In response to the coronavirus pandemic, funders have stepped up: proactively contacting their existing grant holders; designing new funding streams and streamlining their processes to get money out of the door quickly. During the crisis, I have been spending some of my time conducting assessments for various emergency funding programmes. It has been a pleasure to be involved in this way and I have read some great applications. Many UK charities have been stepping up to help – embracing digital, creatively re-thinking services and providing immediate practical support like delivering food parcels. Underlying these are values of strategic leadership through to neighbourliness.
However, I have also seen examples of poor applications. In the rush to secure new funds, it is important that those applying – and those of us assessing - do not lose sight of the basics.
Back to basics
When a funder receives huge volumes of applications and needs to make quick decisions they have to focus on the fundamentals:
Does the request further the programme aims? – For example, does it reach the most vulnerable, will it make a difference?
Will the group be around long enough to deliver? – Deciding on the likely financial sustainability of any organisation is always a judgment call, and even more so in the current uncertain context, but still important to take a view on.
Is the organisation (and what they are proposing to do) safe and legal?
It is the safety aspect – namely safeguarding – that has struck me most as a basic that had been overlooked in some applications. As funders seek to respond quickly, assessing safeguarding is not something that can be removed from the process. If anything, it is more important now than ever. Charities asking for funds are often mobilising new volunteers who are taking on tasks that they have not done before, or are working with vulnerable people for the first time. This will bring volunteers and staff into situations where they will see or suspect issues of self-harm, financial abuse, domestic abuse, trafficking, or violence towards children. It is important that they know what to look for and how to respond, and that they are well trained and supported. Sadly, any crisis is also an opportunity for abusive people to gain access to children and vulnerable people. Responding quickly does not mean good practice should stop when delivering services. And funders should continue to prioritise safeguarding when making decisions on how best to allocate their funds. Otherwise the well-meaning, but ill-prepared, and the downright unscrupulous might slip through.
What does this mean for fundraisers?
When assessing applications for emergency funding, I am considering your application through a safeguarding lens. If you are working with a new group of people, I want to see evidence that you understand their needs. If you are taking on new volunteers, I want to know how they have been vetted. If you are working online for the first time, I want to know that you have thought about how to do this safely.
Whilst a safeguarding policy is not the same as practice on the ground, it is often looked at as part of the application process and will be used to make judgments on your work. So if it is not dated, I don’t know how current it is. If it states you will review it every year but it is dated as 2016 and still refers to CRB checks, I will question how good you are at keeping up-to-date with current practice. If it is generic and not tailored to your work, I will wonder how your staff and volunteers will know what to do when they have a concern.
I know charities are stretched and worried and in desperate need of funding. But safe practice is fundamental. Charities on the front line have the opportunity to reach and protect the most vulnerable in our society. So my advice to fundraisers is this: before you submit your application for funding, do please pause and ask yourself “is what we are doing safe and have I conveyed this?” Before you attach your safeguarding policy, check it – is it current and does it include any new activity? Showing you are taking safeguarding seriously will help you secure funding but more crucially, it is what all those you are helping right now who are isolated, anxious and fearful, are entitled to.