Application
Check
is a new service. It consists of a review of completed draft
applications to statutory funders - in particular the Lottery,
DFID, EU - and draft appeals to large grant-making trusts.
An external
appraisal of a draft application offers the client two main
benefits: a fresh and impartial eye to appraise clarity,
consistency and appeal; and a knowledgeable appraisal of
eligibility and fundability based on experience of funders’
overt and covert assessment criteria.
Application Check works differently if the application reviewed
is to a statutory funding source or to a grant-making trust.
Statutory Application Check
A review of
a statutory application is firmly grounded in the knowledge of
the funder’s criteria and assessment procedures with specific
expertise in the funding programme being approached. Advice
given about statutory applications will focus on whether the
language used is appropriate, whether the explanation of a
project’s objectives is clear and whether activities and budget
headings are consistent with the project.
The review
will not include a detailed rewriting of the draft application
but will give examples of how language can be improved as well
as specific instances of lack of clarity or consistency.
This
standard review takes 1 day and is charged at our standard daily
rate £395 plus VAT.
Application re-write
If following
the review, the Midas fundraiser feels that the application
requires detailed rewriting they will advise the client on areas
which specifically need attention (narrative or budget) to bring
the application up to standard.
If
monitoring and evaluation provisions are felt to be one of the
weak aspects of the application, Midas may recommend the
involvement of Midas’s M&E specialist – Avan Wadia. This will
normally be included in the re-writing service but occasionally
it will be additional if the extent of the re-write is
particularly intensive.
In the event
that a logical framework needs to be reviewed in parallel with
the application and budget, an additional day may be necessary
(only applies to DFID and EU). Only once the client has approved
the need for re-writing, logical framework review and/or
monitoring and evaluation development, will detailed work be
undertaken and a re-written draft be submitted.
This second
level of service assumes that the client has allowed sufficient
time for a re-write before the submission deadline.
Application rewrite service: £790 plus VAT or
£1,185 plus
VAT if a log frame is included.
Appeals to grant-making trusts
The funding
criteria and assessment procedures of grant making trusts vary
widely and whilst the Association of Charitable Foundations has
encouraged its members to move in a unified fashion, applying to
a portfolio of trusts can be confusing, frustrating and
time-consuming.
There is
less information available to fundraisers about trusts, and
applications to them make different demands on our time. Having
first hand knowledge of a grant-making trust’s trustees and
staff and their overt and covert preferences can make all the
difference between failure and success.
For all
these reasons, our Application Check works slightly differently
for trusts. While the review still advises on eligibility and
clarity of appeal, more importantly it focuses on language and
force of the arguments used as well as the appropriateness and
the level of ask.
If the client feels it would be of
use, Midas can show the draft to one of a number of friendly
trust administrators to test the response. Application Check
would be best employed (and most cost-effective) on large
multi-year trust bids, or six figure capital appeal requests.
This
standard review takes 1 day and is charged at our standard daily
rate of £395 plus VAT.
Personnel
All Midas
partners and colleagues are available for Application Check
assignments. Please
take a look at their skills and experience to find the person to
match your requirements.
