PSA3 target that aimed to get an additional 2 million people involved in regular exercise by 2012. The results of this exercise were arguable from the Government’s point of view, however, we (the BGA) were able to use the PSA3 targets to get funding for two development projects by using the following arguments. Think about how much activity goes on at a launch point and how much fresh air and exercise club members take during a day at the gliding club. As a sport, when we increase our membership numbers, more people have been encouraged to take more exercise and we as a sport help the government reach its targets. (Some of these people may also have enjoyed flying too…) Think also about how old some of those people are. Not very retiring are they? The key is lateral thinking about how your project is going to increase participation in sport, or encourage our existing glider pilots to develop within the sport. Second Edition Page 26 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 4.4 Health There are numerous health benefits related to gliding. Please also refer to the sections on sport (4.3), age (4.6) and disability (4.12). Spending all day moving about in the fresh air is good old fashioned exercise of the sort that keeps people fit and active for a long time. I know of at least one Home Office project in recent years that has been looking at ways of keeping older men ‘engaged’ with society (if you please). Some of them involve getting jigsaw clubs going on the basis that whilst women need little more than the time of day to talk at length, apparently men need something to ‘do’ whilst talking. No doubt there are years of research that you could look into about the differences in communication style between men and women. The point is, in gliding, we have no need to inflict jigsaws on people, we have winches and gliders and all manner of things to fettle, mend and play with. Then we have the fact that in gliding we do not segregate our community on the basis of age. All these factors (and no doubt you can come up with some more once you start to think about it) contribute to better health and well being. The benefit to the State is that people who are physically and mentally fit and active cost less to run… This is an important aspect of our sport that we should not neglect. 4.5 Geographical Criteria Two questions to ask: ○ Where is the club? ○ Where do the members live? Projects will bring benefit to both types of geographical location. It is likely to be beneficial to open dialogue and build working relationships with Officers locally to both, e.g. Sports Development Officers at Local Councils. 4.6 Age Related Projects The average age in our sport and a lot of our clubs is alarmingly high. No fresh blood. Youngsters are off doing other things. Keeping the youngsters gets harder as they settle down and have families etc. etc. However, this sorry state of affairs gives a whole host of opportunities for funding for projects. In Section 4.4 we considered the benefits for older people. Consider also the intergenerational activities. In our sport age is less relevant than experience. So we have people from different generations all working together to support each other and gliding activity in general. The government is beginning to realise that supporting interaction between the generations is good for health and ‘community cohesiveness’ [current buzz words that work well on funding application forms]. These two aspects of our sport mean that certain gliding projects are eligible for funding under ‘health’ (see Section 4.4). 4.7 Youth Youth schemes are the most obvious. Most district and county councils want to promote active participation by young people in sport and healthy activities. There is scope for designing a project that makes use of gliding to build self-esteem in the young, to show them that they can succeed and that there is an alternative to crime and drugs. Clearly such a project would require careful design, management, Second Edition Page 27 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE mentoring and dedication from a focussed team. A less extreme project will focus on groups of young people not currently exploring the darker side of society. If you have ideas for a youth related project, it may be worth talking to the Youth Officer at your local council. Please refer to the Burn and Borders case studies in Section 5. The BGA’s Junior Strategy is increasing participation and achievement by the under 25s. With it is the BGA’s Junior Gliding Centre (JGC) Scheme, with a dedicated website www.juniorgliding.co.uk for junior gliding. If your club is not already a JGC, but would like to discuss becoming one, please contact Liz Pike in the BGA Office or email her lizzie@gliding.co.uk 4.8 Education and Training When we glide, we are learning all the time. Education and training is very highly valued at National and European level. Of particular interest is the ability to ‘engage’ those who are not engaged with the acquisition of formal qualifications. Gliding attracts all sorts of people. In order to glide, we all have to trust one another with our safety and in some cases, our lives. This concept is incredibly valuable for those in society who are expected to fail and have never been trusted with anything or to do anything. In learning to glide, together with the theory, there is plenty of material that easily fits into the criteria required for education and training projects. What is more, in 2009 gliding was given funding from the Department of Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) to offer introductory sessions for people from rural areas who are not employed, not qualified and not curently in training. Therefore gliding has now been formally recognised as a provider of education and training. 20 clubs took part, flying 423 people, 35 of whom signed up to glide again. The Scout Association (all age groups) have a range of badges that they can achieve through gliding. The Air Cadets have various informal and formal qualifications, up to BTec. So, with careful planning of ground activities to support air activities, it is perfectly possible to tailor training packages to suit the needs of the local community and potential funders. 4.9 Environmental Projects Your airfield and its buildings offer a host of mainly undisturbed ecological habitats for a wide variety of fauna and flora. Often the best way of encouraging diversity is simply to leave an area alone. Why not take a look at your surroundings and look into some of the grants on offer. You may find there are opportunities for encouraging bats, owls, nesting birds, reptiles and a wide variety of plants and insects with really very little effort on behalf of the gliding club. There are a wide variety of grants available specifically to enhance and encourage wildlife and to create sustainable habitats. Derby & Lancs GC has been receiving stewardship grants; Cotwold GC lets one of the club members keep bees on site (roped off and in a secluded area). Second Edition Page 28 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Let’s take the idea a little further. You have an area of your site that is not practical to use for gliding activities and decide to develop its full environmental potential. You could use this as a means of having regular dialogue with local schools and the community, letting them use the area for projects and such like. Naturally, you need to consider when and how members of the public are invited on to the site. Projects such as these would have the added benefit of getting local people used to coming to the gliding club and the potential for individuals moving on to youth flying projects. This applies equally to people reaching or nearing retirement whose children may have recently ceased being financially dependent. FAQ: What if we find something that curtails our gliding activity? It is an offence to harm protected or endangered species whether the site has been listed or not. For a site to be designated a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) it has to undergo extensive survey work, it has to meet tight criteria and it has to be considered by various committees. However, what would be wrong with having an unused area of your site designated as a SSSI? It would make future development of the site for something like a road or housing less straightforward, but is that likely to be an issue for the gliding club? If golf clubs can get grants and make a difference, then why not your non-profit making gliding club? It is worth researching all the related possibilities in detail. 4.10 Heritage I was talking to a chap who has lived all his life on the floor of the Severn Valley. He was saying how the gliders on the ridge at Nympsfield have become the backdrop to his life. I was on the telephone to someone in Leicestershire who said that thinking about gliders reminded her of childhood and lazy weekends watching the gliders over Dunstable Downs. Internally, gliding has a tremendous oral history, much of it unrecorded. Let’s not forget the gliders themselves. The renovation of a vintage glider is a heritage project. Some clubs have important sites and/or buildings. We take much for granted. There could be aspects of your project with strong heritage value. 4.11 Art Probably the least scope, but it could form a reasonable excuse to fly the local art college students, especially if the flight or some other aspect formed part of the subsequent work… Filmmaking could be of interest too – look at what is being achieved with the GoPro. 4.12 Disability Gliding is a great leveller – often regardless of physical ability or disability. How does your club make it possible for people to take part? What features do you offer in relation to access to facilities and the air? Perhaps your project will enable more people to take part? Advice and guidance is available for clubs from the BGA. 4.13 Equality The latest piece of legislation in this area is The Equality Act 2010. It replaces previous legislation such as the Race Relations Act 1976 and the Disability Discrimination Act 1995. It requires equal treatment in access to employment as well as private and public services, regardless of the protected characteristics of age, disability, gender reassignment, marriage and civil partnership, race, religion or belief, sex, and sexual orientation. In the case of disability, employers and service providers Second Edition Page 29 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE are under a duty to make reasonable adjustments to their workplaces to overcome barriers experienced by disabled people. In this regard, the Equality Act 2010 did not change the law. So how is it relevant to gliding clubs? And what can clubs do about it? Simply, it is a matter of good practice. It is a question of ensuring that our sport is open and appealing to all sorts of people. Let’s put it another way. How easy is it for each club to encourage a person on a trial lesson to come back and try it again? Having done that, how easy is it to get them to come back and join the club? By looking at areas covered by The Equality Act 2010, you will be removing the sorts of things that may be putting people off coming back to your club. Examples could include: ○ appropriate provision to enable women to operate ground equipment ○ gender-neutral instruction and coaching ○ appropriate safety advice to women (and men) on physiological matters ○ ground facilities such as toilets for both sexes ○ family-friendly facilities ○ appropriate ballast and cushions to enable people of all sizes to fly the club gliders Why not turn it to your advantage? Flagging up your club’s strengths in this area may improve your chances of securing grant funding. It may also help those clubs who either plan to or are currently working closely with schools and other publicly funded organisations. It is about creating the right environment so that people who want to come and enjoy the sport can do so. The BGA holds Foundation level of The Equality Standard for Sport. As a result of completing the work involved, a generic club policy ‘Equity and Equal Opportunities Policy’ has been developed for clubs to use. This is avaialble in the Club Policies Guidance Pack http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/clubmanagement/policies.htm For more information, see the Equality and Human Rights Commission: http://www.equalityhumanrights.com/ Second Edition Page 30 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 5 PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS Now is the time to build on your existing networks and shore up partnerships. Arrange meetings with key people to explain what you are aiming to do. It may tie in with their work or targets they have to achieve, or maybe there are ways of working together to solve problems. Is it worth inviting people up to the club to show them what happens and why your project is important? How about arranging a team building evening flying session and BBQ for them? Or perhaps you need to talk to key people about the best way to approach a potentially difficult neighbour or group of local councillors. This is the time when your good networking habits will pay off. Hopefully you will have some good relationships to build on. 5.1 Letters of Support You should actively collect these. They demonstrate that people outside of your immediate organisation support the idea and acknowledge the need for it. It is helpful if letters of support name the project and outline what problems or issues the successful project will address and that they have some sort of faith in your organisation achieving the related goals. There are two sources of letter: from your members (demonstrating that they agree the direction that the club is going in) and from people and organisations not directly related to the club’s normal activities. These could be local council officials, BGA officials, neighbours, local businesses, local MPs and anyone else who can legitimately comment on the benefits of the project. As with the committee related documents (Part 1, Section 4), have several copies on file ready for making funding applications. Second Edition Page 31 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 6 MONITORING AND EVALUATION This can be a large and complex subject. Increasingly, funders are looking to projects to provide figures to monitor the project and evaluate the benefits as they have to be able to show how their money was spent too. Some just want to see a set of accounts relating to the project, others want figures on a quarterly basis. However, beware the funders that put a great deal of emphasis on monitoring and evaluation – there are streams of funding that are simply more hassle than they are worth. The reason for putting this section here is that working out what measures you can monitor and evaluate your project on is part of the project planning process. At the very least, the gliding club management team will need to be able to assess the project in order to find out if it solved the problem and to learn valuable lessons for the future. It also gives scope for halting a failing project part way through and salvaging something positive from the situation. The best way to approach this subject is to consider making your project outcomes SMART: Specific, Measurable, Achievable, Realistic and Time based. For instance, rather than saying: ‘lots of people from the local community will be able to fly in the new glider’, try: ‘By 2018, 150 new beneficiaries, including 80 young people will benefit from the new 2-seat training glider’. Simply ask yourselves what the project will achieve and try to quantify it. The numbers needn’t be big or grand, just realistic. Realism includes making the numbers sensible – you don’t want to set yourselves up for a fall!! At a recent BIG Lottery conference run by the Directory of Social Change (DSC), the message was not about what happened on the way to making a project happen, but how important it is to emphasise the difference (legacy) that the project would make to people and places. Second Edition Page 32 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 7 YOUR RESOURCES Broadly these fall into two categories: people and financial. Financial areas include: ○ Normal running of the business ○ Money generation ○ Fundraising ○ Donations: both financial and donations-in-kind and people areas cover: ○ Paid staff ○ Volunteers ○ Those involved ○ Those interested ○ VIPs ○ Local businesses i) Normal Running of the Business It is worth reviewing the business of running the gliding club to see if there are any areas that could be tightened up or expanded (e.g. obtaining CASC status to minimise rates payments and maximise Gift Aid payments). If yours is a significant project, the club could need to tighten the belt for a period of time, or sell some assets to gain others. If you are assessing the project within the context of the business plan, this area should be covered during that exercise. Many clubs operate an account system but some bill their members in the month after they have flown; they are effectively offering interest free loans to members. At a few clubs, the obligation is the member keeps their account in credit and should not fly otherwise. At one club a push to create greater credit control transformed the situation from one where the total credit balances on members’ accounts was £4,400, to one where it is now £33,400. This is interest free money. Have you considered the fact that your assets should be producing sufficient cash flow to ensure that when they wear out, they can be replaced? It would very nice to attract a grant to buy a Duo Discus, but unless it can create revenue sufficient to fund a realistic depreciation and replacement charge then it will never be replaced. In that way the legacy is that the club will feel it is going backwards at some stage in the future. However much an asset has been supported by grant funds it should still generate a sensible rate of return. Future pricing needs to be realistic. ii) Money Generation It is possible that an existing area of the club’s business could fund the project in some way. Or it may be possible to create a funding stream from a bit of entrepreneurial activity. What is achievable depends on the people you have available, including their skills, ideas, time and energy. Second Edition Page 33 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE iii) Fundraising Pretty much a matter of running fundraising activities such as a dinner, auction, talents scheme or lottery (which may require registration with the local council) and there are lots of ideas that could be used. Don’t exclude looking to fundraise beyond the gliding club fence either. The only rule regarding fundraising being that less money should be spent than is raised. It very much depends on what your club membership would be willing to take part in and which people are available to take on such activities. Much energy is required, but on the other hand, events tend to bring the club members together and there is much fun to be had (boosting ‘community cohesiveness’ at the outset of a project can be no bad thing!). A good fundraising event offers good publicity opportunities and builds goodwill. Please let us know what schemes you try – whether successful or not, it is always valuable to share such knowledge. iv) Donations The more the merrier. The donations will go further if your club has CASC status and UK income tax-paying donors sign up for Gift Aid. Financial donations can be related to an individual’s income tax and are classified for Gift Aid purposes as