Grant Applications for Lottery Funds

by Chris Coffey, secretary of the BFFS North-West Group.

As some of you may be considering funding applications, let us see what the funding body might interpret from your application:

We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members. They will keep the equipment in a cardboard box for three hundred and fifty odd days a year.

We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members. They don't refer to any other group in their community who also might benefit, so their main objective will be to keep the equipment in a cardboard box for three hundred and fifty odd days a year.

We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members. There is no reference to any local authority arts or community officers they have consulted who may know groups willing to work with their local film society to see films or documentary videos, which would obviously jeopardise their real aim - keeping the equipment in a cardboard box for three hundred and fifty odd days a year.

We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members. We will keep the equipment in a cardboard box for three hundred and fifty odd days a year. Yes, we know our bid is almost double that for comparable groups, but you must appreciate that if you are keeping a cardboard box in your home for three hundred and fifty odd days a year, you want something valuable in it.

We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members. The lamps last 3000 hours so at 30 hours a year it should last our society until the 22nd century, with careful storage of that cardboard box.

We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members. Of course we cannot make a joint bid with a neighbouring society. We know we meet on different nights, but can you imagine the inconvenience of taking the cardboard boxes around? It's much worse than lugging them from home to venue!

"The objects for which the Federation is established are to advance the education of the public in film as an art and as a medium for information, education and social enlightenment; and to promote the study of film." Sod all that. It's inconvenient. We are happy as we are. We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members.

We can utilise our meetings as combined arts events. We can use the DVD player to play a Scottish Country Dancing CD while people are arriving and taking their seats. This will not attract new members we don't want, and thus we can maintain our objective: that we need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members ... when it's not in a cardboard box.

Chris's serious advice on grant applications is good sense:

Have someone neutral, preferably a non-member of your society, read your application. Make sure you know who is responsible for the arts within your local authority and make sure you have discussed the options fully with them, so that they are aware of both your existence and ideas. You don't have to take their advice, but it helps. Your local Arts Board may give you a comprehensive contact list for all the local authorities in your area and quite often will discuss an application with their local authority connections, to help them decide where their limited funding should be directed to do the most good.
Remember the funding bodies have areas they must prioritise and it helps them if you can help them with one of their stated aims.

You don't have an automatic right to public, charitable or lottery funds. It is never enough to say "we are worthy".

If you can show that some aspect of what you do meets one or more of their objectives to some degree, you may be in with a chance. Most grant giving bodies can only help a small percentage of those they would like to support. Even if you are a strong candidate you may not make this year's quota. Keep trying. Talk to the officers concerned about how you might make yourselves even stronger candidates in the next round of applications.

We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members.	They will keep the equipment in a cardboard box for three hundred and fifty odd days a year.
We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members.	They don't refer to any other group in their community who also might benefit, so their main objective will be to keep the equipment in a cardboard box for three hundred and fifty odd days a year.
We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members.	There is no reference to any local authority arts or community officers they have consulted who may know groups willing to work with their local film society to see films or documentary videos, which would obviously jeopardise their real aim - keeping the equipment in a cardboard box for three hundred and fifty odd days a year.
We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members.	We will keep the equipment in a cardboard box for three hundred and fifty odd days a year. Yes, we know our bid is almost double that for comparable groups, but you must appreciate that if you are keeping a cardboard box in your home for three hundred and fifty odd days a year, you want something valuable in it.
We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members.	The lamps last 3000 hours so at 30 hours a year it should last our society until the 22nd century, with careful storage of that cardboard box.
We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members.	Of course we cannot make a joint bid with a neighbouring society. We know we meet on different nights, but can you imagine the inconvenience of taking the cardboard boxes around? It's much worse than lugging them from home to venue!
"The objects for which the Federation is established are to advance the education of the public in film as an art and as a medium for information, education and social enlightenment; and to promote the study of film."	Sod all that. It's inconvenient. We are happy as we are. We need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members.
We can utilise our meetings as combined arts events.	We can use the DVD player to play a Scottish Country Dancing CD while people are arriving and taking their seats. This will not attract new members we don't want, and thus we can maintain our objective: that we need a new projector and DVD player to show films to our members ... when it's not in a cardboard box.