Top fundraising tips

BABY AND TODDLER GROUPS

Alison Heseltine, early years development manager at the Alliance, shares ideas for fundraising for your baby and toddler group

Alison works as an early years development manager at the Alliance, supporting families and educators.

Running a baby and toddler group can sometimes feel like a balancing act, especially with recently increasing costs. Many groups try to keep their charges as low as possible so that they can continue to support their communities despite the cost-of-living crisis.

Grants

First, you’ll need to find a suitable source of funding that will meet your requirements and that you are eligible to apply for. Your local community hub may have some information available and the gov.uk website has some useful information under “funding for community projects”.

“A key element to many funding applications is ‘social value”

Ask yourself what the funding is going to do for your group, your local community and the families that attend. Consider whether you will need to complete evaluations, questionnaires or case studies and record attendance.

A key element to many funding applications is ‘social value’. This is asking you what you can do to support improvements to the social, economic, and environmental wellbeing of your local area – for example helping vulnerable families, tackling issues such as poor health, providing employment or promoting sustainability and recycling.

When you submit your application, there is usually a delay before you hear whether you have been successful. Don’t be downhearted if not as you have learnt so much that you can use again, so save any information and evidence for next time. Some funders also provide feedback and it’s always worth looking at the successful bids to support your future applications.

Supermarkets

Approach your local supermarkets as many have grant/fundraising programmes. Contact the store community champion and visit the websites to find out more. A top tip to remember is that if the store offers a fund where members of the public vote using tokens, make sure you have raised your profile locally and that the community know about what you do to support families and the difference this makes.

Some supermarkets also offer match funding for their employees so this could mean that your families can directly help to support your group through this scheme. Some stores are working with local organisations to help tackle food poverty so if that is part of the service you offer, perhaps contact them to find out more about how they can help with donations of fruit, vegetables and other essentials.

To get you started, check out Tesco Community Grants, the Morrisons Foundation, the Asda Foundation and your local Co-Op for their grants and community donation programmes.

Other organisations

Many banks and building societies have charitable foundations and grant-making programmes. Check their websites or talk to your local branch. Some also have schemes where account holders can nominate good causes that are in need of support.

Some large national companies have charitable foundations that award funding to charities and small groups. Check out the Warburtons Foundation, the Arnold Clark Community Fund and LNER’s Customer and Community Investment fund to get you started.

Smaller companies working in your local area may also be able to help with smaller donations or even non-monetary support. A local business may be able to provide off-cuts of wood that you can repurpose or a nearby store could donate fruit or vegetables to use as snacks.

Funding programmes

Community Chest Funds offer support to small and medium charities and organisations, including community groups distributed locally. Check if there is a grant available in your town or county.

Magic Little Grants of £500 are available for small charities and community groups, funded by the People’s Postcode Lottery. They are currently accepting applications and will close in October 2023.

Don’t forget to sign up to easyfundraising

Earn free funding for your baby and toddler group with easyfundraising.

As a fundraising platform, easyfundraising exists to turn everyday online spending into forces for good. They do this by partnering with more than 6,000 online retailers who want to give back to your setting for free. Join over 6,800 early years settings that use easyfundraising. Alliance members can register their setting and start receiving funds every time their supporters shop online.

Visit bit.ly/EasyFundU5 to register your organisation today.

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