a ‘voluntary donation’. Some clubs are developing some innovative ideas and opportunities to make the most of Gift Aid. Remember that donations can include goods-in-kind and time. Time can have a monetary value, can be quantified and added to the £ total to show what the club is doing to help itself. Time and in-kind donations do not attract tax benefits. Set out the problem and proposed solution and give your club members the opportunity to support it. The key is good communication. Be clear in your thanks for their support (although you should respect the wishes of those who do not want public thanks) and if it is a sizeable project, consider some sort of permanent record of donations - perhaps a plaque or names on a bench, or something that is in keeping with the project. v) Life Membership By offering a life membership package (typically a round number just under 10 x the annual membership fee) you may be able to raise some quick cash. This will need to be balanced with the fact that those life members will never pay annual membership fees again. Therefore, the number of places on such a scheme should be strictly limited in order to safeguard future income streams. Life membership can turn out rather expensive and can be an unkind legacy to future management. Instead, why not consider offering pre-purchase of up to 5 years membership at the current rate? vi) Lotteries These can take many forms, including ‘100 Club’ type schemes. Note you may need to register such schemes with your local authority. The key to these schemes is selling all the tickets or else the scheme will lose more money in prizes than it brings in from subscriptions. Second Edition Page 34 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE vii) Pledges of Future Funding or Support Ask your membership early on and explain at what point their support (financial or otherwise) would be helpful and where possible and appropriate, ask them to commit. viii) Legacies and Gifts At certain times, individuals and members will consider strategies for their inheritance tax planning. Legacies and gifts have their place within such plans. A ‘gift’ for inheritance tax purposes is defined as anything where assets or funds leave an individual’s estate. These may form potentially exempt transfers and individuals should seek appropriate advice from appropriately qualified professionals. As with donations, gifts and legacies will go further with CASC status, provided that the individual completed the necessary paperwork at the appropriate time. You may think that this is an area that is fairly hard to actively fundraise in, but charities do it, so why not your gliding club? Check that the topic has some profile and that people who know the club are aware of the option. See also Part 4, section 11. ix) Loan Funds and Debentures These can have a place, but require appropriate legal advice when drawing up the scheme. There is a need to protect all parties entering into any arrangement where money is being lent and borrowed. The BGA is not qualified to comment on such schemes. However with the usual caveat that any scheme should be checked with the appropriate professional advisors (accountants, tax advisors and lawyers), there is a place for such a scheme in your club’s fundraising portfolio. If loans are going to be raised from members, the repayments should be structured so as to keep a legal balance sheet. While members might be more comfortable lending money which can be repaid at call, excessive levels of loans on this basis (i.e. a large proportion of loans repayable within one year) can lead to the club trading whilst insolvent, with the consequent liability on the directors or officers. One club has a scheme whereby a member makes a 5 year deposit with the club. It pays no interest, but their subscription is reduced. This is, in effect, tax free interest and should appeal to certain segments. If you think about it, leasing is a form of borrowing. You may wish to consider the possibility of leasing some equipment to reduce the level of capital locked up in equipment – although this is not always possible for specialist equipment. x) The Local Community (Fundraising) Look at open days, air experience flying and holiday courses to supplement normal flying income. There may be pure fundraising themes you can come up with as well. xi) Paid Staff Care is required here, as unilateral variation of contracts will lead to excessive paperwork, bad feeling and possibly, a tribunal, followed by a compensation payment. The point here is that paid staff should feel included, consulted and should always feel like they are a valued member of the team. They should not be taken for granted. Take a strategic look at how the project fits with their existing role; re-read their contract. Discuss the proposals with them – especially if it means taking on extra duties. They may want to help out – perhaps even volunteer. You should give them the opportunity to take part at whatever level they would like to. Alter their package if appropriate and support any changes to the role with appropriate training. Early and effective communication should Second Edition Page 35 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE negate major issues later. Even if the project does not directly affect them and they take no active part in it, ensure that you keep them informed about what is going on. See Part 3, Section 2.6 for further information about sources of information and support for this area. 7.1 From the Membership The members of a gliding club generally show a tremendous amount of goodwill towards their club, but only if you present a proper business case. Involve them in the decisions, consult and ensure that they’re on side. This shouldn’t be a problem if you have done the background preparation for the project and can demonstrate both the need and the properly evaluated solution. Whilst the emphasis here is on the financial, it is worth remembering the non-financial resources available to you. These include: ○ Donations-in-kind (includes time) ○ Skills ○ Use of equipment 7.2 Volunteers and Volunteer Management Background: The National Council for Voluntary Organisations estimated that the economic contribution of volunteers in 2007/08 was £22.7 billion. Volunteering has been valued as being worth £40bn pa to the UK voluntary and community sector. It is reported that 70% of volunteers are not happy. 70% of £40bn (or whatever the current figure is) is a lot of money to have on the line. There are many reasons for volunteering and even more for why volunteering is a less than happy experience for so many. Gliding attracts people from all walks of life. In general, glider pilots are a highly motivated group of talented and intelligent people who like helping others. Volunteers run our sport. There are numerous gliding examples of great responses to requests for volunteering. The knack, therefore, is planning what is required, involving your club members and thanking them. The quickest way to de-motivate volunteers (quicker than not bothering to thank people for helping) is not to ask them in the first place. As a project emerges, people will be imagining what they can do to help (yes, really!). Volunteering stems from our individual survival depending on being a valued member of a tribal community. Not being asked to contribute to tribal activity is a form of shunning and is one short step away from ejection from the tribe. Being only a few generations ago, this level of rejection still hurts us somewhere deep within us and in the modern age when we have so many alternative tribes to choose from, and the means to cover geographical distances to get to them, rejected club members simply swap clubs or sports. (Healthy volunteering in clubs – could it help with member retention?) In general, people WANT to volunteer, but they very often haven’t been invited to. What are you waiting for? Second Edition Page 36 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Gain and keep a healthy crop of volunteers: Take time to do some form of skills analysis. Ask people what skills and experience they have from outside gliding and what they would like to do to help. Enter into some sort of negotiation about who is going to do what (aiming to minimise conflict, although this is not always possible). Then you have to let them get on with it – delegate (with clear limits, appropriate authority, good reporting lines and a timescale) and learn to trust them (i.e. avoid micro-managing). Ensure that you have good communication. Let the project manager receive information from the volunteers, co-ordinate it and then communicate it to the Committee. In a big project it is very important that there is a regular news sheet or similar to keep members up to date with progress. Thank your volunteers. There are levels; all are valid but the amount each is used depends on the size of project. For instance: ○ Smile and say ‘thanks, that’s great’ (or similar) ○ Public thanks on newssheet, via social media, at meetings etc. ○ In perpetuity on a project plaque, bench, piece of equipment etc. (The club will think of something appropriate) 7.3 Manpower - Who is Available? It is worth looking at the people in and around the gliding club. Rather like ripples fanning out from a pebble as it drops into a puddle, people operate at differing distances from the epicentre of club activity. i) Those ‘Involved’ At the centre you should have those who take part in club management activities. Beyond that you have those who fly regularly, then those that don’t. Generally these people are the people who are visibly involved. ii) Those Interested At some point around those who don’t fly regularly, the emphasis changes from involvement to interest. In this group also would be friends and family of the involved group. Look beyond again and you find neighbours and the local community. There will be a great deal of goodwill towards your club – even if it appears to be invisible at the moment or has been drowned out by a vocal minority. Think about the club’s local community and work out how to get them more involved. Who comes to open days? Is it worth running a social event for friends and neighbours of the gliding club? Think about PR. The local media are always keen to use good stories and, remember, that pictures always help to make a story good. You may want to plan a series of media releases, events etc in the lead-up to the launch of a project to get the local public on your side, to inform and engage with potential sponsors amongst the local business community, and to generally raise your profile in the locality. Second Edition Page 37 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE The type of news and events will depend on what your project is about and what your target funders will be looking to see. Examples might include: ○ Members’ successes (or just participation) in regionals and nationals ○ First solos by young people (or old people) ○ Visits from local groups (Scouts, Guides, schools, Rotary Club, church groups, etc) ○ Programmes for socially disadvantaged groups, disabled groups, etc Encourage the media to visit your club, explain to them what gliding is really about, show them around and take them flying. A single flight can generate vast amounts of coverage. Remember to look beyond the obvious media channels of local newspapers and television. Consider local radio, community newsletters, local web TV. Also consider leveraging any local community social media presence. Second Edition Page 38 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 8 WRITING THE PROJECT PLAN 8.1 Summarise Your Plan Use a conceptual map to get project & timeline on one sheet of paper By now you will probably have a lot of information milling about in your mind and you may find that explaining it to other people is getting tricky. You may also start to feel despondent at this stage. Now is the time to get a large sheet of paper (a sheet of flip chart paper perhaps) and put everything to do with the project on it. You will probably need a bit of a run up to it, so start with one area of the project and sketch everything related to that area on it; just words and pictures – not major detail. Different colours, lines, squiggles and boxes will help. Repeat for all areas of the project, look at how the areas link and get it onto the big sheet. You must have a timeline on the same sheet of paper as a reality check. The time line needs to have planning time, fundraising time (if appropriate!), major actions, a FINISH time and monitoring and evaluation. At this initial stage, the timeline should, quite rightly, be lacking in detail. This exercise will help to flush out linkages, opportunities and constraints that you have yet to think of, as well as to help you to communicate with the wider group. Expect to amend the sheet as time goes on. 8.2 Write the Project Plan This is a vital exercise. It needn’t be complicated, but it does need to set out the project clearly, succinctly and in simple English. It will be a reference document and should be a living one, in that it will probably evolve over time. Each one is unique, but should have the following ingredients: ○ Easy to read and follow ○ Sensible use of sections, heading and contents to allow different people to easily find the information that they need ○ Clearly state the need for the project (including evidence) ○ Explain how and when the solution will be delivered ○ Show who is going to be doing what and explain any other practicalities and logistics involved with making the project a reality ○ Show who will benefit and how ○ Figures for costings and budgets ○ Show how the project will be monitored and evaluated ○ A one-page executive summary at the beginning ○ An over-viewing introduction ○ Details should be put into appendices at the back. These may include: ○ A copy of your business plan (as appropriate) ○ A copy of your sports development plan (as appropriate) ○ Club policies ○ Letters of support Second Edition Page 39 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE All this will enable those picking up your plan to read as much or as little as they need to read in order to conduct their business with you. Nobody except you and your (much) loved ones will read the whole thing. This is a question of helping your readership to find extra information to enable them to make decisions about whether to build a working relationship with you. It is helpful if you make their life as easy as possible. Word of caution: a Project Plan is there to help with planning of a project, but most importantly it is there to help you to move onto the action stage and, as with a business plan, a pretty one sitting on the shelf gathering dust is not worth the paper it is written on, the time taken to produce it, or the cost of the pretty folder. All this may seem daunting. It is a question of being methodical. You can find a skeleton project plan in Appendix 2. This is a starting point, not a blueprint. The Development Team is available to support you through this process, please do call on us. The email funding group is populated with people who understand because they are or recently have been deeply involved with the same process. If you wish to join, please email alison@gliding.co.uk Part 2 SUMMARY We have considered the (many) areas that go in to project planning. Time spent on this planning will mitigate much time, energy and heartache later on. It isn’t possible to remove all chances of major headaches during project delivery but, by fully understanding all aspects of your project, you will be able to help yourselves and to recognise warning signs early so that appropriate decisions and actions can be taken in good time. Be sure to keep communicating with your fellow club members. It is all too easy to get engrossed in a project and to fail to stand back and get a perspective on what is going on. Your club has many resources available to it and many positive aspects that should make for an exciting opportunity for members and potential funders to get involved with. Second Edition Page 40 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE PART 3 SOURCES OF INFORMATION & ADVICE 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 43 1.1 Local Library....................................................................................................................... 43 1.2 Local Media......................................................................................................................... 43 2 Legislative ................................................................................................................................... 44 2.1 S&RA – The Sports and Recreation Alliance .................................................................. 44 2.2 Health & Safety Executive ................................................................................................. 44 2.3 Data Protection – The Information Commissioner’s Office........................................... 45 2.4 Trading Standards ............................................................................................................. 45 2.5 Volunteer Development Agencies (National Association of Volunteer Bureaux) ....... 45 2.6 Human resources ............................................................................................................... 45 3 Sport............................................................................................................................................. 46 4 Education and Training .............................................................................................................. 47 5 Environmental ............................................................................................................................. 48 5.1 Local Council – Local Environment Action Plans and Local Biodiversity Action Plans 48 5.2 DEFRA - the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs ............................. 48 5.3 Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) ............................................................... 48 5.4 Environment Agency – Water Systems, Fisheries, Recreation..................................... 49 5.5 British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) ......................................................... 49 5.6 Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and National Parks ................................ 49 5.7 Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) ..................................................... 49 5.8 Environment Wales ............................................................................................................ 49 5.9 Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group ............................................................................. 49 6 Business ...................................................................................................................................... 50 6.1 Tourism ............................................................................................................................... 50 6.2 Country Land & Business Association............................................................................ 50 6.3 Business Link ..................................................................................................................... 50 6.4 ProHelp (part of Business in the Community) ................................................................ 50 7 Funding........................................................................................................................................ 