Winning Grants and Raising Funds - Off the Beaten Track
By Policy and Strategy Department, ETC
Mar 2002
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Increasingly, the chances of winning funds for tourism projects depends on
creative thinking and the linking together of objectives to broaden the
benefits of the development you are promoting. Finding public funds to
support tourism development by itself is difficult. This is due to the
Government's belief that tourism as a sector does not need as much public
sector support as others do.
In fact, the true mechanics of tourism
management in this country demonstrate that, despite the presence of
successful private operators, the tourism sector does need governmental
support. One only has to look at the turn around in Cornwall's tourism
fortunes following the success of the Lottery-funded Eden Project to see just
how important these factors really are.
Tourism, if it is to be a successful business sector, needs to rely upon the quality
of the publicly-owned component of the product. If privately-owned
attractions and elements of the accommodation sector are to survive and
prosper, they have to be augmented by well-maintained natural and built
environments, sound transport infrastructure and interesting cultural
backdrops, as well as a warm welcome from the community residents of
destinations. Without these core components, the private sector side of the
tourism industry will not survive in the long term.
Therefore, the key to successful funding for tourism-related projects is the
appreciation of how tourism developments benefit the wider community. This
wider awareness demands a multi-layered approach to tourism development –
thinking outside the tourism box. Only by embracing this concept will tourism
managers and operators be able to unlock the treasure-trove of potential
funding opportunities.
As hardened fundraisers know, the job of winning grants and raising funds for projects
is almost as much about lateral thinking as it is about knowing what's available and
how to apply. There are various funds and grants available for tourism-related activities
but they are competitively sought and to win them an operator needs to appeal to the
priorities of the fund and grant-givers.
Increasingly, the chances of winning funds for
tourism projects depends on some creative thinking and the linking together of
objectives to broaden the benefits you are promoting. For example, can your project be
presented as sustainable in financial and environmental terms? Does it key into the
wider fund-appealing factor of economic regeneration? Is it helping to promote access
so that everyone from all walks of life and with all levels of ability can enjoy the
experience?
A year ago, the ETC embarked on a unique, two-year partnership with Profunding, an
organisation that offers fundraisers online access to a great deal of useful information,
via their website, www.fundinginformation.org. As part of the partnership deal, the
ETC was given 500 passwords to the subscription-only site to provide them free to noncommercial
organisations involved in tourism-related fundraising. So far, about 300
passwords have been taken up. The rest are just waiting to be put to good use.
A password towww.fundinginformation.org is effectively a free subscription to a vast
amount of information:
- details of the latest funding opportunities from all five National Lottery Boards,
European Funds, and newly-registered grant-making trusts and charities;
- full details of application procedures, deadlines and contact information;
- summary details of eligibility criteria and any useful information on the
organisation/fund, by distilling the jargon to get the essence of what the
funders require;
- the bigger fundraising picture through analysis of trends in fundraising and
government policy;
- articles, news and case studies from the wider world of funds and fundraising,
specially prepared by experts in their field;
- links between items on the site, to help create a comprehensive view of a
particular fund or topic;
- links to other relevant fundraising websites;
- a fortnightly bulletin with late-breaking funding news;
- an email alert service, notifying subscribers when the fund has been updated;
- an archive of past funding information so you can see who is funding what.
As part of the partnership with the ETC, Profunding have added tourism-related articles
and advice accessible only to the ETC-nominated organisations. This funding
information and advice is arranged according to the type of projects that require
investment, for example seaside resorts, countryside developments, projects with
sustainable aspects, arts and tourism initiatives.
Creative thinking, proper planning and serious funds are all part of the dynamic that is
needed to secure the improvements to breathe new life into England's coastal resorts.
Profunding's advice for resort managers is that "Rebuilding tourism infrastructure
cannot be achieved in isolation from revitalising whole communities. Resorts which do
better than others overall have realised that a strong local economy is a mixed one, and
is achieved by working just as hard at the detail as at the bigger picture".
