Funding bodies of various types invest in the third sector – often with the explicit intention of building capacity. But does this work? Is there a match between what funders offer to support capacity-building and what the sector really needs? This Finance Hub-funded national research is an in-depth examination of sector funding and its real potential to build capacity.
Who?
Brap has been commissioned by the Finance Hub to undertake this project. The Hub is making sense of funding and finance in the Third Sector through the delivery of an integrated programme of research, development, training and information dissemination. (By third sector we refer to voluntary/community organisations and social enterprises.)
What?
Funding bodies of various types invest in the sector. But does this investment really help to build the capacity of sector? Is there a difference between what funders offer to support capacity building and what the sector really needs? How can funders improve the quality of their investment decisions and how can the third sector equip itself to better respond to the requirements of funders?
Who’s this for?
We will share the information that we collect with the organisations that participate and with others. We think that the outcomes from this project will be of particular interest to:
Funding bodies
- To improve and measure the access and information about funding opportunities
- Understand if funding is offered in ways that really build the capacity of the Third sector
Third Sector
- Improving support for smaller voluntary organisations. Help them to make stronger cases for accessing funding
- Enabling organisations to understand what others are going through and to use this learning to better respond to funding requirements.
