Funding for Day Centres

There is no dedicated funding stream for day services for homeless people, so most are reliant on short term charitable grants.  A planned and sustainable approach to funding can enable day centres to plan for the future, and to target their fundraising work more efficiently and effectively.

SUSTAINABLE FUNDING

The National Council of Voluntary Organisations’ (NCVO) Sustainable Funding Project provides a wealth of advice and tools to help you achieve sustainable funding. NCVO defines this as fundraising from a variety of sources to minimize risk and ensure you can take new opportunities, and which enables you to meet the particular needs and aims of your service without sacrificing your mission. For more information visit their website.

GETTING READY TO FUNDRAISE

The key to successful fundraising is preparation. You will be competing with other services for scarce funds and you need to be able to communicate your strengths very clearly.

• Adopting an outcomes approach is essential and increasingly required by funders. You can read more about measuring outcomes in homelessness services at the Homeless Outcomes website.
• Creating a business plan will ensure that you can plan for the future and are clear about your aims. You can download Homeless Link’s guidance on writing a day centre business plan.
• Homeless Link’s Case for Support guidance gives further help in presenting the most convincing case for funding.
• Consider how you will recover overhead costs. See New Philanthropy Capital’s downloadable Excel toolkit on full cost recovery.
• Use cost benefit analysis to demonstrate your impact and value.

SOURCES OF FUNDING

• Training bursaries are available as part of Homeless Link's Day Centres Project. Please see guidance and application form here. Deadline 31st May 2012.
• Charitable Grants and Trusts have traditionally provided much of the funding for day centres. You should choose a small number of trusts whose aims are very close to your own. You can download Homeless Link’s list of Trusts and Foundations for day centres here.
• The Homelessness Transition Fund has both Main Grants and Small Grants funding streams, both of which are relevant for day centres. Please read the eligibility criteria and help notes carefully.
• Accessing statutory funding from your local authority or Primary Care Trust can offer long term stability, as well as offering opportunities for increased joint working. You will need to demonstrate how your work meets local authority targets.
• Revenue from a social enterprise can contribute to the sustainability of a day centre's work, as well as providing training, skills and experience in a business for service users. For more information on social enterprise click here  
• Homeless Link’s Day Centres Project can offer individual advice to day centres about funding. Small training bursaries are also available to those services receiving support as part of the project. Contact Homeless Link’s Day Centres Specialist.
• Other Sources of funding can be found in a list compiled by Homeless Link (June 2011).