Photo © Daniel Lewis
Assessing charity applications – what guides us?
2nd April 2024
Reading applications is probably one the most exciting parts of our job. That’s probably why we do it five to six times a year (trust us when we say it’s a lot for a charity our size!).
Why is this exciting, you ask? Well, because this is the main way we get to meet brilliant small charities* – and we’re all for it! We get to see the great work being done, and with each application we are reminded that small charities are not only innovative but also reach the pockets of deprivation that other (bigger) organisations can’t. We also find that small charities more often than not lead the way on good practice within the sector, and it’s encouraging to learn from them.
But as a small charity ourselves, we can only support so many organisations (three at a time, to be precise). Luckily, we have a rotating panel of members who carefully reads and assesses all applications. So, what is the criteria that guides the selection process?
Need
Is the organisation persuasive in explaining why and how they address an urgent need? This can be related to the specific cause they support, target audience, geography, or other factors like political context.
Solution
Is the solution innovative and will it be successful? And does the organisation have the knowledge, experience, structure, capacity, etc to deliver the solution?
Impact
Does the solution bring a positive and measurable impact on the issue and/or target group? We know this can be difficult to pin down, but we want to understand the outcomes of the organisation’s work.
Case for support
What makes the organisation stand out? And why would they benefit from TFN funding? We want to understand why the charity applied to be funded through or model of collective giving and what excites them about the opportunity.
‘Green flags’
Are there any other positive characteristics that haven’t been considered yet? This could be charity’s proximity to the cause, scalability of the solution, among others.
Personal preference
Given that the selection process is conducted by our members (who themselves are donors), we also include the option to score based on individual preference.
As any other funder will attest, we always receive more applications than we can possibly support. This means some will not be backed by us – but that doesn’t mean they’re not brilliant charities making a difference in communities across the world! So, while reading applications is exciting, selecting the ones we support, while no easy task, is ultimately a highly rewarding experience – just ask our members!
If you’d like to hear more about our panel and the selection process, just get in touch with us at info@thefundingnetwork.org.uk. We’re always happy to talk to you!
*The Funding Network supports a broad range of non-profit organisations, but for ease of understanding we use the word “charity” interchangeably.