51 7.1 European Funding ............................................................................................................. 51 7.2 Local Enterprise Plans (LEPs) and LEP Network ........................................................... 51 7.3 Directory of Social Change ............................................................................................... 51 Second Edition Page 41 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 8 Age Related ................................................................................................................................. 52 8.1 Older .................................................................................................................................... 52 8.2 Youth ................................................................................................................................... 52 9 Heritage........................................................................................................................................ 53 9.1 English Heritage ................................................................................................................. 53 9.2 Cadw.................................................................................................................................... 53 9.3 Historic Scotland................................................................................................................ 53 Second Edition Page 42 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 1 INTRODUCTION Part of your background research for your project is to establish what support you have available to you. This section outlines the sorts of organisations generally available to help you. However, they are general and it is not a definitive list. Do use it to give you ideas about where you could go to ask for information. You also need to spend some time on your computer with your favourite search engine. Put in your county and the term ‘voluntary’ and see where you go. It is also well worth chasing links from your local council website. See if you can find a ‘community toolkit’. When you phone your local Council for Voluntary Service, local Grants Officer and Rural Community Council, ask them to ‘signpost’ you to websites or other organisations that should be able to help. Ferret about and you should be able to find what you need. What do you need? You’ll know when you find it because the person you are talking to will suddenly make a lot of sense. You will probably find that you’ll work more closely with a particular agency over another because of the person or people who work there. The trick is to build a small support network that you can rely on and that believe in your project too. Ideally this support will complement your club’s team by bringing a different range of strengths, skills and experience. 1.1 Local Library Easily overlooked, but full of useful reference material on funding, local organisations, history and the like. 1.2 Local Media PR should be an important aspect of your project. Get to know your local newspapers, radio, T.V. For details visit your library. Most have their own websites with useful community links. Funders like to see that clubs or groups they fund have a good track record and are also likely to appreciate any PR that you can give them too. If you don’t already do so, keep a press cuttings file. Second Edition Page 43 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 2 LEGISLATIVE 2.1 S&RA – The Sports and Recreation Alliance As the independent voice of sport and recreation in the UK, the S&RA is the umbrella organisation for the national governing and representative bodies of sport and recreation in the UK. It is unlikely that you will need to contact them direct, but they have a helpful website and exist to support clubs like yours. Contact via the BGA Development Team. http://www.sportandrecreation.org.uk/ 2.2 Health & Safety Executive Advice on health and safety issues. HSE’s job is to prevent people being killed, injured or made ill by work. (‘Work’ being the operative word here) www.hse.gov.uk http://www.hse.gov.uk/contact/maps/index.htm for your local Office Second Edition Page 44 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 2.3 Data Protection – The Information Commissioner’s Office For advice and information about Data Protection. The issues surrounding the Data Protection Act can be discussed by telephoning the (friendly) ‘Data Protection Help Line’ 01625 545745. They have a useful website www.ico.gov.uk BGA Resources:  information sheet www.gliding.co.uk/forms/data-protection.pdf  Generic policy document http://www.gliding.co.uk/bgainfo/clubmanagement/policies.htm 2.4 Trading Standards Protecting the interests of consumers and business: organised by county. Try the local phone directory, local council or local library. 2.5 Volunteer Development Agencies (National Association of Volunteer Bureaux) Supports and develops the voluntary sector by offering advice and information, training and resources. There is a network across the country, so there should be a bureau local to you, although the organisation varies between home countries. England: Wales: Scotland: Northern Ireland: www.volunteering.org.uk www.volunteering-wales.net www.vds.org.uk www.volunteering-ni.org 2.6 Human resources i) The UK Workforce Hub The UK Voluntary Sector Workforce Hub was created to guide the implementation of strategies to develop skills in the voluntary sector across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The role of the Hub is to form effective working relationships between the Sector Skills Councils, the Sector Skills Development Agency and the voluntary sector to promote skills development and good employment practice within areas of work where the voluntary sector has a significant workforce. They have lots of very useful information and information sheets. http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/advice-support/workforce-development ii) ACAS As an employer, you can get free, independent advice on employment matters from ACAS www.acas.org.uk Help line: 08457 47 47 47 iii) S&RA The BGA, as a National Governing Body, has access to further HR support and advice via the Sports and Recreation Alliance. Please contact the BGA Development Officer who can make enquiries on your behalf. Second Edition Page 45 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 3 SPORT There is a defined, but complex sports structure in the UK. In the past the BGA has enjoyed funding from UK Sport. However, in the constantly changing and increasingly pressured environment, in order for future funding from UK Sport to be assured for gliding, links need to be in place at all levels. Starting from the bottom (commonly known as ‘the grass roots’) these are as follows: (i) Community Sports Networks (ii) County Sports Partnerships (CSP) (iii) Regional Sports Boards (iv) Home Country Sports Councils (v) UK Sport Broadly speaking, funding and policies filter (via various routes) from the Department of Culture, Media and Sport to various levels of the sporting structure. A sport’s National Governing Body (in gliding, this is the BGA) can and does have working relationships with the Home Country Sports Councils and UK Sport. However this is strengthened by individual gliding clubs developing good working relationships (including funding relationships) locally, regionally and with Home Country Sports Councils. From a club’s point of view, you can and should build relationships at District and County level with your Community Sports Network and your CSP. Home Country Sports Council funding can only be accessed via your CSP. Contact your local district (or equivalent) council for details of your local Sports Development Officer. You should be able to find your local CSP details on your County Council website. In the Part 5 Case Studies; the Dartmoor, Burn, Borders and Ulster cases demonstrate how important these relationships can be. Both Borders and Ulster led the way in setting up new networking and lobbying groups in their local community sports network as they discovered that their clubs were the largest sports club in the area! This is turn drew down further funding for sports in their area. The picture of Sports Councils funding and support at all levels is undergoing considerable change. If you are planning to explore opportunities for relations with the Sports Council, you need to make sure that you are clear about the arrangements in place at the time your project is underway – it may have changed between the planning and implementation phases of your project! Note, some clubs are now reporting that CASC registered clubs get higher priority for Sports Development Officer time over non-CASC registered clubs. Second Edition Page 46 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 4 EDUCATION AND TRAINING This is the newest area of activity for gliding clubs. The advice you need to take would depend on the group you are planning to work with. A collaborative approach will probably be helpful so that work in the classroom, away from the club, will complement work at the club, and vice versa. Several clubs are working closely with local schools. Nene Valley GC in particular has had good results by running schemes where pupils learn to fly. This in turn has led to the club securing additional funding. Many clubs run trial lesson experiences for local schools. Establishing good communication with key members of staff is key. The list of agencies to choose from should include: ◦ BGA Schools and Colleges Lead (contact details from BGA Office) ◦ Local Council ◦ Leaders of the group (e.g. Scouts, Air Cadets, teachers, lecturers) ◦ Local training agencies A word about insurance requirements for Local Authority work i.e. flying as a specific activity with a local authority group such as a school or youth group. Local Authorities, with reference to the more litigious direction of American influence, now require £5m of public liability insurance to be in place. Gliding, with reference to Europe, is not required to have £5m PLI in a single policy. £5m can be achieved in one of two ways – by aggregate across several policies (aircraft and airfield operators) or by the buying in of additional cover for specific aircraft for specific days. This increased cost should be charged to those who require it and it should be clear that this will be payable even if no flying takes place. The club should discuss this with external groups at the outset. Second Edition Page 47 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 5 ENVIRONMENTAL 5.1 Local Council – Local Environment Action Plans and Local Biodiversity Action Plans There are likely to be Council Officers and the chance to build stronger links with your councils both at District (or equivalent) and County level. Likewise, if your site falls within an Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) or a National Park, make contact with the relevant teams and perhaps look on this as an opportunity rather than a restriction (they need to work in partnership with community organisations). 5.2 DEFRA - the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs Defra works for the essentials of life - food, air, land, water, people, animals and plants. Their remit is the pursuit of sustainable development - weaving together economic, social and environmental concerns. This is also the place to go for issues relating to the land the airfield occupies. 08459 33 55 77 Help line (local call rate) open normal office hours www.defra.gov.uk 5.3 Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) Within DEFRA, the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) is the forum through which the four UK conservation bodies - the Countryside Council for Wales (CCW), Natural England, Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) and, for Northern Ireland, the Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside (CNCC), deliver their statutory responsibilities for the United Kingdom as a whole and internationally. There has been a great deal of re-structuring in recent years, so agencies may have been renamed or replaced. Start with your home country agency (below) and, if telephoning, ask to be put through to your local office. i) Countryside Council for Wales (CCW) Government Agency for sustaining natural beauty and wildlife in Wales. www.ccw.gov.uk 0845 1306 229 ii) Natural England English Nature recently merged with the Countryside Agency and parts of the Rural Development Service to become Natural England. www.naturalengland.org.uk 0845 600 3078 iii) Scottish Natural Heritage (SNH) Full details of this agency’s work and programs can be found on their website www.snh.org.uk iv) Council for Nature Conservation and the Countryside (CNCC) The function of the Council is to advise the DOE (NI) on the exercise of its nature conservation and countryside functions. http://www.cnccni.gov.uk/index/freedom_of_information/council_for_cncc.htm Second Edition Page 48 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 5.4 Environment Agency – Water Systems, Fisheries, Recreation The leading public body for protecting and improving the environment in England and Wales through an emphasis on prevention and education. Keen to work in partnership. www.environment-agency.gov.uk 5.5 British Trust for Conservation Volunteers (BTCV) The UK’s leading charity working with people to bring about positive environmental change. www2.btcv.org.uk 5.6 Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty (AONB) and National Parks If your site is in one, make sure you get to know them and they get to know you. Aside from strong views on noise, you have much to offer them and vice versa. Contact one of the Officers to find out what resources they have that would be helpful to you. 5.7 Council for the Protection of Rural England (CPRE) Promotes the beauty, tranquillity and diversity of rural England by encouraging the sustainable use of land and other natural resources in town and country. 0207 981 2800 www.cpre.org.uk 5.8 Environment Wales There are Development Officers across Wales and plenty of different types of funding of environmental projects including start-up, training and pre-project grants. http://www.environment-wales.org/ 5.9 Farming and Wildlife Advisory Group NB has gone into receivership… At time of writing, the outcome not known, so the reference is left in, just in case FWAG is resurrected. Helps identify opportunities for environmental gain through cost effective, quality solutions. Useful advice available for farmers and landowners. Unfortunately at the time of writing, FWAG was under administration. The administrators are attempting to find a way of saving this charity. Latest details on the website www.fwag.org.uk Local groups seem to be setting up new local arrangements & partnerships. Probably the best thing to do is to contact some local environmental organisations to find out what is happening in your area. Second Edition Page 49 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 6 BUSINESS 6.1 Tourism Provides business advice, countywide themed campaigns e.g. cycling and walking, tourism brown and white signs and tourism facts and figures. Organised by county, find your local tourism officials via the local phone book, local library or County Council. 6.2 Country Land & Business Association Safeguards the interests of private landowners and rural businesses. 0207 235 0511 www.cla.org.uk 6.3 Business Link Offers a range of business advice and information including agricultural advice. There should be one local to you. You should be able to find it via one of the other local organisations, local phone directory, library or internet search engine. 6.4 ProHelp (part of Business in the Community) ProHelp is a national network of over 400 professional firms who give their time and expertise for free to local community groups and voluntary organisations. ProHelp support is delivered through 26 local groups across the country with member firms, both large and small, undertaking one-off projects, contributing to advice surgeries or entering into longer term partnerships within their local community. Collectively, ProHelp is the largest national provider of pro bono support and a leading programme of Business in the Community. Tel: 020 7566 8650 www.prohelp.org.uk Note that it is sometimes better to pay for a service, rather than fall on to a ‘getting round to it when I’ve got time’ list. Second Edition Page 50 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 7 FUNDING 7.1 European Funding The European funding landscape is complex and fast changing. Funds that are available this year may not be next year. However, it is worth keeping an eye on this area – especially the ’Year of…’ themes as there may be something of value to you. One word of caution, EU funding often (but not always) calls for monitoring (submitting figures on completed activity and expenditure) on a quarterly basis, with funds being released in a phased manner following submission of data. For information, advice and support in making an application for EU funds contact:  S&RA 0207 976 3900  The British Council www.britishcouncil.org  Europa – is the official website of the European Union http://europa.eu/policies-activities/funding-grants/index_en.htm 7.2 Local Enterprise Plans (LEPs) and LEP Network LEPs were brought in to replace the Regional Development Agencies and have been included here because there is a possibility that they will have funding for certain gliding club projects with strong economic benefits. Local Enterprise Partnerships are locally-owned partnerships between local authorities and businesses. They play a central role in determining local economic priorities and undertaking activities to drive economic growth and the creation of local jobs. LEPs come in all shapes and sizes and the make-up of boards, in terms of public and private-sector participants, varies greatly too. LEPs are evolving from the bottom up - free from central control and shaped according to local need. www.lepnetwork.org.uk/ www.localinvestuk.com/ 7.3 Directory of Social Change The Directory of Social Change, set up in 1975, aims to be an internationally recognised independent source of information and support to voluntary and community sectors worldwide. They enable the community and voluntary sectors to achieve their aims through being an independent voice, providing training and information. They provide training courses and publications that focus on fundraising, management, organisational and personal development, communication, finance and law. Free guides to training and publications are available on request. www.dsc.org.uk The BGA has a subscription to their funding database. Contact alison@gliding.co.uk for more information. Second Edition Page 51 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 8 AGE RELATED 8.1 Older Contact your local Age Concern. Organised by county; details can be found in the phone book, from the local library or on the internet. 