The funding
opportunities depend increasingly on how a community argues for its needs, not for
the needs themselves. For instance, the public sector may be able to get funding for
environmental improvements, job creation, promoting life-long learning or better
health. This degree of lateral thinking is fundamentally important.
A range of funding opportunities for resorts include EU funding in the form of
European Structural Fund (ESF) priority areas. Cornwall, for example, is in the ESF
Objective One area. In the latest round between 2000 and 2006, there is more than
£3.7 billion available for Objective One projects.
The European Social Fund Objective
Three areas focus attention on staff and skills, which is an issue in many coastal resorts.
Some £2.5 billion has been made available for projects relating to skills and jobs under
this programme.
The advice is to look outside the obvious. There are a range of funds available through
central government department initiatives which focus on a raft of complex social and
economic problems that need urgent attention.
Six government departments (Trade
and Industry, Transport, Local Government and the Regions, Environment, Food and
Rural Affairs, Education and Skills, the Health) – all have initiatives that direct money to
needy areas. Coastal resorts often fall into the required levels of deprivation that trigger
funding. Local regeneration projects of all kinds involving health, education, skills
training and employment can have a beneficial effect on tourism.
Another possibility is the New Deal for Communities. The prospects are good for
coastal resorts to receive funding through these ten-year programmes. Brighton and
Hove, for example, has been successful in developing a partnership under the New
Deal.
But there are many other opportunities: the Government Regional Venture Capital
Fund; the Community Investment Fund; the Enterprise Fund; not to mention the
significant opportunities for voluntary and community organisations under Lottery
funding schemes such as The Community Fund and the New Opportunities Fund.
Putting forward projects that have the hallmarks of sustainability or 'wise growth' can
also be a winning formula in attracting support for tourism in a given area. Sustainable
tourism management and wise growth are about managing tourism's impact on the
environment, communities and economy of destinations in a way that is beneficial for
future generations.
Sustainable development is a key issue across local and central government, particularly
in DEFRA which has taken up the mantle of responsibility for promoting sustainability
from the former DETR. It is also a major factor in achieving EU funding support.
A good example here is the case of a group of women in a former mining town in
Derbyshire who had campaigned for many years to have the town's swimming baths
reinstated. The project was not high on the District Council's list of priorities but the
campaigners were stubborn and eventually the council enlisted the support of
consultants to look at the feasibility of the project.
The consultants came up with a
radical proposal which centred on the notion of a larger-scale project, such as a Healthy
Living Centre, which might be able to deliver the swimming pool within the Council's
financial targets and offer other benefits as well.
The consultants drew up a model that could be supported by a much wider range of
funders than either a commercial or public body could achieve. Built into the model was
a considerable amount of voluntary support and also features to ensure that the project
was environmentally sustainable.
As a Healthy Living Centre, the project had a chance
to attract funds from a range of supporters, including Sport England; New
Opportunities Fund Healthy Living Programme; the EU Coalfield Funding; Energy Saving
Trust; Coalfield Alliance Funding; Coalfield Regeneration Trust; and contributions in
cash or kind from the local authorities.
In effect, the consultants met the requirements of sustainability. They prepared a
proposal that meant that the local authority would be offered the opportunity to
provide a community facility which they did not have to manage themselves and for
which they could cap their revenue support at an acceptable level. Meanwhile, the local
population got the swimming pool, together with a range of other amenities and
facilities.
The FMD crisis, compounded by the aftermath of the events of September 11, dealt a
devastating blow to the fortunes of many making a living out of tourism in the
countryside. The call for more funds for the countryside was never more poignant than
at present.
But where and how do rural enterprises find the funds and grants to help improve the
services and quality of experience they have to offer? As with the funding for coastal
resorts, there is money available through the EU's Structural and Programme funding.
LEADER + is of particular interest, as is the INTERREG programme.
