Craven Events

All funders require a minimum level of organisation on your part, so that they can feel that their money will be properly spent and managed. It is beneficial if:

• You are a non-profit organisation with charitable or benevolent aims.
• You have a set of rules or constitution. This reassures funders that you are a responsible organisation and is a necessity if you want to become a registered charity or apply for funding from e.g. the Community Fund. (Your local CVS or RCC can give advice on how to draw up a constitution).
• Your aims and how you operate are clearly set out in your constitution. (You need to keep your aims in mind: it's amazing how easy it is to forget them).
• You are clear about your current objectives for this project and how they meet your overall aims
• You have a bank or building society account in the name of the organisation before you start to fundraise. For security reasons, it is a good idea to have at least three signatories and to ensure that two people are required to sign each cheque.
• You have letter headed notepaper Does your stationery include a contact address and, if applicable, your charity registration number? Is it clear from your name what your organisation does? Your local CVS may be able to help you design and print stationery relatively cheaply.

You should also be sure that you are ready to manage the amount of money you will request, and that you will successfully complete the work or project that the funding is for.

Certain items you may want to secure funding for could include:- a project worker, a building, a community vehicle, a group facilitator, office equipment, child care provision or a venue for an event or regular meetings. Some of the things you may wish to fund give you legal obligations you need to understand these rules, (for example employment contracts, insurance, the Disability Discrimination Act etc.) and take steps to comply with them.