Sustainable Funding Project - resources for funding advisors

Our Toolkits for funding advisors are designed to help funding advisors in their work with frontline organisations. They contain practical checklists, templates and exercises to help advisors work with organisations to put their funding ideas into practice.

The Toolkits are designed to help advisors meet the needs of all organisations, from those just starting out, to others committed to putting funding ideas into practice.

Tools available:

• Introductory mini-guide
• Sustainable Sun Needs-Analysis Tool for Voluntary and Community Organisations
• 4-part Toolkit series
• 6-part Introductory Pack on Funding and Finance  

The Toolkit Series was commissioned by the Finance Hub from NCVO’s Sustainable Funding Project, and is part of a larger suite of resources on funding and finance designed for frontline organisations and the advisors who support them.

Introductory mini-guide

Introducing Funding and Finance for Voluntary and Community Organisations is an A6-size pocket guide. It provides a snap-shot of sector funding and basic exercises to guide organisations through the topics covered. It is an ideal primer for very small and new VCOs, or for those new to the concept of sustainable funding and the wider funding environment.

• Download: Introducing Funding and Finance for Voluntary and Community Organisations (PDF 1MB)

Hard copies of the pocket guide can be ordered online or obtained by calling NCVO publications on 080 0279 8798.

Infrastructure agencies interested in ordering a batch of pocket guides to distribute to the groups and organisations they work with should contact us

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Sustainable Sun Needs-Analysis Tool

The Sustainable Sun Needs-Analysis Tool is designed to help organisations work out where they are now in each of 7 areas which are integral to long-term sustainability. Organisations can work together with a funding advisor to plot their current organisational health and consider future development, then display on a wall to monitor their progress.

• Download: Sustainable Sun Needs-Analysis Tool  A4 fold-out leaflet (PDF 236kb). Once you have printed out the 6 pages of the Sustainable Sun Needs-Analysis Tool view the entire document to see how all the pages fit together

• Related SFP tool: Searching for other income streams?

This a simple diagnostic toolkit to use with frontline organisations, enabling them to learn more about available income streams and quickly assess where their money is coming from. Downloadable in 2 parts:

• Download: The Income Spectrum (PDF 474kb)
• Download: The income breakdown table (PDF 2.79MB)

There is also an advanced version of this toolkit - learn more in our publications section 

Hardcopies of the Sun and the diagnostic tools can be obtained by contacting us

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4 part Toolkit series

These booklets provide more intermediate and advanced level exercises and activities for advisors and organisations to work through together to help organisations put funding ideas into practice.

• Download: Tools for Fundraising (PDF 492kb)
• Download: Tools for Trading (PDF 527kb)
• Download: Tools for Procurement and Contracting (PDF 405kb)
• Download: Tools for Loans and Other Forms of Finance (PDF 418kb)

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6 part Introductory Pack on Funding and Finance

The Introductory Pack on Funding and Finance is designed for small and medium-sized voluntary and community organisations and particularly, for the funding advisors who work with them. The Pack is designed to:

• Alert organisations to the funding options available to them, and to highlight key messages about financial management and sustainability.
• Provide advisors with a useful tool to use with the organisations they work with.

Each of the six guides contains practical information on a specific area of funding or finance and includes case studies, tools, and signposts to resources to assist organisations in their search for long-term financial sustainability.

PDF versions of the 6 guides are free to download (each approximately 800kb):   

1. Sustainable funding 
   An overview of sustainability from strategic planning to understanding available income sources.
2. Financial management
   An introduction to financial concepts, techniques and processes.
3. Fundraising
   An overview of fundraising, from planning a fundraising strategy to engaging with donors.
4. Trading
   A starting point for organisations that want to generate income from trading activities.
5. Procurement and contracting
   A guide to the rules and procedures that constitute public sector procurement.
6. Loans and other forms of finance
   An introduction and guide to accessing loan finance, listing the variety of scenarios in which loans can be used.

Hardcopies can be obtained from NCVO Publications

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