• Read the trust’s guidelines thoroughly

• Make realistic requests for funding in relation to the charity’s turnover, for example asking for 30 or 40% of total income from a trust that doesn’t know you, is likely to be unrealistic

• Don’t underestimate the role of the director at a charitable trust – most applications that reach trustee meetings will get through

• Be aware that director and staff research charities that apply, they look at their accounts, look at their website, research the area of work, talk to anyone they know who knows the charity or issue

• If you know a trustee, it is usually more effective to approach them personally, rather than name drop your acquaintance with them to the Director

• Invite trustees and directors to events – it’s the best way to get a feeling for an organisation or project

• Send invitations to events on paper (and follow up by email) that way they are harder to ignore

• Give as much notice of an event as you can, perhaps send a ‘hold the date’ notice if all details are not ready in time for this.  An unusual venue or another ’hook’ may make your invitation stand out from the many others that come to the trust

• Maintain good relationships by keeping the trust informed - submit reports on time and if you can’t explain why you can’t

• Be honest about any problems
   

The Kadoorie Charitable Foundation sees itself as a funding partner rather than a traditional donor who support a project without involvement.  If a new proposal meets their charitable objectives, the staff of seven will work closely with the project over a period of two to three months before the application goes to the board.  Once funding is in place the Foundation maintains this partnership throughout the life of the project and places importance on post-funding evaluation.  Ten key suggestions for a successful proposal are:

• Shared charitable objectives (projects in Nepal, Laos, China, Cambodia, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Myanmar and India (Andhra Pradesh).

• Project that meet funding gaps, for example an issue or geographical area that does not already have the presence and support of other major funders.

• Positive references from third parties.

• Well thought out and concise proposals with a logical flow (less than 10 sides).  Avoid repetition and abbreviations (if this can’t be done, spell out the abbreviation in brackets at the beginning and use this form consistently throughout the document).

• Check your application again and again and ask a third party to read it.

• Include clearly explained budgets that add up and match the figure in the covering proposal (in requested in local and donor’s currency).  The Foundation will consider attributable core costs as long as they are explained and justified.

• Be realistic! Don’t over inflate or under-estimate budgets, the Foundation will refer to its wide network in the field for advice.

• Include a contingency element in the budget, for example 5% for inflation.

• Remember personal chemistry is important!

• The Foundation values open, honest and regular communications, out of which can stem trust and confidence.  They want to know about any problems as soon as they occur - no successful project works without problems.

NB: the Kadoorie Foundation does not publish its own website in an attempt to discourage a plethora of “ill thought through” applications.