8.2 Youth Contact your County Council’s Youth Officer. Your District Council (or equivalent) will have details of youth officers and other youth schemes in operation locally. Second Edition Page 52 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 9 HERITAGE 9.1 English Heritage Protects historic buildings, landscapes and archaeological sites through grant aid, education and research. Also maintains the National Monuments Record as a public archive. www.english-heritage.org.uk 0870 333 1181 9.2 Cadw Cadw is the Welsh Assembly Government’s historic environment division. Its aim is to promote the conservation and appreciation of Wales’s historic environment. www.cadw.wales.gov.uk/ 9.3 Historic Scotland Historic Scotland safeguards the nation’s historic environment and promotes its understanding and enjoyment. www.historic-scotland.gov.uk/ SUMMARY There is plenty of information, advice and support available to you to aid your club with all stages of your project. Make sure you seek it out and ask for help in good time! In addition, there is an informal email group for people involved with projects at gliding clubs. It is available for you to swap information and ideas. Contact alison@gliding.co.uk for further information. Second Edition Page 53 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE PART 4 FUNDERS 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 56 2 Funders and Their Requirements ............................................................................................. 57 3 Sources of External Funding..................................................................................................... 59 3.1 Philanthropists ................................................................................................................... 59 3.2 Company Giving or Sponsorship ..................................................................................... 59 3.3 UK Grant Giving Trusts ..................................................................................................... 59 4 General......................................................................................................................................... 60 4.1 Grant-Making Trusts .......................................................................................................... 60 4.2 The Big Lottery ................................................................................................................... 60 4.3 Awards for All ..................................................................................................................... 60 4.4 Local Authorities: County and District (or Equivalent) Councils.................................. 61 4.5 Local Enterprise Partnerships (previously Regional Development Agencies and Local Government Offices) ............................................................................................................ 61 4.6 European Funding Programmes ...................................................................................... 61 4.7 Commercial Sponsorship.................................................................................................. 63 4.8 Web-based donation management services ................................................................... 64 5 Specialist Aviation Schemes ..................................................................................................... 65 5.1 Royal Aeronautical Society Centennial Fund Scholarships.......................................... 65 5.2 Royal Aeronautical Socety (RAeS) Scholarships ........................................................... 65 5.3 British Women’s Pilots Association ................................................................................ 65 5.4 Royal Aero Club Trust Bursaries ..................................................................................... 65 5.5 Caroline Trust Awards....................................................................................................... 65 5.6 The Philip Wills Memorial Fund ........................................................................................ 65 5.7 BGA Planning and Environment Fund............................................................................. 66 5.8 Air League Educational Trust (ALET) .............................................................................. 66 6 Sport............................................................................................................................................. 67 6.1 The Hierarchy of Sport in the UK ..................................................................................... 67 6.2 UK Sport.............................................................................................................................. 67 6.3 UK Sports Councils ........................................................................................................... 67 6.4 Sites for Quick Sports Funder Search ............................................................................. 67 6.5 Andy Fanshawe Memorial Trust ....................................................................................... 68 6.6 Torch Trophy Trust ............................................................................................................ 68 6.7 Inclusive Fitness Initiative................................................................................................. 68 Second Edition Page 54 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 6.8 SportsAid ............................................................................................................................ 68 6.9 Cash4Clubs Sports Fund .................................................................................................. 68 7 Education and Training .............................................................................................................. 68 8 Age Related ................................................................................................................................. 69 8.1 The Prince’s Trust.............................................................................................................. 70 8.2 Age UK ................................................................................................................................ 70 9 Environmental ............................................................................................................................. 71 9.1 LIFE: EU Financial Instrument for the Environment ...................................................... 71 9.2 Landfill Tax and Environmental Trusts............................................................................ 71 10 Heritage........................................................................................................................................ 72 10.1 Heritage Lottery Fund ........................................................................................................ 72 11 Donations from individuals ....................................................................................................... 73 11.1 Gifts from individuals ........................................................................................................ 73 11.2 Legacies .............................................................................................................................. 73 Second Edition Page 55 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 1 INTRODUCTION What follows here is not exhaustive. A potentially frustrating aspect of funding is that from time to time funders alter what they will fund and how they make decisions about candidate projects. The funding available through the National Lottery is a case in point; there are a wide variety of programmes. Some are open all the time, but have geographic variations; others are open for only a short time and ‘BIG’ as it is now called, has a life cycle with policy reviews every few years. As a result, there is little point putting much detail relating to the schemes available at the time of writing. Instead, there is simply an overview. At the time of printing, all the web addresses for organisations were correct. However, these may change too, in which case you’ll have to use a search engine. You will need to carry out your own research based on the aims and goals of your individual project as per your project plan. Please note that most funders will not fund a project retrospectively. If you decide to make a start with some aspect of your project, then structure your project into specific phases and make sure that by doing so you are not closing opportunities for funding. Also bear in mind that if you go for a phased project, you need to carefully describe the phases and the project as a whole in funding applications. Some funders may not like it if you include donations and costs from the other areas if they are being asked to fund just one phase. This may mean that you end up trying to ask for 100% funding for one area. This is a challenging argument to put together. By accepting funding from an organisation, you are entering into a partnership with them. There is likely to be some form of contractual arrangement where you accept certain conditions such as publicising the project and agreeing to provide figures on how the money was spent and a measure of the outputs of the project. Section 2 sets out the requirements that funders are looking for and how best to show your wares. Section 3 gives an overview of the types of external funding available whilst section 4 looks at general funders in more detail. Section 5 looks at specialist aviation funding, Section 6 deals with sport; Section 7 education & training; Section 8 age; Section 9 environmental; and Section 10 heritage. You may find the Case Studies in Part 5 interesting reading. They offer a range of experiences relating to all sorts and sizes of projects. They show some really creative ideas relating to the funding of projects. You have a broad set of skills, experiences and ideas waiting amongst your club membership, so perhaps your club can come up with something interesting too. You should also check the BGA website as we are planning to add case studies more regularly there. Second Edition Page 56 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 2 FUNDERS AND THEIR REQUIREMENTS The first point to understand is that you will need to take time to educate those who are dealing with your application to ensure that they fully understand the nature of the business of your club. You should get to know the Grants Officers in that organisation. If appropriate, invite them to visit and give them a flight. Talk through what you are planning for the project and how that fits with their funding criteria. These are the people who will be making a presentation to the decision makers. The way that funding decisions are made is as follows (in most cases). The final decision makers (the Trustees) will be busy volunteers from a variety of backgrounds. Grants Officers receive and sift through applications and prepare reports on each. These will be sent out to the Trustees in advance of the meeting. When the volunteers arrive at the meeting, some of them will begin reading in between catching up on the news, others will have prepared properly. The Grants Officers will then present a summary on each proposed project and decisions will be made. Most people will want the meeting to be over sooner rather than later, although heated debates will inevitably break out at some point during in the meeting. You need to bear the points above in mind when dealing with funders. Always write in English and be succinct. The people reading your application may have lots to read in just one evening and, if a substantial amount of money is involved, they probably need to score your application against set criteria. Please do what you can to make it an enjoyable process for them too. There is nothing worse than having to re-read 1500 words about a project because by the end of it you still didn’t know what they were on about. If it is an application form ¾ of the way through the pile, the temptation (in spite of the best will in the world at the beginning of the evening) is just to give it a low score. I know because I’ve had to do it. Rather like finding the last 2kt climb under a dead looking sky at 7.00pm, it is a joy to discover a well-written application at 11.30pm. In order to access money from funders, it will often be necessary to fill in an application form. This is so that funders can assess how your project fits their funding criteria. There is a tendency to want to find ‘standard paragraphs’ from some expert or another. This is not necessary, as you should look to your own research and project plan for answers. However, it is true that there are certain annoying buzzwords, such as ‘resilience’, ‘community cohesiveness’, ‘overarching’ and ‘rurality’ that may prove useful. These don’t necessarily form part of the English language, but they are useful in terms of making the person reading your funding application feel comfortable about your organisation – a chameleon effect, if you like. However, you can pick these annoyingisms up by finding an appropriate proof reader, ideally someone who knows the inside of the funding organisation who can assist you with a light dusting of such words throughout your applications. It may horrify you to discover that very soon, you too will be able to ‘-ism’ and ‘-ity’ with the best of them! If in doubt, just write in clear English and do bear in mind that the addition of a tasteful quantity of irritating trendyisms will only enhance an application if your project meets enough of the funder’s criteria (i.e. you can’t make a silk purse from a sow’s ear). Do not waste your time applying to funders who have different aims to yours. Some funders have a two stage application process – the first being a one-page summary sheet to establish whether it is worthwhile everyone spending a lot of time, money and effort in taking the project to the full application stage. On paper, yes, do Second Edition Page 57 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE the one page, if possible. HOWEVER, you need to build rapport and understanding with the Grants Officers so that they know all about your project. Often what they need to establish is, on the balance of probability, which projects are likely to come to fruition. Production of something like a well-written project plan will give them confidence that you mean business. Depending on the size of the project, business plans and visits from an assessment panel may also be required as part of the application process. Some funders, such as the BIG Lottery, now use telephone interviews as part of the selection process – although they say this is merely to check project details on the form. The best way to approach any selection process is simply to answer the questions on the form, in the way that they ask you to. Stick to word limits (they won’t read beyond the limit). If competition is high, the assessment panel will have to find ways of excluding potential projects; failing to answer the question is the quickest route to the bin. Funders want to know that their money will be used appropriately and that their money will be well looked after. They want to know what you are doing, when you are going to do it, who will benefit, how much money it will cost, how much money you need and how long the project will take. You know the answers to all these questions because you have done the research. (Remember to include donations-in-kind – especially those of time!) They will want to know that your project fits their criteria. By approaching the funding issue by researching your project first and to avoid unnecessary time wastage, you will only be approaching funders whose criteria fit your proposed project. Again you will be able to readily supply the answers to these questions. Finally, to assess how safe their money will be in your hands, they will look at your management (committee, finances and bank account signatories) and as you already have photocopies of all these documents, this shouldn’t take too much time either. It is worth taking some time to design a generic covering letter that can be altered according to each funder. This should summarise the project in one page of A4 and state the size of project, (What, when, where, who will benefit, how long it will take and how much it will cost); what you are doing to help yourselves; and how and what support you require. A good covering letter that can be adapted for many uses is worth its weight in gold. Never send a letter if they say not to – the whole lot could just go in the bin. Always get someone to proof read your application forms. It is helpful to ask someone who is less involved, yet understands your work to make sure that the essence of your project is clear. Finally, you will need two or three referees. These should be people who know the project well. You could ask the local council Grants Officer or someone appropriate at the BGA such as the Development Officer. They should be provided with a copy of the application form so that they can discuss the project when funders approach them. Second Edition Page 58 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 3 SOURCES OF EXTERNAL FUNDING There are many sources of external funding – they broadly fall into three types. 3.1 Philanthropists Most who wish to give money to worthy causes are likely to have set up a Trust Fund. Discuss likely candidates and how best to approach them. Remember that you have a natural network amongst your club members that may lead to someone helpful. There may also be internal possibilities along these lines. 3.2 Company Giving or Sponsorship Gain information via the Directory of Social Change’s website www.companygiving.org.uk You will need to subscribe to this service. This is a comprehensive database of company support available to voluntary and community organizations. This database contains all those companies in The Guide to UK Company Giving, as well as newly discovered large givers. 585 companies are featured on this site, giving over £850 million a year in cash donations and more in other forms of community support. It is almost certainly easier to access money from companies where you have contacts. Think about where your members work and explore these avenues to see what opportunities are already available to you. 3.3 UK Grant Giving Trusts These are often set up by philanthropists and companies, and are covered in detail in the next section. Second Edition Page 59 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 4 GENERAL 4.1 Grant-Making Trusts Gain information via the Directory of Social Change’s website at www.trustfunding.org.uk The trustfunding site details all trusts included within DSC and CAF publications and is updated regularly throughout the year. It includes information on over 4,500 grantmaking trusts with a total of over £3.9 billion worth of grants to make each a year. You may wish to read that last bit again! These trusts tend to have limited criteria, but many give locally and to such criteria as promotion of healthy activities to the elder generation. With lateral thinking and case building it is possible to create attractive projects. Some trusts are always oversubscribed and some say that their Trustees are ‘proactive’ so don’t take applications from unknown organisations. However, many complain of being under subscribed and that they struggle to give money away. You need to demonstrate that you project fulfils their criteria. Like your gliding club, their trust will have a governing document with aims that will need to be adhered to. Access to this invaluable search tool is via an annual subscription, which is currently £295 + VAT for 1 license. The BGA subscribes to a group licence. Contact Alison Randle (alison@gliding.co.uk) if you wish to gain access. Alternatively, you may take the view that this level of outlay is a good investment for your club. 4.2 The Big Lottery www.biglotteryfund.org.uk There is a (potentially confusing) myriad of funding programmes across the UK that open and close with bemusing irregularity. The Big Lottery was formed in 2004 as an amalgamation of the various (then) separate lottery schemes. The Big Lottery does fund sport, but mainly does so through the Home Country Sports Councils (see separate entries under Section 6). Remember that there are some schemes based on healthy living, inclusion and the environment so think laterally. There also seem to be good youth programmes across all four home countries. Take a look at the website and search from your geographic and project perspective. 