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Funding resources

FunderFinder produces Groups in Need (GIN) which helps you identify appropriate charitable trusts that might fund a particular need. It keeps track of about 4,000 charitable trusts which give grants to groups and organisations in the UK. There may be a local development agency or library near you that has the software and will let you use it for free, otherwise you can pay £10 to access the online version for 24 hours.

FunderFinder's website also contains a large amount of free material to help you with fundraising, including links to many UK charitable trusts and foundations; links to awards and competitions; links to other useful websites and blogs; and free software you can download which helps you write effective funding applications (Apply Yourselves) and write and use a budget (Budget Yourselves).

The Directory of Social Change (DSC) publishes a number of directories of grant-making trusts, a CD-ROM that contains the same information and a searchable website of charitable trusts trustfunding.org.uk. You have to subscribe to the website but again you may find that a local development agency or library near you already does so, or has the books/CD-ROM.

The DSC also publishes information about company giving in print form and as a subscription website companygiving.org.uk and a subscription website about government funding - see below.

ACF - the Association of Charitable Foundations - has a section on its website about UK charitable trusts. There are links and descriptions of each of ACF members' interests.

Finance Hub - was one of the centres of expertise created as part of the ChangeUp programme. This has now come to an end, but its website is still available and contains a range of useful information and toolkits relating to funding and fundraising.

Funding Central - a free website managed by NCVO and funded by the Office of the Third Sector. It provides a search for grants, contracts and loan finance, plus other tools and resources.

fundinginformation.org - provides a subscription news and information service about raising funds. It tracks information about funding from grant-making trusts, companies, European funds, government schemes and National Lottery Boards. Regularly updated, the annual subscription starts at £100 + VAT for small organisations.

fundraising.co.uk is a free site and a useful resource for fundraising. It includes links to funders' websites, book lists, training courses and other resources linked to fundraising.

governmentfunding.org.uk is a website from the Directory of Social Change providing information on the grants available from some but not all government departments, local and regional governement and Europe. The subscription is £150 + VAT.

Green Communities, part of the Energy Saving Trust, helps to promote and facilitate community-based energy projects. There is a database on their website which can be used to look for funding for sustainable energy projects such as energy efficiency, insulation and draftproofing etc.

Guidestar is a government-backed website giving details of all registered charities in England and Wales. Its aim is to to ensure that UK donors, charities and grant makers have free access to a complete source of information. Charities can update their information and upload additional documents to the site.

GRANTnet is a database of UK and EU financial support provision, including grants, subsidies, loans, venture funding and other incentives. It is usually bought by businesses and local authorities. Voluntary organisations in London are able to access the information through the GRANTnet service at LVSC. Groups must register on the LVSC website and then answer questions about what they are looking for funding for. LVSC then searches GRANTfinder and the results and more detailed information and guidance on the appropriate schemes, are made available to the enquirer.

Grants Online is a web resource on grants from the European Union, UK government departments, the national lottery and UK grant making trusts. The standard subscription is £175 + VAT, with a reduction for small voluntary groups with a turnover of less than £100,000 pa. You can also subscribe for shorter periods of time.

KnowHow NonProfit is a Big Lottery funded project to help nonprofit making organisations become more effective. The idea of the site is to connect people and share their knowledge and experience. There is a whole section on funding and fundraising.

VolResource is a free source of useful information on anything to do with running a voluntary organisation (whether a community group, charity or other non-profit body). The Fundraising on the Net section includes a large amount of funding information and links to other web pages.

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