A complete digital training course for paid subscribers to help you plan your funding applications from the first steps to the final delivery of a project. Broken into easy-to-follow modules with videos, transcripts and tools.

The Toolkit lessons will take 7-8 hours to complete and will give you actionable tasks that will take 7-8 additional hours.

Recommended timetable: first time through - 6 weeks

  • 1 week for each of Modules 1, 2 and 3 including their associated lessons
  • 1 week for each of Modules 4 and 5 including their associated lessons
  • 1 day to draft using the How To documents for Outcomes & Indicators and Evidence of Need

Modules 4 and 5 plus the How To documents will then be repeated to make the first bid for each new project or activity.

Recommended timetable: repeat runs - 3 days

  • 1 day for each of Modules 1, 2 and 3 every six months
  • 1 day each for Modules 4 and 5
  • Up to 1 day to draft using the How To documents

TOOLKIT SUMMARY

1. Is It Fundable?
This module helps you check that your project is ready to be funded and shows how you begin planning an application. It covers The Three Keys all projects need to be fundable. Seven 3-5min videos + 10-20mins of follow up actions.
Truffle PigPhyllis Martin
  1. What we will cover, The 3 Keys (why they matter, what are they)
  2. Collecting Your Project List (skip this if you are focusing on a single project/idea)
  3. 1st Key: Vision (what it is, 2min exercise to identify it, examples)
  4. 2nd Key: Logistics (what it means, 3x 2min exercises to identify them, examples)
  5. 3rd Key: Supporters (what it means, 2min exercise to identify them, examples)
  6. Assess strengths
  7. Set your work plan
  8. Next Steps ACTIONS that take 10-20mins max
2. Find Funders
This module is about identifying funders who might support you and managing a live list of who they are.
Truffle PigPhyllis Martin
  1. What a Funder Database is, why you don’t have to be scared of it + what it is for
  2. What my Funder Database includes
  3. How to estimate likely ask size for a funder
  4. Assigning Priority ratings to funds
  5. Matching up funds and projects (mini version of Prioritise & Target)
  6. Using Priority ratings to make a monthly workplan (mini version of How To Run A Monthly Fundraising Meeting)
3. Prioritise & Target
This module is about having a strategy for what bids to write when by building and managing a list.
Truffle PigPhyllis Martin
  1. What is a strategy
  2. Why we prioritise Activities first
  3. Session 1: create Activity post-its
  4. Session 1: assign Activities to your bullseye
  5. Session 1: assigned Activities to outer layers
  6. Session 1: what Satellites are + how to identify them
  7. Session 2: write out Fund post-its
  8. Session 2: targeting for hot Funds
  9. Session 2: targeting for warm/cold Funds
  10. Session 2: adjust and review
  11. Session 3: capture decision, discuss + ACTIONS (10-30mins max)
4. Timelining
This module is a step-by-step of the single best exercise for improving your bid success rates by strengthening your 3rd Key, your logistics.
Truffle PigPhyllis Martin
  1. How Timelining improves your success rates + what it tells you
  2. When you project *can* start and how to not panic about it
  3. Laying out your grid
  4. Populating the grid - 2min checklist of delivery milestones to choose from
  5. Populating the grid - 2min checklist of marketing/outreach milestones to choose from
  6. Populating the grid - 2min checklist of planning milestones to choose from
  7. Populating the grid - 2min checklist of evaluation milestones to choose from
  8. Panic + adjusting the plan to fit reality 
  9. Next Steps ACTIONS that take 10-30mins max
5. Budgeting
This is the step-by-step process to an exercise that help you cover core costs, reduces overwhelm and it improves success rates too.
Truffle PigPhyllis Martin
  1. What a Budget is, why you don’t have to be scared of it + how it helps
  2. What we will cover: Expenditure + how to come up with it, Income + how to come up with it
  3. People: Identifying roles from Timeline + how to describe them to get core cost contributions
  4. People: Using the Timeline to make estimates for each role
  5. Things & Stuff: Identifying items + looking for In-Kind donations
  6. In-Kind donations + what to do with unfamiliar budget lines
  7. Writing out cost calculations + how much to pay people, ACTIONS (30-60mins max)
  8. Panic + adjusting the budget to fit reality 
  9. Income + how much to ask each funder for, Next Steps ACTIONS (10-30mins max)

These video modules can then be used with follow-on written Modules in The Resource Library

  • How To Create Outcomes & Indicators + Evaluation Plans that increase success rates
  • How To Create Evidence Of Need that makes your bid stand out