Have your say on the future of grant funding

The Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) has thrown down the gauntlet to charities across the UK to help them shape the future of grant funding.

By completing the Funding Experience Survey, your charity could help influence how £800million in UK grants are managed and handed out.

IVAR, together with over 100 independent grant makers, have pledged to make the process more open and transparent.

As such, they want to understand how they can improve the funding experience amongst charity beneficiaries.

In particular, they are keen to reduce wasted resources, time and effort, along with the sheer stress of bidding for grants

So if you have a view on how bidding for grants could be made easier and more hassle-free, now is your chance to have your say and let the decision makers know how they can make improvements to their processes.

All survey responses are completely anonymous, so you can give honest feedback without fear of your feedback affecting future grant opportunities.

IVAR will also send the results of the survey to all participants, so that you can find out what the third sector, as a whole, thinks about the grant funding process.

Survey respondents from registered charities will also have the opportunity to enter a draw to win one of 10 prizes of £100 for their organisation.

Ben Cairns, Director of IVAR, said: “This is a watershed moment for UK funding: over 100 grant makers are committed to listening to applicants, and adapting how they work to reduce the wasted time, effort and stress of fundraising and funding relationships.

“We want to hear from at least 1,000 charities about what matters most to them so that we can work with funders to change their practices and behaviours.”

The IVAR survey is available to access here and will close when the target of 1,000 respondents is met.