by Tracy Baird (Voluntary Sector Organisational Development Worker, EVOC)
I caught the volunteering bug when I was 16 and have worked in the sector on and off since, so I know what it is like to wait for a funding letter. The sense of doom mixed with excitement at what might be inside. Would it be a ‘we regret you inform you’ letter (you know, the ones you only have to read the first few lines of) or the one that we hoped for?
I open the letter carefully, hoping for precious cargo inside and… yes! A cheque! Excellent! That was about 8% of our annual funding secured…
Fundraising was hard in a small, local charity. The entire project depended on money to keep it going. The young people depended on it. Our jobs depended on it. As the manager I felt the pressure and knew if I thought about it too much I would be tempted to hide in a cupboard and pretend I didn’t have to deal with it.
It was cheque or cupboard.
I would have loved to meet with funders face-to-face to wax lyrical about the project I was so passionate about. But we were stuck with combing through other organisations’ annual reports to see who they were funded by as well as approaching the funders who had kindly supported us before. But it was hard, hard work and there often seemed to be more ‘regret to inform you’ letters than cheques. And the cupboard become all the more tempting.
I may have a new job, but still know that fundraising is hard. And in these turbulent financial times it is getting even harder.
That’s why I’m excited that one of my first big projects at EVOC is managing a ‘Meet the Funders’ event – 10am to 2pm on Thu 28 Nov 2023 at Norton Park Conference Centre.
A space where you can come and meet funders face-to-face.
A chance to wax lyrical about the project you are passionate about.
And we’d love to hear what you would like from this event, so please take a few minutes to answer these 6 simple questions.
More information and booking links will be coming your way soon. We can’t wait to see you there!
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