4.3 Awards for All www.awardsforall.org.uk/ 08456 002 040 The Big Lottery includes ‘Awards for All’ which funds projects that involve people in their community. Think laterally as this covers arts, sports, heritage and other community activities. In England, between £300 and £10,000 can be claimed in any 12 month period. Second Edition Page 60 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE In Scotland and Northern Ireland between £500 and £10,000 can be claimed in any 12 month period. In Wales from £500 up to £5,000 can be claimed in any 12-month period. See the website for current criteria (some geographical variations), regional help line numbers and application forms. 4.4 Local Authorities: County and District (or Equivalent) Councils There are quite often small grants available to support community and recreational activity. Your local Sports Development Officer or Grants Officer will have details. Via CASC status, it may also be possible to maximise relief available on rates. There may also be relevant EU funding available. Make enquiries locally to see what is available to you. 4.5 Local Enterprise Partnerships (previously Regional Development Agencies and Local Government Offices) RDAs closed in early 2012. Their replacements do not work in a similar way, however they may sometimes offer funding. If funding programmes are available in your area, you should be able to find out about them via your local council Grants Officer or Business link. These may include programmes for supporting economic and social regeneration in specific areas such as Single Regeneration Budgets and Objective One funding. If there is such a programme available in your area, it will offer opportunities that you should make every attempt to maximise. www.lepnetwork.org.uk/ www.localinvestuk.com/ 4.6 European Funding Programmes Sport is the biggest social movement in Europe and the overall objective of the EU is to become ‘Europe of the Citizens’ and to support voluntary commitment and participation. With the Lisbon Treaty, the EU now has a ‘soft competence’ to legislate in the area of sport – i.e. they are now looking to use sport as they deliver for Europe and add value. There is an enhanced societal role for sport and from 2014 onwards there should also be some specific sports budget – although how much ever reaches grass roots sports clubs will remain to be seen. The BGA will be monitoring developments. However, there are hundreds of different funding programmes and initiatives available from the EU. None of them fund sport directly, nor do they fund competitions. However, they do fund activities that support areas such as youth, education, integration, tourism, environment, town twinning, health and the like. The trick here is to think laterally. There are programmes that support youth participation across countries. Others support educational activity. Sport could be included as follows – you should check criteria in the Programme Guides and relevant Calls for Proposals. Calls for funding proposals can happen at short notice. At the time of writing, the following big funds are: Second Edition Page 61 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE i) Youth in Action ◦ Sport as a tool to promote intercultural dialogue among young people ◦ Sport as a means to promote the participation of young people and their involvement in democratic life ◦ Promoting social inclusion of young disadvantaged people through sport ◦ Promoting healthy lifestyles among young people through sport ◦ Sport as a means to fight poverty and social exclusion among young people ◦ Sport as a tool to promote the integration of young people with a migratory background http://www.britishcouncil.org/youthinaction.htm ii) Lifelong Learning with sub-programmes (Comenius, Leonardo da Vinci, Erasmus, Grundtvig, Jean Monnet etc.) ◦ Education and training in and through sports ◦ Informal learning in and through sports ◦ Implementation of the European Qualifications Framework in the sport sector ◦ Education and training of volunteers ◦ Professionalisation of sport organisations The integration of sport into the Lifelong Learning Programme and its subprogrammes (Comenius, Leonardo da Vinci, Erasmus, Grundtvig etc.) should reflect the reference made in Article 165 to the “social and educational function of sport”. www.leonardo.org.uk www.grundtvig.org.uk www.transversal.org.uk The EU Office has published a paper ‘Mainstreaming Sport into EU Funding Programmes’ which you may find useful. www.euoffice.eurolympic.org/cms/getfile.php?186 Points to remember: majority of funds require MATCH Funding; you need European partners – sometimes up to five partner organisations in different member states; you can’t reclaim for administration costs. Advice: if you plan to run a European project or want to increase your area of work then EU funds are certainly a good option – but don’t apply just to get funding as it is unlikely that the work will merit the return! So sport activity can be the uniting activity. Imagine a gliding seminar with the emphasis on international relations for young glider pilots across Europe. Each day there are educational seminars and discussions (including coaching) followed by practical activities (flying). It may be possible to get funding to pay for travel expenses to get the glider pilots to the weeklong seminar. Benefits include youth, international activity, education and possibly integration with new member states. There are plenty of other schemes where a little lateral thinking could mean a really positive and exciting project that gets European funding. Apparently a gliding project to follow migratory birds was in the running to get funding, but the project withdrew at the last moment. Keep an eye out for ‘European Year of…’ as there will be special and additional initiatives to support activities. There is no ‘year of’ for 2014, but 2015 is planned to be the Year of Development Co-operation’. The potential drawback with European Funding is the level of monitoring and evaluation that some programmes demand – sometimes this is so onerous that it costs more in time and energy than the level of funding brings in benefits. Always be sure about what you are getting into! Second Edition Page 62 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Note: a project cannot be funded by two sorts of European funding at once. EU funds have to be co-financed (matched with funding from another stream). This very often has already happened by the time the fund is opened up for applications. Application forms tend to be in depth and long – but support is available to find the right scheme and to assist with the application process. 4.7 Commercial Sponsorship In addition to the ideas below, you may be able to negotiate with local business to find a mutually convenient opportunity. A sponsorship is a contract – a two-way, balanced relationship - where both parties should have their individual needs met. i) UK Sport There is a useful PDF document ‘Get Sponsored’, describing the different types of sponsorship, advising who to approach, how to approach them and recommending what to look for from any sponsorship agreement. It also offers advice relating to the pitfalls and highlights some of the tricks of the trade. The guide is written for individual sportspeople, but the principles it sets out are useful. http://www.uksport.gov.uk/docLib/Information-Zone/Athlete-Zone/GetSponsored.pdf ii) The Sports and Recreation Alliance (SRA) Has a useful web page which covers both funding and sponsorship. http://www.sportandrecreation.org.uk/smart-sport/communication/marketing/incomegeneration iii) Directory of Social Change Company giving the equivalent of Trustfunding – details of 585 companies giving £850m pa. http://www.companygiving.org.uk/Default.aspx iv) The European Sponsorship Association (ESA) This is the voice of the sponsorship industry across Europe. It was formed in 2003 from the Institute of Sports Sponsorship (ISS) and the European Sponsorship Consultants Association (ESCA) and is made up of the leading sponsors, consultants, rights holders, suppliers and professional bodies working within the sponsorship industry. www.europeansponsorship.org v) MySportLinks A free social network for sport sponsorship created by sports enthusiasts. The sports network is designed to make it easy to connect anyone interested in sport sponsorship and to communicate their sport interests http://www.mysportlinks.com/ Second Edition Page 63 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE vi) The UK Sponsorship Database There isn’t much detail about this website, but it does seem to exist to match donors and seekers – it claims to be the ‘premier online database of UK sponsorship opportunities’ and is free to use. http://www.uksponsorship.com/ 4.8 Web-based donation management services www.justgiving.com and www.virginmoneygiving.co.uk both offer a service where they collect money on behalf of a charity or CASC. They will also collect Gift Aid on those donations, where appropriate, which has the benefit of reducing the admin burden on the club. At the time of writing, JustGiving is offering this service free of charge to CASCs (they charge charities!). Other similar service providers may be available – have a good search for the one that works best for your club. Anyone volunteering (e.g. committee meetings, winch driving duty, instructing duty) for a gliding club can legitimately claim travel expenses to the club. At some clubs, individuals have chosen to donate their expense claims back to the club. If the club is CASC registered then the club can claim Gift Aid on those donations. Second Edition Page 64 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 5 SPECIALIST AVIATION SCHEMES The following does change from time to time. Most of the opportunities only apply to junior pilots (under 26). The latest information and additional funding, including scholarships from GAPAN and the BGA’s Aim Higher programme, is available from www.juniorgliding.co.uk and the BGA Office. 5.1 Royal Aeronautical Society Centennial Fund Scholarships The BGA applies for this pot of funding on behalf of the sport and then makes details available via www.juniorgliding.co.uk Details can be obtained from the BGA Office. 5.2 Royal Aeronautical Socety (RAeS) Scholarships Applications will be open to all Juniors aged 14 – 25 (although a preference will be shown towards those aged between 14 and 21 and to those in full time education) so whether you are working towards solo, your silver C, practicing for competitions in aerobatics or cross country, there is potential for you to be successful. 5.3 British Women’s Pilots Association A number of scholarships are available each year to women who wish to learn to fly or improve their skills. Some are open only to women and others are open to both men and women. http://www.bwpa.co.uk/pgecarlc.htm 5.4 Royal Aero Club Trust Bursaries The Royal Aero Club Trust, as part of its Flying for Youth programme, administers a Bursary Scheme for young people. Applicants for these bursaries must hold British Citizenship and be permanently resident in UK and aged 14-21 years. Full details and application forms are available from The Royal Aero Club Trust’s website www.royalaeroclubtrust.org/bursaries.htm 5.5 Caroline Trust Awards The Caroline Trust is a registered charity with the objective of helping deserving young people, especially women and disabled pilots to glide. Founded in 1999, The Caroline Trust awards bursaries to young people, generally under the age of 18 years old, and to disabled people of any age who want to try gliding. www.carolinetrust.org.uk In addition, the Trust can be supported with donations and bequests. 5.6 The Philip Wills Memorial Fund The fund was formed to promote the sport of gliding by making loans to BGA member clubs to purchase land, erect buildings or buy equipment. Loans are made at a low interest rate and repayable over a maximum of ten years. The fund acts as a pool of circulating capital and money becomes available, as loans are repaid or donations Second Edition Page 65 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE are received. Loans may be in excess of £10,000 according to the availability of funds and priority of the scheme. Application forms and details are available from the BGA Office. 5.7 BGA Planning and Environment Fund The fund was formed in 1995 and has been financed by a levy on each full member of the BGA as part of the affiliation fees paid by clubs to the BGA. The purpose of the fund is to assist clubs which are at risk in the context of planning, environmental or similar developments, and which may need financial help to fight legal challenges or to support a complex planning application or appeal. Examples of eligible cases include: o a club is at risk of losing its site and needs assistance with planning permission (or other work to stay on its existing site) o similar work to establish a new site o a club is at risk of loss of amenity on its present site, due to neighbouring developments, and needs to fight a planning case to retain the use of the current site Grants are made to contribute towards the cost of professional advice and support. The likely success or failure of the club’s case is not considered to be a critical factor in the process of deciding on a funding application, unless the case is clearly and objectively completely unsustainable. Further details, including contact information, from the BGA Office. 5.8 Air League Educational Trust (ALET) The Air League Educational Trust annually awards prestigious flying scholarships, flying bursaries, gliding scholarships and engineering scholarships. Through their many high profile members, ALET can offer some of the best aviation and engineering scholarships in the UK. They are looking for individuals that have a flair and passion for aviation and the determination to succeed. Information about specific schemes can be found on the bottom right of their webpage http://www.airleague.co.uk/scholarships/ Second Edition Page 66 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 6 SPORT 6.1 The Hierarchy of Sport in the UK Please refer to the information given in Part 3, Section 3 (Sport) as there is little difference between sources of information and sources of funding. You as a club will need to start with your local Sports Development Officers. Gliding is a sport. Note that even though many of us think of and refer to gliding as ‘a movement’, it is a sport. Making this small change to the way in which we all internally refer to gliding will help others to also view it as a sport. If you are serious about placing your project so that it can take advantage of the funding opportunities on offer, you will encourage everyone involved to make this change too. 6.2 UK Sport Supports talented men and women in sports, primarily Olympic and Paralympic sports, where we compete as the United Kingdom. The BGA currently receives no funding from UK Sport to support our British Team. If funding is reinstated in future, it will probably rely in part on clubs having built working relationships with their local County Sports Partnership (CSP) or equivalent in the other countries, which feed up to home country level and on up to national level, in which case, the more immediate gains will be felt by the clubs! www.uksport.gov.uk 6.3 UK Sports Councils There are four home country sports councils, each the agency for sport and recreation:  Sport England www.sportengland.org  Sport Scotland www.sportscotland.org.uk  Sports Council for Northern Ireland www.sportscouncil-ni.org.uk  Sports Council for Wales www.sports-council-wales.org.uk [Note that the whole UK Sport / Home Country sports council structure is due to be re-arranged, but local networking will always be important, regardless of what is going on at the national level.] Each of the sports councils runs a range of funding programmes and initiatives – the most important to make use of on a regular basis are the small grants programmes. You can search the relevant website to find current programmes, but to access them effectively, you may have to work with your local Sports Development Officer and decisions on funding applications are decided regionally. It is a multiphase process which has variations. The best advice that can be given here is to make contact with your local CSP Sports Development Officer. 6.4 Sites for Quick Sports Funder Search These are sites that can be used to quickly search for suitable funders for your project: Second Edition Page 67 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE i) Sport England www.sportengland.org/index/get_funding/sources_of_funding.htm This web link takes you to a page at Sport England which has links to the major funders of sport in the UK. All are repeated elsewhere in this document, but it is a good one-stop page from which to do a major chunk of your research in your quest for suitable funders. ii) j4bGRANTS www.j4bgrants.co.uk/Default.aspx A free database. 6.5 Andy Fanshawe Memorial Trust The trust gives grants so that disadvantaged young people can experience ‘the great outdoors’. This could be helpful to run a specific gliding course. http://www.andyfanshawe.org/ 6.6 Torch Trophy Trust £100 - £1,000 bursaries to support volunteers improve their skills as coaches. This programme is not always open, so check website for details of the next round. http://www.torchtrophytrust.org/torch_trophy_trust_bursaries_OPEN.php 6.7 Inclusive Fitness Initiative Promotes and supports opportunities for people with disabilities to take part in physical activities. www.inclusivefitness.org 6.8 SportsAid A national charity which encourages young and disabled talent in sport and provides direct financial support to sports men and women between 12 and 18 years old, who are competing at national and international levels. Nominations need to be made by the sport NGB i.e. the BGA. www.sportsaid.org.uk 020 7273 1975 6.9 Cash4Clubs Sports Fund Cash 4 Clubs is a sports fund aiming to support grassroots sports clubs all over the country. www.cash-4-clubs.com/apply-for-a-grant/ 7 EDUCATION AND TRAINING There are numerous schemes, many of which are subject to wide local variation, so none are listed here. You should find pots of funding through local councils, local educational authorities, local youth organisations and so on. Second Edition Page 68 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 8 AGE-RELATED A number of age-related sources of aid have already been described in Section 0, Second Edition Page 69 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Specialist Aviation Schemes. In this section, we describe more general age-related schemes. 