A Few Funding Application Tips

I first started applying to fund this project in March 2013, and looking back I’m embarrassed about how bad my initial applications were, and I’m not surprised I was turned down for them. I did think I’d tailored each application for the individual funder, and I spent a lot of time writing the applications, but I was too excited about the project as a whole, and presumed funders would automatically see why they should fund me.

Here are 5 things that I've learnt in the last few months about making funding applications.

1. Think about the funding guidelines at all times

I think this is the most important of all these tips, and the one I struggled most with. As the applicant, you are totally obsessed with your project and want to tell anyone who will listen all about it.

I've applied to lots of different funding sources for the various aspects of this project, including ones that were solely interested in the work I would produce as an artist, and ones that were completely focussed on what the community will achieve from the funding. Every funding source has its own agenda, and what you write about the aims of your project has to be adjusted to fit into what they want to fund.

It was really, really hard to keep my focus and make sure I only told them about the stuff that they were interested in, and downplay the parts that they weren’t interested in. If we found ourselves losing our focus and talking about the whole project, Bill and I developed a brilliant technique of chanting to each other the funding’s purpose. E.g. “It’s all about ME - not them!” or “it’s nothing to do with me - it's about the Explorer Scouts!”.

2. Get advice from everyone you can.

In Fife we have the wonderful resource that is FCA&C, and they were a fantastic help to me throughout the planning of my project. I even arranged an individual consultation with them to look through my main application and budget, and have them explain to me where I was on the right track, and more essentially, where I was going wrong. It was a brutal hour, where I had to justify my choices again and again. But it felt necessary, in order to create a stronger application, and I feel that my whole project is stronger because I had to argue for it.

I attended a short funding workshop at the annual Fife Artist’s Forum, and picked up a lot of tips from them. This was given by the Cultural Enterprise Office who run longer courses as well.

There are various websites that have brilliant advice and funding tips in them. Here's a good place to start:

Cultural Enterprise Office - Funding and Finance
Cultural Enterprise Office - Budget's Guide 

3. Find a friend

Two minds are much better than one when it comes to application forms. Having a friend who isn’t in your industry is best, because they’ll pick up on any jargon you use and want it explained. I owe my husband, Bill a huge thank you for helping me write my applications. He’s given up evenings, weekends and most of the Christmas holidays and without him I’d have been really stuck.

Having someone else read through your weak, garbled sentences really focusses your mind to making things clearer.

The way we work

This isn't a way everyone will choose to work, Its just what works best for us. We've tried working together for the whole thing, but it didn't work for us.

a. I write down pointers of what I want to say for each section of the form - often with rather garbled paragraphs talking about a rather abstract thoughts I want to include.
b. We look at this together and decide which of these points we should keep, and if anything else should be added.
c. I go back to my computer and put everything into more coherent sentences.
d. Finally we work together to make the whole thing correctly structured, so it makes complete sense to someone coming to the project idea from scratch.

4. Explain everything

I know this sounds obvious, but the people who are reading your application have never heard of your project before. You have to tell them who you are and what your project is. You need to mention why you are doing the project the way that you are, and what the benefits are of doing it the way you’ve chosen. All technical terms need to be explained clearly.

Every aspect of your project budget needs to be accounted for and justified. They also want to see how the funding you’re applying for fits within the whole project budget.

5. Do your research

Being able to back up your statements with other people’s quotes is really useful. I asked for a letter of support from every organisation I was planning to work with, which gave me a lot of quotes I was able to dip into.

The internet is a wonderful invention. There will always be someone who has worked out exactly what you need to know and has posted it online. All you need to do is to find it among all the dross.

This can take ages, or can be really simple. I easily found out lots of marketing facts about the Lake of Stars Festival because they had written them on their website, but I spent ages trawling the internet looking for useful facts I could include about the benefits to Scotland from me taking part in the Lake of Stars Festival.


