Core funds: Riverside Warehouse Youth and Community Centre
| 'You
end up managing on low overhead costs. If we were running
from a business point of view it would be very different.
Basically workers put in a lot more than they are paid
for and that is not really quantified anywhere.' |
Riverside Warehouse provides a whole range of activities
with a focus on music and arts for young people in Cardiff.
There are three part-time staff and ten volunteers. Annual
income is £55,000 per year. It has a mixture of funding
from the Community Fund, trusts, foundations and in-kind help
from their local utilities company. It has no statutory funding.
'Getting core funding is our big problem,' says Alan Herbert,
chair of the management committee. 'The Community Fund grant
funds staff positions and an element of that is core support,
but we are really scratching our heads about how to cover
our core costs. We have a sub-group of the management committee
which meets every two weeks to concentrate on fundraising.
| 'The
best way to start
a dialogue is to invite funders and potential funders
to visit. This really makes a difference.' |
'You end up managing on low overhead costs. If we were
running from a business point of view it would be very different.
Basically workers put in a lot more than they are paid for
and that is not really quantified anywhere.
'When we were setting up, finding the first funder
was really difficult. Funders like to see who else is involved.
Different funders have different approaches: some like to
get involved and it becomes more of a partnership. The best
way to start a dialogue is to invite funders and potential
funders to visit. This really makes a difference. You can
demonstrate that you are meeting a need, that their money
will be used intelligently and that the project is well-thought
through.
| 'With
all funders you have to be totally up-front. They need
to be informed about what is going on and if there are
any problems.' |
'With all funders you have to be totally up-front.
They need to be informed about what is going on and if there
are any problems. Once a funder has invested in a project,
you know that they have some commitment to it. For example,
we had to go back to one funder to say that we needed to convert
one full-time post into two part-time posts. They had no problem
with this. Funders are essentially human beings and you must
not be intimidated by them.
'As well as direct funding, we have a really useful
partnership with a local utilities company. The company wanted
their staff to be involved with a voluntary organisation to
help their team-building. The link officer for the project
is still on our management committee. They also donated some
IT equipment which was worth around £5,000.'
|