8.1 The Prince’s Trust Occasionally funds become available to support young people to become more employable. Such projects require careful planning and strong leadership. www.princes-trust.org.uk 8.2 Age UK In addition to their more traditional line of work such as hospital after care, information and advice and running day centres, Age UK are interested in supporting activities that keep older people fit, active and engaged in their communities. The organisation is organised locally and different County Committees will have differing views and amounts available. However, it is worth enquiring to see if your project interests them. (As an aside, they all have magazines that need features and gliding could be of interest there.) Age UK is a national organisation, but to find the relevant local branch, make a start with the national website www.age.uk Second Edition Page 70 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 9 ENVIRONMENTAL Many of the agencies listed in the Environmental Section of Part 3 Section 5 offer funding and there seems little point is repeating it all here. If you have a project in this area, it is highly likely that you will be seeking information and support before seeking funding, so ask about funding that they have to offer at the same time. The chances are that as you explain your project to an officer, they will automatically say: ‘That would sit very neatly in the such and such programme’ 9.1 LIFE: EU Financial Instrument for the Environment The LIFE programme will contribute to sustainable development and to the achievement of the objectives and targets of the Europe 2020 Strategy, the 7th Union Environmental Action Programme and other relevant EU environment and climate strategies and plans. The ‘Environment’ strand of the new programme covers three priority areas: environment and resource efficiency; nature and biodiversity; and environmental governance and information. The ‘Climate Action’ strand covers climate change mitigation; climate change adaptation; and climate governance and information. The budget for the next funding period (2014-2020) of the LIFE Programme is set at €3.4 billion in current prices. Further information about the programme, the status and results of ongoing and concluded projects, how to apply for LIFE funding and copies of application documentation etc., is available via the European Commission's website at http://ec.europa.eu/environment/life/ 9.2 Landfill Tax and Environmental Trusts These Trusts provide grants from funds generated by the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme for the benefit of the local area, its people and its environment. Find your local scheme and see if your club is eligible to benefit. The qualifying criterion is generally vicinity to the landfill site concerned. By law, the refuse companies have to give this money away! The first stage in the process is to register both your organisation and your project with Entrust – you should do this as early as possible because it takes time to do so. http://www.entrust.org.uk/ Second Edition Page 71 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 10 HERITAGE As with the Environment section, see also the Heritage section of Part 3 of this guide. 10.1 Heritage Lottery Fund Depending on your site and project, this may be a possibility. The Heritage Lottery Fund (HLF) enables communities to celebrate, look after and learn more about our diverse heritage. From museums and historic buildings to parks and nature reserves to celebrating traditions, customs and history, since 1994 the HLF has awarded over £6 billion to projects that open up our nation’s heritage for everyone to enjoy. www.hlf.org.uk Second Edition Page 72 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 11 DONATIONS FROM INDIVIDUALS There are two ways that individuals can donate – now; and in the future by leaving a bequest in their will. For both, the same principles apply – you should make people aware that making a donation to the club is a possibility and, where possible, talk to them to explain what you as a club are aiming to achieve. In fact, if you wish to use this way of fundraising in any significant manner, it is imperative to build a relationship with potential donors. Such relationships should be based on good quality information and regular communication. Giving can be tax effective – use Gift Aid where possible (if your club is a CASC). Individuals will discuss their tax planning and any related legal situation with their tax and legal advisors. As a club you should not be offering such advice. There are other reasons why the club should ensure that they give club members and members of the club’s network the opportunity to support the club financially – not least because it increases the value of the club to the members, increases the sense of pride and ownership and ultimately increases a project’s sustainability. 11.1 Gifts from Individuals So, how do you know who is in a position to donate? You probably don’t. It is a mistake to make assumptions about people’s ability to make donations. Remember that in gliding, we rarely know much about people’s lives away from the club. You should: ◦ arrange an information event (preferably with food and something social too to allow for informal discussion to happen quite naturally) ◦ Explain the situation and the opportunities (including Gift Aid) ◦ Explain that there is an opportunity for members and/or guests to support the project and the Chairman will be happy to answer any questions or otherwise to discuss the matter in confidence (some donors do not wish to make it widely known) ◦ Provide cards for people to use to express their interest and give permission for the club to contact them after the meeting ◦ Thank donors appropriately – certainly privately and only mentioning names publicly if this will be appreciated. It is always possible to thank all the donors publicly without naming them. 11.2 Legacies There are a couple of important points here. Firstly, the club should be open about the fact that making some provision in a will is a possibility and, secondly, if people are going to do so, given that generally there is a period of time between writing a will and dying, the money should not be specifically for one particular item or project. What was a live project at the time of writing may be irrelevant by the time the executors distribute the estate, which will leave the club with an awkward ring fence around the money, and possibly unable to use it. This will not be what the donor intended! The donor sets down their wishes in their will either: ◦ At time of writing ◦ Later, by adding a codicil And there it sits until (at some point) their estate is distributed according to their wishes by their executors. Second Edition Page 73 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Quite simply, the potential donor has to make their own decision about what bequests they would like to make. Quite logically, they can’t make a bequest to the gliding club unless they know that it is a possibility. Do: ◦ ◦ ◦ ◦ Make the possibility of making a bequest a ‘normal’ part of club life Encourage any bequests to be open e.g. for the general benefit of [name of] gliding club. Look at the wording used by major charities (for both excellent and terrible examples!) to encourage people to consider making a bequest Publicise any legacies in a fitting manner Don’t: ◦ Supply legal advice on will writing ◦ Forget your manners or lose respect for your potential donors ◦ Make any assumptions about future income from legacies: people might not tell you; or they might change their minds; or they might not have enough in their estate after meeting higher priority commitments (e.g. their family’s needs) SUMMARY There is a whole range of funding available to the well-researched, planned and properly placed project. This is where a strong support network will pay dividends. It will help you to add depth to your project and to open up additional avenues of funding in order to make things happen. In addition to project funding, the club should consider building a long term fundraising strategy that can bring in income from a range of sources. Second Edition Page 74 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE PART 5 CASE STUDIES 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 76 2 Scottish Gliding Union – Hangar, £170k .................................................................................. 76 3 Cairngorm Gliding Club – Purchase of Tug, £40k................................................................... 77 4 Borders Gliding Club – Construction of 22 Glider Hangar of Novel Design, £206k ............ 78 5 Burn Gliding Club – Flying Start Scholarship Youth Project, £5000 ..................................... 80 6 Dartmoor Gliding Society – Purchase of New Parachutes, £1000......................................... 81 7 Ulster Gliding Club – A new two-seat training glider fitted with hand controls to provide access for people with physical disabilities, £102k......................................................................... 82 8 South Wales Gliding Club – a) Purchase of additional Land, £35k; B) Purchase of Grob 103, £34k............................................................................................................................................... 84 9 Southdown Gliding Club – Site purchase ................................................................................ 86 10 Norfolk Gliding Club – Aiming High.......................................................................................... 87 11 Summary...................................................................................................................................... 88 Second Edition Page 75 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 1 INTRODUCTION There are a great number of really good projects that British gliding clubs have already completed. We are grateful for the contribution from those member clubs who have shared their experiences. If you have project experiences that you feel would be helpful to share, please do pass them onto the Development Team. You can check the BGA website to see if there are more recent project examples. 2 SCOTTISH GLIDING UNION – HANGAR, £170K Date project initiated: Size of project: 2002 £170,000 Completed: Project duration: 2004 2 years How did the club management establish that the project was needed? Looking at the needs for repair of old hangar and much improved fleet access giving better utilisation What sort of planning went into the project? Architectural, engineering, financial How the project costs were established? Estimates from potential contractors How your club members were involved? Work parties What sources did the club use to fund the project? Own: Hangarage sold for 10 years in advance What partnerships or working relationships were established with other organisations? None Are there any lessons that you would pass on to other gliding clubs? Design is free to copy. Advice available to serious copiers Did your club encounter any problems? No extraordinary ones Second Edition Page 76 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 3 CAIRNGORM GLIDING CLUB – PURCHASE OF TUG, £40K Date project initiated: Size of project: Feb 2002 £40,000 Completed: Project duration: Feb 2007 5 years How did the club management establish that the project was needed? We had borrowed a tug over several winters but had to return it in the summer. As a winch only site, we soon realised the benefits of having a tug all year. What sort of planning went into the project? We needed to be able to act quickly, so initially a syndicate was formed to purchase a tug using club funds and loans from members. Members received competitive interest on the money put in. A suitable tug was purchased from Germany. The syndicate then sold the tug to the Club. How the project costs were established? We decided that a fair market value for the tug was £40,000. We knew that our local enterprise company would match money put up by the club. We applied for a 50% loan from Foundation for Sport and the Arts. How your club members were involved? By initially supporting the project with personal loans. We have also been able to increase the number of club members willing to act as tug pilots What sources did the club use to fund the project? ○ Local Enterprise Company 25% ○ Foundation for Sports and the Arts £20,000 interest free for 5 years ○ Club funds and donations 25% What partnerships or working relationships were established with other organisations? We pay £1,000 quarterly to Foundation for Sports and the Arts. Loan paid back in Feb 2007. The tug has made a good profit over the years, and re-paying the loan has presented no problems Are there any lessons that you would pass on to other gliding clubs? Our club members’ willingness to lend money to a syndicate to get the project started meant we could act quickly when a suitable tug came on the market. We then had time to apply for grants and loans before the club formally purchased it. Did your club encounter any problems? No Is there anything else you feel would be useful for other clubs to know about? No. Second Edition Page 77 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 4 BORDERS GLIDING CLUB – CONSTRUCTION OF 22 GLIDER HANGAR OF NOVEL DESIGN, £206K Date project initiated: Size of project: Mar 2000 £206,000 Completed: Project duration: Jul 2003 over 3 years How did the club management establish that the project was needed? The objectives were to provide hangar space for every glider then on site (club & private), for each glider to be individually moved in/out easily and quickly by one person with zero risk of hangar-rash, and for this to be done at low cost for the club and the hangar renters. With these demanding objectives it was self-evident that this would be of great benefit to the pilots and to the club. The objectives were met, the final cost from club funds was £6,000 and annual rental was £100 per glider. What sort of planning went into the project? A world survey of available designs was followed by a decision to make a new design from scratch. All potential sources of funding, national & local, large and small, were researched. How the project costs were established? The design objectives were achieved via internal tracks & trolleys fabricated by teams of members. This allowed the major building cost to be minimised by taking a standard prefabricated steel structure of the type used for farm-buildings or on industrial estates, but trimmed down to minimal height and size. With an eye on the standards demanded by funders, quality was not sacrificed (e.g. long-term structural guarantees, painted concrete flooring, etc.). Competitive bids were obtained from companies offering a full construction service. As a benefit-in-kind, a local firm of construction consultants were persuaded to oversee construction and cost-control. How your club members were involved? A full consultation process involving open meetings was used to set objectives and explore design ideas. The project then switched to execution mode with the project manager doing everything whilst reporting progress to the members and getting authorisation from the club’s council at major decision points. Some members with special skills contributed, e.g. a civil engineer advised on construction and contract matters, welders built the tracks/trolleys. What sources did the club use to fund the project? Sport England, Borough & County Councils, Foundation for Sports & the Arts, Awards for All, benefits-in-kind donated by several local companies, and pre-payment of longterm rentals from a minority of users What partnerships or working relationships were established with other organisations? Some of the grant donors required us to set up partnerships with other local sports clubs, initiate extra activities for juniors, females, and those with disabilities. Although we had always done this, we expanded these activities. These proved to be very productive and together with the publicity created by the hangar project itself we had Second Edition Page 78 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE a surge in membership such that we had to set a cap on new member applications. The club came second in the prestigious national Sports Club of the Year Award 2003. Are there any lessons that you would pass on to other gliding clubs? Yes, there are many mistakes and dead-ends and I tried lots of them. Did your club encounter any problems? Yes. The first application for a grant from the major funder, Sport England, was rejected. I lodged an appeal and won it but had to re-start a new application. The second application was also rejected but was given leave for a further re-application. The final application was accepted. Before construction, test holes were dug and revealed adverse ground conditions requiring redesigned foundations. A further grant increase was awarded for the 20% cost increase. After construction of the hangar but before payment of the final tranche of grant, Sport England had a financial crisis. They claimed force-majeure and cancelled all final grant payments leaving us with a £22,000 shortfall. Early this year there was news that Sport England had made a financial recovery so I took this up again and got the final payment reinstated. Second Edition Page 79 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 5 BURN GLIDING CLUB – FLYING START SCHOLARSHIP YOUTH PROJECT, £5000 Date project initiated: Jan 2006 Size of project: £5000 Completed: Project duration: Dec 2006 1 year Project Description To provide free flying training for up to 7 young people per year (aged 15-18) to learn to fly gliders OR receive advanced flying training. How did the club management establish that the project was needed? By taking the local council’s lead. They have been offering grants to local voluntary organizations to encourage increased participation by youth members to develop and occupy young people in their spare time, to take responsibility for their own actions and to develop into sensible, law-abiding adults. The sport of gliding will benefit from new members who may well go on to become military and airline pilots of the future. (The club has trained 20 such individuals in the previous 20 years) What sort of planning went into the project? Not known. How the project costs were established? A figure of £700 per person was given to cover Junior Club membership and fixed price to solo training How your club members were involved? Not known. What sources did the club use to fund the project? Mon£y 4U funding from local District Council What partnerships or working relationships were established with other organisations? Youth Officer at Local District Council. Are there any lessons that you would pass on to other gliding clubs? It is worth investigating what is on offer locally. Did your club encounter any problems? No. Second Edition Page 80 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 6 DARTMOOR GLIDING SOCIETY – PURCHASE OF NEW PARACHUTES, £1000 Date project initiated: Size of project: 2004 £1,000 Completed: Project duration: 2004 4 months How did the club management establish that the project was needed? New parachutes were required for Club aircraft. What sort of planning went into the project? Research for good deals. How the project costs were established? Best deal/ price found. How your club members were involved? One member found deal and made purchase. Another club member handled coordinating with local authority and grant application What sources did the club use to fund the project? ○ Own funds 50% ○ Local District council grant 50% What partnerships or working relationships were established with other organisations? Worked with local Sports Development Officer at West Devon Borough Council. Wrote Sports Development Plan. Got the Gliding Club registered on WDBC’s Sports Development Plan. Gained CASC status. CASC registered clubs have higher priority than non-CASC registered clubs for Sports Development Officer time. Are there any lessons that you would pass on to other gliding clubs? Working with local Sports Development Officer is worthwhile. Did your club encounter any problems? No. Is there anything else you feel would be useful for other clubs to know about? No. Second Edition Page 81 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 7 ULSTER GLIDING CLUB – A NEW TWO-SEAT TRAINING GLIDER FITTED WITH HAND CONTROLS TO PROVIDE ACCESS FOR PEOPLE WITH PHYSICAL DISABILITIES, £102K Date project initiated: Size of project: (capital costs only) 2003 £102,000 Completed: Feb 2007 Project duration: 10 years (Lottery Fund has no call on assets after 10 years) How did the club management establish that the project was needed? The club arranged a one-week event for people with disabilities during the summer of 2003. This was enabled by the registered charity, Walking-on-Air, bringing their specially modified ASK21 and experienced instructors to Bellarena. The event was advertised by organisations that provide support to people with disabilities. All slots were sold out very quickly indicating a high level of demand. The event was repeated in 2005. The club has continued to provide regular opportunities for people with disabilities although hand controls will not be available until delivery of the new glider. The club is grateful for the assistance provided by Walking-on-Air. What sort of planning went into the project? Advertising the trial event was planned in conjunction with organisations promoting sport for the disabled. Building modifications were undertaken by voluntary labour to provide access for wheelchairs and a wheelchair accessible WC was built. Members visited the home base of Walking-on-Air to observe operations. How the project costs were established? The club sought support for the capital costs only. The existing revenue streams were considered adequate to support running costs. Costs for the new glider, the hand control modifications, instruments and trailer are available from the suppliers. A hoist for lifting people with disabilities was as recommended by a specialist. The cost of a new launch-point control hut accessible to wheelchair users was agreed with a local manufacturer of commercial trailers. The costs of training instructors and the membership generally were agreed with the providers. The cost of minor building works to improve access for wheelchair users was limited to materials only as the work was undertaken by the membership. How your club members were involved? ○ Assisting with operations during the Walking-on-Air visit. ○ Preparation of a sports development plan and a bid for funding. ○ Providing voluntary labour in making the building accessible. ○ Providing voluntary labour in building a wheelchair-accessible WC facility. What sources did the club use to fund the project? ○ Own reserves: ○ Sports Council for Northern Ireland Lottery Fund: ○ Local Foundation: 15% approx. 