Any projects that can
be presented as a regeneration programme are most likely to be looked upon
favourably by funding bodies – factors such as enterprise development and job creation
are particularly attractive. The advice here is to contact the Regional Development
Office for the area and your Local Government Office for more details.
Originally through MAFF and now through DEFRA, government money is targeted at
areas where "our rural idyll masks serious deprivation amongst marginalised
communities across England". Government regeneration money is increasingly being
used to assist farmers who wish to develop tourism to complement their core farming
businesses.
Profunding makes particular mention of the England Rural Development
Programme (ERDP), which includes a variety of funding programmes covering
woodland and forestry, countryside stewardship etc, all targeting farmers and
landowners.
Profunding has also assembled advice about the various Lottery funds available and
other distinctive funds aimed at this sector. These include the Local Heritage Initiative
which involves joint funding from the Heritage Lottery Fund, the Countryside Agency
and the Nationwide Building Society.
Other programmes include Nationwide Building
Society Community Awards; the Community Fund (formerly known as the National
Lottery Charities Board); Awards for All (a very useful small grant fund offering between
£500 and £5,000); and the New Opportunities Fund (NOF).
At the tail end of the NOF
grant programmes, rural tourism enterprises may gain funds from the Green Spaces
and Sustainable Communities programme. This is a partnership programme where NOF
grants are channelled through third parties; they include English Nature – Wildspace!
which focuses on the management and development of local nature reserves.
Another
example is Sustrans – Green Routes, Safe Routes, which supports projects linked to
Sustrans' sustainable transport programmes.
Yet another funding source is the Countryside Agency which runs a range of
programmes to promote economic and social development in rural areas. For those
living close to landfill sites there is the Landfill Tax Credit Scheme. There is also the
Environmental Action Fund; English Heritage (offering funds for restoration purposes);
English Partnerships; and The Waterways Trust.
England's extraordinarily diverse cultural heritage is a central part of the tourist
experience. This diversity includes built heritage in the form of castles, stately homes,
palaces, country cottages, lighthouses, bridges and much besides, as well as art
(museums, galleries, theatres, films, music, literature, religion) and the wealth of visual
spectacles offered through pageants, parades, fetes, galas, local carnivals and hundreds
of festivals of the arts.
The funding opportunities here are almost as diverse as the art forms themselves but
"with diversity comes potential complexity". The problem is where to start.
Developing an effective network of contacts is a key element of this process. This
includes regular conversations with them and opting in to their information systems.
The principal funders in this industry sector include the Arts Council of England (ACE) and the Regional Arts Boards (RABs).
The ACE is in the throes of a reorganisation, with
the aim of giving regions more money and more say in national projects. For tourism
projects that have a local or regional flavour, the new regional Arts Council offices
(RABS as was) will be important. They will channel a great deal of funding through links
with local authorities, business sponsors and European funds among others.
The
Regional Development Agencies and Metropolitan or District Councils are also worth
contacting.
ACE has also just started a new initiative called Creative Partnerships which brings
together the traditional ACE-led arts funding system with other funding partners in an
area. From April 2002, £40 million has been allocated to 13 locations to develop this
scheme: the Black Country, Bristol, Cornwall, Durham, Kent, London, Manchester,
Merseyside, Norfolk, Nottingham, Slough, South Yorks and the Tees Valley.
Other routes to funding may not be so obvious, including, for example, a relationship
between the arts and health. If a project can demonstrate measurable community
health benefits, the local Health Authority or Primary Care Trust may provide support,
especially in the Health Action Zones. Then there are possibilities through the Lottery,
especially the Awards for All scheme, and real possibilities for business sponsorship by
enlisting the support of Arts & Business.
Again, the theme here is – know your market, develop your contacts and maintain
them well.
To register for a free password, please log onto www.englishtourism.org.uk and follow
the Profunding and ETC link to apply for a password online. Alternatively, if you already
have a Profunding password, refresh your funding knowledge by logging onto
www.fundinginformation.org.