Its a minefield out there for people seeking funding for social enterprises. I am speaking from personal experience!
It doesn't help when you spend hours and hours on applications for funding of very small amounts up to £5k or less, then wait a few weeks when suddenly an email pops into your inbox saying sorry but you haven't been successful. Why have we not been successful? Where is the constructive feedback to help us in the future? Err sorry we have too many applications to be able to give feedback, was the answer.
In the time taken to tell me why they don't give feedback, they could have given me some brief feedback! Clearly, for those wanting to create much needed services to the community, you have to be a professional bid writer and know the "buzz words" to use or have the funds to pay a professional, which kind of goes against the grain a bit when these small pockets of funding are supposed to be there to help you make progress in the community (not line the pockets of professional bid writers!).
On the plus side, there have been some absolute super people and organisations who, without them, we would not have made the progress we have done! So a heartfelt thank you to all those who have supported us so far, both financially and with morale support. I shall be forever grateful to the ones that helped us to get started!
It doesn't help when you spend hours and hours on applications for funding of very small amounts up to £5k or less, then wait a few weeks when suddenly an email pops into your inbox saying sorry but you haven't been successful. Why have we not been successful? Where is the constructive feedback to help us in the future? Err sorry we have too many applications to be able to give feedback, was the answer.
In the time taken to tell me why they don't give feedback, they could have given me some brief feedback! Clearly, for those wanting to create much needed services to the community, you have to be a professional bid writer and know the "buzz words" to use or have the funds to pay a professional, which kind of goes against the grain a bit when these small pockets of funding are supposed to be there to help you make progress in the community (not line the pockets of professional bid writers!).
On the plus side, there have been some absolute super people and organisations who, without them, we would not have made the progress we have done! So a heartfelt thank you to all those who have supported us so far, both financially and with morale support. I shall be forever grateful to the ones that helped us to get started!
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