Funding

Taken from the Winter 2009 edition of GB magazine, The View

Does money grow on trees? It can if you know where to look and are prepared to put in a little time!

Rather than constantly tapping into the same purses of girls, families, church and friends to fund your GB activities, you’ll find that money is available elsewhere if you know where to look and think creatively.

But be prepared to receive some knockbacks as success won’t happen every time. However, God will provide all you need to help girls to know more about Jesus.

Some companies run a Gift Aid scheme with payment of the girls' subscriptions.

Parents complete an annual Gift Aid form confirming they are a tax payer, clear company records of the subs paid by each girl are kept and the company treasurer then liaises with the church treasurer in April for the tax return.

‘Last year we received £150 back and are looking forward to receiving our cheque this year!’ says Jane Ellis, National Chairman, GB England & Wales, and Lieutenant at 1st Hucclecote Company.

‘In company we’ve also taken part in the Tesco schools and club voucher scheme. This year we collected 2,000 vouchers and we’ll soon have some fabulous new cookery equipment.’

Check out http://www.hmrc.gov.uk/charities/gift-aid.htm for more details on Gift Aid.

Small grants are available to groups like GB from many different places.

Jane says ‘I have found these tend to be project-based rather than for general running costs, but your project may include training for Young Leaders and adults, camp, evangelistic events or even projects linked to badgework, which can include resources like the purchase of your new n:counta resource.’

The GB Values and programme mirror the government’s Every Child Matters agenda and its five aims of be healthy, stay safe, enjoy and achieve, make a positive contribution, and achieve economic well-being.

Jane says ‘Over the past 18 months as a company and district we’ve secured money from local agencies such as the council’s training and development grant fund towards Safe to Grow training for adult leaders; a community foundation grant towards Young Leaders training; a foundation grant to subsidise some girls and leaders taking part in district camp; a Christian trust fund towards seek.serve.follow including launch day costs and resources for the whole district; and the youth opportunity scheme to provide a safety programme for girls aged 14 to 19.’

The internet is a great resource.

Why not look on the websites of your local council and county council websites, youth and children’s voluntary organisations, and local foundations and grant-making trusts?

You could also consider joining forces with other youth groups, diocese groups, or Methodist/Baptist districts. All of these have similar aims which could help with placing a larger bid for grants. If you’re not successful, you’ll still have made some great network connections which could be useful in the future!

A useful resource is http://www.grantnet.com/. This is a free website to help groups find funding. It allows community/voluntary groups and small businesses to search across EC and UK sources including government departments, local authorities, charitable trusts and corporate sponsors.

You may also wish to invest in a new publication called Youth Funding Guide. It includes a basic understanding of how to fundraise for youth-related causes, how to find sources of funding, and how to write applications.

The book is by Denise Lillya, costs £35 and is available online at http://www.dsc.org.uk/Publications or by calling 08450 77 77 07. The ISBN is 978-1-906294-29-8.