I hope these tips have been useful, I'll write part two in a few weeks time

How It All Began

This whole project came about because my husband, Bill, is part of a team from St Andrews University who regularly fly out to Blantyre, in Malawi as part of the Scottish Government’s partnership scheme to support Malawi's development.

Bill is also our local cub leader. When he first visited Malawi he created a link between his cub pack and a cub pack in Blantyre, Malawi. 

Two years ago, Bill's work received another three years of funding, and as an artist I thought it would be a wonderful idea to run an art project between the two scout groups. The project has grown out of these humble beginnings.

I had recently taught an etching workshop for children at the local primary school, and felt that the cubs in both countries would be excited by an etched project between the two packs. 
I decided that I wanted to somehow promote the partnership between the two countries, and this led to me to the idea of etching cultural motifs onto photos from the other country: I would photograph my favourite things in each country, and participants could etch their favourite cultural motifs of their country onto the pictures from the other country.

By superimposing the two cultures I would highlight the strong relationship between our two countries and the common bond of human experience, despite the cultural and geographic divide.

I started telling people about my idea and found out that Auchtermuchty had various other connections with Malawi: the primary school is twinned with a school a short way out of Blantyre, and the parish church has strong links with a church and community also just outside Blantyre. These connections made me realise that the project could encompass the whole community so I contacted other groups and organisations.

The current organisations taking part in Auchtermuchty:

• Auchtermuchty Scouts 
• Auchtermuchty Guides
• Auchtermuchty Craft Club
• Auchtermuchty Primary School
• Auchtermuchty Festival Committee

Regretfully, Auchtermuchty Parish Church had to withdraw due to capacity problems.

 And in Blantyre:

• Joshua Vision Scout Troop (twinned with Auchtermuchty Scout Group)
• Chikwawa Primary School (twinned with Auchtermuchty Primary School)
• Women For Fair Development project (Rights and education for women and children living with HIV and Aids) 

I also decided to produce my own artwork on a similar theme to the community participants.
My artwork comes from the perspective of an outsider to both cultures, because even though I’ve lived in Scotland for over 20 years, I wasn’t born here, and there will always be aspects of Scottish culture that I view as an outsider.

I'd like to thank everyone I have spoken to who has given me help, advice, and ideas for the project; the community side has really felt like it has been communally developed. I'd like to especially thank Alison Watson who asked why I wasn't filming the project. A simple question that scared me senseless for a little while and then sent me down completely different paths to what I'd imagined. The explorer scouts will be learning filmmaking in the spring, and will then film the entire project for me, and their film will be a strong feature of the exhibition.

Welcome

Hi, my name's Jenni Gudgeon, and welcome to I Love Scolawi's blog.

This is the first proper blog I have undertaken, so I apologise for any mistakes I make; it might be a little while until I get the hang of everything.

My I love Scolawi project started off very small about two years ago, and has grown and grown until it occasionally scares me how big it has gotten. But the size of the project also excites and motivates me, it's the biggest project I've ever undertaken, and I can't wait for it to get properly started. 


I etched this picture in November to promote and explain the project
Scottish sedimentary rock with crab. Etching inspired by the patterns of Malawian fabrics

I head out to Malawi for two weeks at the end of May, to take photos and teach the etching workshops there. Then it's back to Scotland to teach as many etching workshops as I can before the summer holidays start at the end of June.

Across the summer, I'll be etching my own pictures as much as I can. Etching takes longer than drawing, and an A4 picture takes me about a week to design and etch.

I Love Scolawi has been given an exhibition space at the Fifespace Gallery, Glenrothes in October 2014, and it will travel to The Lochgelly Gallery, Fife in April 2015. Everyone's pictures will be on display, and the best 40 participant pictures will be enlarged and hung to complement my own work.

I will be using this blog to keep everyone up to date with what's happening with the project. But I'll also be using it as a diary for evaluation purposes to explain the ups and downs of working on a large project, and to sharing my learning and try to help others.