83.5% approx. 1.5% Second Edition Page 82 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE What partnerships or working relationships were established with other organisations? A close working relationship was developed with Disability Sport Northern Ireland, an organisation that promotes sport for people with disabilities. DSNI advertised the trial event in their newsletter ensuring good exposure to the target audience. DSNI provided very valuable support to our bid for funding. Additional links have been developed with a range of organisations that provide care services to people with disabilities. In some cases these organisations are willing to pay the flying fees of the participants. Are there any lessons that you would pass on to other gliding clubs? A proven track record of welcoming people with disabilities will carry a lot of weight in any application for funding to assist with purchase of accessible equipment. Building good working relationships with organisations that provide services to people with disabilities will ensure a high level of support from them when bidding for funds. Did your club encounter any problems? No. Is there anything else you feel would be useful for other clubs to know about? Develop and maintain links with your local or regional sports council, they have the funds. Involve the sports development officer and/or outdoor recreation officer of your local council. They can provide good support for bids for funding and in some cases they will have money to distribute. Maintain a high profile for gliding and your club in particular within the family of sports at local and regional level. Second Edition Page 83 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 8 SOUTH WALES GLIDING CLUB – A) PURCHASE OF ADDITIONAL LAND, £35K; B) PURCHASE OF GROB 103, £34K A) Purchase of Additional Land Date project initiated: Jan 2005 Size of project: £35,000 Completed: Project duration: Jul 2005 6 months How did the club management establish that the project was needed? Landowner put land up for sale; a never-to-be-repeated opportunity. What sort of planning went into the project? Approached bank – business plan etc. Applied to Philip Wills Fund. Held EGM to establish members’ wishes. How the project costs were established? We had the option of buying a large field, but members felt that the cost was too great (£150,000). Negotiations took place and finally we agreed on £35,000 for 3½ acres with the vendor. How your club members were involved? Members were consulted; a mandate from them was necessary What sources did the club use to fund the project? Philip Wills Fund (£10,000) and club savings. B) Purchase of Grob 103 Date project initiated: Dec 2005 Size of project: £34,000 Completed: Project duration: Feb 2006 3 months How did the club management establish that the project was needed? We decided that a glass two seater would further members’ needs. What sort of planning went into the project? We held an EGM to establish members’ wishes. How your club members were involved? We knew that we would have to raise fees significantly so a mandate from the members was necessary. What sources did the club use to fund the project? Loans from Members. We could have borrowed from the bank, but it would have been more expensive. Second Edition Page 84 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE What partnerships or working relationships were established with other organisations? None. Are there any lessons that you would pass on to other gliding clubs? When spending large (relative to our club) amounts of money, keep the members informed at every stage so that they ‘own’ the project. Second Edition Page 85 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 9 SOUTHDOWN GLIDING CLUB – SITE PURCHASE Date project initiated: Size of project: 2006 £BIG Completed: Feb 2008 Project duration: 2 years How did the club management establish that the project was needed? Rent was rising rapidly. Southdown is a good, well established site. The club needed security of tenure What sort of planning went into the project? In 2006 work began to streamline the club’s finances so that they would be well placed to take advantage of an opportunity to purchase if it came up. Without this work to ensure that the club could create an operational surplus, the entire project would not have been possible. A 10 year business plan was created which also covered the first few years of running the club after site purchase. Put a team together – clear responsibilities & good communications. Time commitment (3 evenings a week) Appointed a solicitor & chartered surveyor early – they were very helpful in early stages of negotiations. A lot of work went into local networks and gaining local support for the project How the project costs were established? Partly the price of land and partly by negotiation / bid process. How your club members were involved? Kept them informed. Involved them in publicity. Requested financial support – aimed for £200k, got over £300k; comprised of donations, interest free loans, life memberships and Gift Aid of 11% (£34k) What sources did the club use to fund the project? Capital 47% From club members 41% Philip Wills MF & BGA loans 12% (repayments = less than rent, so were paid back swiftly) What partnerships or working relationships were established with other organisations? Not applicable – but local networking was very important. Are there any lessons that you would pass on to other gliding clubs? Communication is very important. Keep it simple. Grant applications are different every time and can be difficult to get in a short time frame (we had only a few months to secure funding once the airfield was put on the market). Second Edition Page 86 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE 10 NORFOLK GLIDING CLUB – AIMING HIGH Date project initiated: Size of project: 15/11/2011 £21638 Completed: 15/11/2012 Duration of project: 1 Year How did the club management establish that the project was needed? We are always looking for ways to improve the club. Once it was known that Sport England money was available it was a matter of discussing what projects would fulfill the criteria and also benefit the club. What sort of planning went into the project? The project lead attended several committee meetings to establish the wants and needs of the club. From this, several draft development plans were produced and discussed. Members were also polled to gain their views on the desired outcomes. How the project costs were established? Some costs were simple as they were purchases of equipment. Others were less obvious and required some lateral thinking please see costing table at the foot of our development plan. How your club members were involved? Many club members helped with the discussions over the content of the application but ultimately one small group put the application in. The execution of the plan requires help from many club members and here a sound development plan is essential defining responsibilities clearly. What sources did the club use to fund the project? Sport England; self-help (payment in kind per hour) What partnerships or working relationships were established with other organisations? The bid has led to closer working relationships with local council and local sports authorities which will pay dividends for future applications, as they now know who we are. Are there any lessons that you would pass on to other gliding clubs? This bid took a long time to complete. One of the problems was that we didn’t really have our house in order with regards to a clear business plan and a short/medium/long term development plan. Some essential documents were not easily to hand and others were out of date. We as a committee and a sub group are working hard to correct this and are developing a comprehensive business development plan. This should make other bids a lot simpler and quicker. Did your club encounter any problems? As above Is there anything else you feel would be useful for other clubs to know about? Second Edition Page 87 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Networking in the community and with local Sports Partnerships in particular cannot be underestimated. Gliding is not a mainstream sport and generally has to be sold to people and the ‘Sporting’ element of it explained in detail. SUMMARY You will have noticed the range of projects in both size and type. There is also a good range of strategies employed by clubs to solve problems. Note also the level of communication these clubs had with their membership and the willingness of club members to pitch in with both time and money. I hope these have given you some inspiration to indulge in some creative problem solving as part of your project planning. Most of these clubs are happy to be contacted, should you like to discuss their projects in more detail with them. Please email me at alison@gliding.co.uk in the first instance and I will pass the details on. Second Edition Page 88 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE APPENDIX 1 – SKELETON BUSINESS PLAN This skeleton has been taken from a commercial setting because, for the purposes of writing a business plan, you need to portray your gliding club as a business with clients, products, competitors and a tough environment to work in. Consequently, some terms and headings are designed to get you thinking about your club from the commercial perspective. Balanced with this is the requirement to keep at the forefront the basic fact that your club is a sports club run by volunteers. You will not need to use all the suggested headings and topics: this is a skeleton designed to provoke thought and discussion. If this seems too commercial for your club’s requirements, then de-commercialise the following list and write your plan so that it works for your club. Business plans need to have a degree of elegance; keep it relevant, be succinct and create something that neatly does the job you require of it. Second Edition Page 89 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Confidential  your logo Oxdown Gliding Club BUSINESS PLAN Prepared October 2014 Second Edition Prepared by / Contact: Name Title Address 1 Address 2 Address 3 Telephone Page 90 Email PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Executive Summary (new page) ○ Paragraphed statement for instant idea, potential and vision of the club ○ Purpose of business, current stage of business, legal status of business, key personnel ○ Overview of sport, participants and needs; product benefits and target markets; competition and strengths ○ Venture capital required – including marketing, buildings and operations; how much, when and how paid back. How long to break even, what capital invested to date ○ Important and distinct functions of business Table of Contents (new page) The Concept (New page) ○ Unique Selling Point(s) – everything that makes your club unique ○ Innovative aspects ○ Category of business – and service offered. Indicate competition (include other sports, recreations and leisure activities) ○ Intended customers. Profile the target market. ○ Customer benefits – what problems are being solved by the concept? ○ How will it be marketed? ○ Future developments planned Product Plan ○ Detail products available to include membership, flying, hangar fees, trailer parking, caravan parking etc Resource Plan ○ Reiterate type of service/products offered ○ Breakdown inventory of people – what, where, how much they cost to the club to maintain (pay, tax, NI, volunteer expenses etc) and how many ○ Where will resources be obtained? ○ Terms of purchase, employment, volunteer management etc ○ Where will customer make purchase? Online, over phone, in person? Second Edition Page 91 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Management Team ○ Demonstrate that when they have made the investment it will be well looked after ○ Overview of CVs of those senior people involved ○ Show role (or job, if paid) descriptions and objectives of positions (structural chart if necessary) – show weaknesses or gaps Competition ○ List direct competitors by product and geographical market – include other clubs, recreations and sports ○ Describe their strengths and weaknesses ○ Share of market ○ Discuss relevant background info concerning competitors ○ How is venture or idea superior to that of competitor? ○ If competitors threaten to destroy your market position, how will you respond? (Unlikely, but do you need to consider this?) ○ How do you work with your competitors? Collaboration and partnership working is increasingly important, as is the recognition that each club offers something unique Pricing ○ Design price sheet ○ Price policy in meeting competitors (other GCs and other sports) ○ Describe prices as they relate to costs and price the market able to pay Marketing ○ Describe sport’s current market – how will you fit into it? ○ Include the club’s current members! ○ Describe benefits of product/service ○ What are customers’ needs? Do they know they need it? ○ Describe the target market and potential volume of target market? ○ Prioritise market ○ Advertising strategy to be used – effectiveness for reaching potential users, compare to competitors. Remember to factor in costs of developing advertising materials as well as the actual advertising. ○ Market research carried out? Second Edition Page 92 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE ○ Marketing experience – or who will you get to help? ○ What other companies or organisations can promote you? (Reciprocal arrangements?) Long term relationships, already fostered will be developed ○ Future markets and staying in touch with developments Operating and Control Systems ○ What is process for receiving and processing orders and payments ○ Explain administration policies ○ Make a graphic of process ○ What documentation is required for transactions ○ What role will IT play? Contingency Plans ○ What are the threats? What would be the effect? ○ Problems with forecast figures becoming a reality? ○ Problems with personnel The Financial Deal ○ What capital is required now and for next 3 years? ○ What funds to come from outside sources? ○ Any liabilities will/do exist? ○ Any tax benefits? ○ What government loans, guarantees and grants can you call on? ○ Do you have a funding strategy? Second Edition Page 93 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Financial Information (New page for each of following) 1. Opening balance sheet: (Money you have) assets (Money organisation needs) liabilities 2. Operating statement: Projected sales and expenses. Estimate of profitability in first 12 months. Should be realistic and credible 3. Cash-flow statement: Shows cash your organisation expects and when (what months) Shows expenses and when (what month) An illustration of the operating statement Appendices (New page for each) 1. Governing document (Articles of Association, or equivalent) 2. Club Policies 3. Full CVs of current committee, role descriptions for each key role 4. Historic accounts 5. Any marketing info and testimonials, including press cuttings 6. Letters of support 7. Any brochures 8. Any record of successful projects in the last 5 years Second Edition Page 94 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE (New page) [Name of club] Summary of amount required, for how long and for what Budget for the year ending…… EXPENDITURE Revenue items . . Total revenue costs £££ £££ ££££ Capital items . . Total capital costs Total Expenditure £££ £££ £££ £££££ £££££ INCOME Income items . . Total Income £££ £££ £££ £££££ Second Edition Page 95 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE APPENDIX 2 – SKELETON PROJECT PLAN Some parts of this document will be similar to the skeleton business plan, described in Appendix II above (e.g. title page, Executive Summary). Detailed information relating to these sections is not repeated here. Title Page Index Executive Summary The Project (New page for each) ○ Background and introduction ○ What is proposed? ○ Why is it needed? Clearly state the need for the project (including evidence) ○ Explain how and when the solution will be delivered ○ Who will benefit and how? ○ Show who is going to be doing what and explain any other practicalities and logistics involved with making the project a reality ○ Supply costings and budgets ○ Show how the project will be monitored and evaluated Appendices (New page for each) You may come up with others related to your project. You may decide that some of these listed below are not relevant to your project. ○ A copy of your business plan (as appropriate) ○ A copy of your sports development plan (as appropriate) ○ SWOT analysis ○ Club governing document (e.g. Articles of