Grant secured by Charity Fundraising

The RSWT have awarded WISH a grant £228,000 under the CRED programme following a successful application prepared by Charity Fundraising

How Charity Fundraising secured a £228,000 grant:

Wessex Independent Self Help (WISH) are a newly constituted organisation in North Dorset, providing rehabilitative, supported employment places for people with physical and mental disabilities, including; acquired brain injury, mental illness and learning difficulties. Supported employees are placed with WISH through voluntary and statutory agencies, such as West Dorset Mental Health Forum, and Headway (Dorset).

Charity Fundraising initially worked with WISH to complete their registration as a registered charity and as a company limited by guarantee, preparing the constituting documents, and dealing with communications from the Charity Commission.

Our consultants then assisted the client to develop a project plan to begin the first household collection service to recycle compostable domestic waste in North Dorset.

The CRED application was a very complex process, and Charity Fundraising liaised closely with the client to demonstrate that the scheme would have suitable outcomes for the CRED programme, carry many additional benefits to the community, and help contribute to local and national government targets to increase recycling. Our fundraisers and consultants prepared five and ten year cash flow forecasts, and were instrumental in developing the project budget, including details of other grants, donations and matched funding calculations as appropriate.

Charity Fundraising also produced appropriate supporting documents as part of the application process, including a business plan for the organisation and the following policy documents; Equal Opportunities, Child and Vulnerable Adult, Green Housekeeping/Environmental, Heath & Safety, COSHH (Control of Substances Hazardous to Health), job descriptions and person specifications for salaried posts.

Key to the success of this application, were many days of hard work in creating, building and developing partnerships with local authorities, such as Dorset County Council, North Dorset District Council, and other appropriate organisations such as the Community Composting Network. There was a strong partnership element to the application, and WISH was a newly constituted charity, with no accounts, track record or previous turnover. It was therefore vital for Charity Fundraising to bring partners and supporting organisations on board to instil confidence that the project had good backing and would be successfully delivered.

The application was initially placed on the reserve list as funding was fully committed. Consultant Greg Singleton, recently updated the budget figures, and the application has now been successful.

WISH have been awarded a grant for this project of £228,000; the full amount requested.

You can visit the WISH website, and the CRED website

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