Association) ○ Details of lease, licence or ownership of land ○ Annual report ○ Cash flow, budget forecasts and other financial information as required ○ Club policies ○ Letters of support ○ Testimonials ○ Specifications of equipment required ○ Price lists and other information to show decision making process for costings ○ Press cuttings Second Edition Page 96 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE ○ Publicity information ○ Details of projects in the last 5 years ○ Any related background articles and information that demonstrate the need for and benefits of the project ○ Reference to club’s website ○ Background information about your club operations ○ Background information about products and services that your club offers ○ Background information relating to the BGA and the sport of gliding ○ Background information about how gliders function Second Edition Page 97 PROJECT DEVELOPMENT PLAN This is a useful summary table ‘borrowed’ from Sport England. The BGA Development Officer is available to provide support and guidance to you on how to use this to greatest effect, and discussing it with them (or any of the other people you have identified to support your club’s project) will help to highlight any weaker areas of the project. Sporting Objectives - Who is the audience for your project - What opportunity/gap are you addressing - What outcome do you want to achieve How you will achieve this objective. For example - The activities you are planning to offer - Where they will take place - How potential participants will find out - Why these specific activities will achieve your stated outcome How will you measure success (quantitative, i.e. numbers and frequencies) and gather feedback from participants to help continuously improve delivery (qualitative) Objective 1 What resources you require to deliver this objective. For example - Financial - Workforce - Facility - Partners What are the implications and risks associated with accessing these resources What are the timelines and key milestones for delivery Objective 2 Objective 3 (if there is one – and so on) APPENDIX 3 – SPORTS DEVELOPMENT PLAN A sports development plan should, in essence, answer these questions: ○ Where are we now? ○ Where do we want to be? ○ How are we going to get there? You will need a small group of people to drive the sports development plan forward. The planning group will help to ensure that your sports development process is logical and that the final plan is specific, challenging, appropriate and realistic (SCAR) and most importantly, achievable. Your planning group could include people from outside your organisation but everyone involved needs to have time, interest, and vision. However, you could start with something simple; use the table format to capture thoughts and discussions that take place over a few committee meetings. Use the paper to formalise ideas and then prioritise them based on the time required to achieve them and the realistic likelihood of making them happen. The plan does not have to be particularly long, but it should be referred to often – it is a living document. More details can be found on the Home Country Sports Council websites and from your local Sports Development Officer. An example (very full indeed) Sports Development Plan containing typical gliding related entries follows (you shouldn’t include all of these): Participation and Access Programme What do you want to achieve? How are you going to do it? What's your target and by when? Who will be responsible? What's it going to cost? How will you measure success? Notes on progress Increased awareness (general programme) Young People Recruitment Women's Recruitment Disabled Participation Traditional adverts Static displays Trial lessons Direct approaches to schools or colleges Junior cadet scheme Direct approaches to relevant groups Adoption of WIG standards (where not already in place) Role models Hoist to lift into gliders Disabled adaptation for two-seat gliders Clubhouse facilities upgrade for wheelchair and other disabled access Appraisal of means of safely integrating various disabilities into club operations Increase Trial Lessons to 970 by 2003/4 Links to be established with 2 schools or colleges p.a. 21 junior members by 2003/4, including 13 on sponsored programme Junior trial lessons to be increased by 10 p.a. (base data to be collected during 1999/2000) Increase in female percentage of membership from 10% to 15% by 2003/4 (N.B. National average is 8.5%) Hoist operational by end 1999 Facilities upgrade, if funds released, by end 2000 Appraisal complete by mid 1999 Marketing subCommittee General Committee Marketing Sub Committee General Committee Marketing Sub Committee Women members Technical Committee Airfield Group Operations Group and Safety Officer Advertising £2750 Advertising Sponsorship of junior members' subscriptions and flying costs: at least £3150 in 1999/2000, rising to at least £4550 in 2003/4 Costs to be assessed during 1999/2000 Hoist - approx £500 Adaptation - approx £3,000 £1,500 Cost of appraisal is minimal. There may be cost implications in upgrading equipment. Number of Trial Lessons Target 1999 712 temporary members Numbers of links with schools and colleges Number of Junior Trial Lessons Number of Junior pilots Club records - number of women pilots and their levels of integration and achievement Equipment operational Completion of alterations and building Disabled members able to integrate safely and as fully as possible in club operations. PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Ethnic Minorities and disadvantaged groups Increase in membership More sophisticated record keeping Social and fund raising activities Approaches and promotion to relevant groups Direct approaches and promotion to relevant groups Retain existing members through mentoring and coaching programme. Recruitment through more focused marketing to generate membership Membership forms to provide additional marketing and social and ethnic information Regular collection of data from forms Annual Open Days Participation in Trial Lessons 40 by 2003/4 Recruitment of 8 members by 2003/4 Increase in participation (Trial Lessons) to 50 by 2003/4 Recruitment of 7 members by 2003/4 Increase membership by 5% p.a. to 133 in 1999 137 in 2000 144 in 2001 151 in 2002 157 in 2003/4 New forms drafted for 1999 summer season Data available from autumn 1999 onwards 70 experience flights Marketing and membership committees Marketing and membership committees Marketing and membership committees Trial Lesson groups Membership secretary Club committee Minimal additional cost Minimal additional cost Advertising costs (see above) Print costs - estimate £100 250 per event (advertising costs) Numbers participating Club records - number of members Number of trial lessons Number of members Club membership records Forms in use Data available Club records. Second Edition Page 101 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Pilot Performance Programme What do you want to achieve? How are you going to do it? Performance Improved rate of progress at all levels Introduction of individual goal setting and mentor/coaching programmes to improve supervision of progress Increased number of FAI and BGA badges especially at higher levels Coaching programmes Training programmes and events for specific achievement levels Increased competition participation Encourage pilots to visit local competitions to raise interest and knowledge Competition experience Coaching programmes to incorporate regional competition participation What's your target and by Who will be responsible? What's it going to cost? when? Targets to be developed in the light of statistics collated in the early part of the programme Chief Flying Instructor Instructor team and other tutors Members pay own costs Gold badge performance equal to national average by 2003/4; lower levels to continue to match or exceed national averages 1999 - I pilot entering rated comp, increasing by 1 pilot p.a. to 5 pilots in 2003/4 Chief Flying Instructor Instructor team and other tutors Existing competition pilots, crews and officials to encourage others (particularly juniors) to develop competition experience Members pay own costs; subsidies for junior members may be required beyond present stage (first solo) Members pay own costs Members pay own costs How will you measure success? Availability of relevant statistics. Average rates of progress improving. Reduced level of member drop-out Club and national records Pilots' competition activity. Competition results. Pilots' competition activity. Competition results. Competition direction and administration Increased number of pilots flying cross country Encourage members to develop knowledge of officiating at competitions Members to direct Junior National Champs 1999 and other events in subsequent years Competition pilots, crews and Stratford GC Official Observers Members pay own costs Logging of attendees Cross country coaching and briefing 1998 - 16 pilots flew cross country at least once. Increase by 2 pilots p.a. to 26 in 2003/4 Cross Country soaring and coaching group Members pay own costs; minimal costs in developing coaching programmes and activities Club records of cross country flying Achievement of target Notes on progress Second Edition Page 102 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Increased number of pilots taking part in advanced techniques Individual and group coaching programmes to identify suitable courses and expeditions to develop new techniques and experience At least 20% taking part each year in: Wave flying Aerobatics Hill and mountain flying Cross Country soaring and Members pay own costs coaching group Numbers taking part FAI and BGA badges and other relevant achievements Increased total cross country distances by club pilots Expeditions to other gliding sites Inter-club league achievements Cross country coaching and regular briefing 1998 - 7,500 km flown. Increase by 10% p.a. to 12,000 km in 2003/4 Cross Country soaring and coaching group Members pay own costs; minimal costs in developing materials for coaching and briefing programmes Club records of cross country flying Achievement of target Member-organised arrangements At least one summer and one winter expedition p.a. Cross Country soaring and Members pay own costs coaching group Number of visits and number of pilots involved Team leader to be appointed to organise entries Cross-country soaring and coaching group to coach pilots 2000 - full team to be entered in every league event 2001 - end of season score < 25% behind winners 2002 - score < 15% behind winners 2003/4 - 1st or 2nd place Cross Country soaring and coaching group Members pay own costs; subsidies for junior members may be required + minimal costs for developing materials for coaching programmes League results. Retention of experienced pilots Provision of high quality launching Keen competitive environment Lose maximum 1 pilot p.a. to other clubs in period 1999 - 2003/4 Main Committee. Coaching and soaring group More sophisticated record keeping Establish system to record performance achievements at all levels Simple paper based or computer system in place for 1999 season CFI High performance launching winch essential (£55,000 capital purchase). Club membership records. Achievement of target. Costs not yet known System operational by spring 1999. Data available in autumn 1999. Second Edition Page 103 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Coaching Programme Extending instructor qualifications Recruiting additional instructors and soaring tutors Introduction of BGA instructor renewal programme. Develop facilities for better ground instruction. Instructor attendance on advanced soaring courses. Qualify additional instructors to full rating All instructors to attend refresher courses at appropriate intervals. Regular ground instruction to be available. Identify potential candidates and coach them with appropriate training, flying and other experience 1 newly qualified assistant rated instructor p.a. Qualified instructors and other experienced pilots to be offering regular soaring coaching (on the ground and in the air) CFI CFI Introduction (if relevant) of NCF modules 2 senior instructors to attend appropriate NCF courses to assess value for gliding Evaluation to be completed by 2000. Strategy for use of modules (if any) to be developed during 2001 CFI Development of individual and group goal setting and coaching programmes Coaching selected instructors in techniques. Introduction of performance coaching programme for interested pilots. Initial introduction of concepts during 1999. Regular coaching programme to develop during 1999 - 2003/4. CFI Max £500 p.a. for materials and course subsidies. Members to pay other costs themselves. Number of fully qualified and currently refreshed instructors; quality of training and coaching available to all members. Subsidy to instructor courses - £500 per candidate Number of newly qualified instructors; quality of training and coaching available to all members. NCF Course fees Strategy in place. Relevant NCF courses in use by all instructors. Max £500 p.a. for materials and course subsidies. Members to pay other costs themselves. Number of members attending coaching programmes. Pilots' subsequent achievements Second Edition Page 104 PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE Officials and Administrators Training competition officials Officials' participation at competitions and leagues Run one Inter-Club League Cross Country soaring and meeting each season coaching group Minimal cost for materials for ground instruction and lectures Well-run events Increase numbers of Official Observers Training Official Observers Recruitment of suitably experienced pilots Seminars O.O.s to represent 10% of membership. One seminar p.a. CFI and Cross Country soaring and coaching group CFI and Cross Country soaring and coaching group No cost Numbers of O.O.s reaching target Minimal cost for materials for ground instruction and lectures Successful well attended seminars Training of administrators Investigate availability and value of Running Sport programme Running Sport programme to be investigated during 1999 Club Secretary Not known Strategy in place. Excellence Talent identification Monitor progress of novice pilots (especially young people) 1 top performer in any 5 10 years is realistic Fast track coaching and development for talented pilots Encourage talented pilots to enter performance gliding Individual coaching programmes. Encouraging pilots with potential and talent to work with coaches and other top pilots and to take part in other performance developing activity Individual coaching programmes. Encouraging pilots with potential and talent to enter Junior Nationals and Regional competitions Targets can only be defined as relevant pilots are identified. Targets can only be defined as relevant pilots are identified. Encourage talented pilots Individual coaching to move to or visit programmes centres of excellence Targets can only be defined as relevant pilots are identified. CFI and all instructors CFI and all instructors; Cross Country soaring and coaching group No cost Generally, members pay own costs. Possible additional subsidy to junior pilots Talented pilots receiving suitable coaching and making good progress Talented pilots receiving suitable coaching and making good progress CFI and all instructors; Cross Country soaring and coaching group Generally, members pay own costs. Possible additional subsidy to junior pilots Talented pilots entering competitions and achieving results commensurate with their experience and ability. CFI and all instructors; Cross Country soaring and coaching group Members pay own costs. Talented pilots obtaining wide experience and developing their abilities. Second Edition Page 105 APPENDIX 4 – COVERING LETTER FOR FUNDING APPLICATIONS The letter should be a maximum of two A4 pages. Avoid jargon and technical terms wherever possible and use short sentences and paragraphs. Use third party descriptions (the users/organisation etc.) Remember – give funders an opportunity to support innovation; why would your project be great to work with? Concentrate on what will be of most interest to funder Ask funders to support the people your organisation supports, the work your organisation does and its project Believe, be upbeat. You are the ideal group to carry out project because…. Project title Summary sentence (assume it is the last bit to be read) why is it relevant to reader Who are you? How long? Key activities major successes - demonstrate good, reliable, well used and well liked (3 or 4 sentences max) The problem – why it needs doing now: brief, clear explanation of the need that you exist to deal with & why it is important to do something now. Describe problem, support with evidence – say why it is important Your proposals - what you intend to do about the need and how. Outline project targets, make sure it is workable, can be done in a reasonable time and is value for their money. How you will overcome any problems that arise as a result of running project. (Make donor say, ‘gosh yes, real need, this project will make things better’) Why you should do it. Show donor can trust you with their money. Cite any similar work in past. Show that books balance? Press coverage. Get people to say how wonderful you are (regular people). Show real business benefits (publicity) What you need in order to do the work. Need £x for x,y,z Budget, how much and where from – how much do you want funder to give? Signed by…needs to be able to talk to the funder or include contact details of knowledgeable person. Be available to talk… Be open – give them opportunity to meet and talk PROJECT PLANNING AND FUNDING GUIDE APPENDIX 5 – USEFUL PUBLICATIONS Some publications that I have found useful are listed below: ‘Faith and hope don’t run charities (trustees do) – a practical guide for voluntary members of management committees’, 2nd edition by Wales Council for Voluntary Action. WCVA and the Voluntary Sector NTO in Wales, 2002. email: help@wcva.org.uk Tel: 0870 607 1666 ISBN 1 903416 25 6 ‘The Complete Guide to Creating & Managing New Projects for Voluntary Organisations’, 2nd Edition by Alan Lawrie The Directory of Social Change, 2002 ISBN 1 903991 15 3 ‘The Complete Guide to Business & Strategic Planning for Voluntary Organisations’, 2nd Edition by Alan Lawrie The Directory of Social Change, 2001 ISBN 1 900360 87 X ‘Raising Money for Good Causes’ by Jane Sutherland and Mike Eastwood The Directory of Social Change, 1998 ISBN 1 900360 34 9 ‘Essential Volunteer Management, 2nd Edition’ by Steve McCurley and Rick Lynch The Directory of Social Change, 1998 ISBN 1 900360 18 7 ‘Managing Conflict’ by Gill Taylor The Directory of Social Change, 1999 ISBN 1 900360 28 4 ‘A Practical Guide to Fundraising and Public Relations’ by Veronica Canning ICSA Publishing Ltd 1999 ISBN 1 860720 51 X ‘The Porcupine Principle and other fundraising secrets’ by Jonathan Farnhill The Directory of Social Change, 2007 ISBN 978 1 903991 89 3 Directory of Social Change The DSC has a range of useful publications on the subjects of project planning, fund raising, marketing and volunteering. Look at their website www.dsc.org.uk There they make much reference to ‘charities’ but are actually referring to organisations in the Voluntary and Community Sector (VCS), so your gliding clubs, as volunteer run organisations, count too. Your local library should carry suitable reference publications Your local bookshop (or High Street chain): There will be suitable publications that you may wish to purchase. Second Edition Page 107