It’s Not Just About The Money – Our Latest Report
July 8, 2022
The Fore’s research has already demonstrated that its unrestricted funding catalyses impact and growth. Now, our deep dive report into The Fore’s model shows that our non-financial support means just as much.
A new newest report illustrates the importance of wrap around support to small charities and social enterprises. Drawing on the feedback of 81 anonymous grantees surveyed in Spring 2022, The Fore has shown its model plugs a critical gap in skills provision within the sector. Significantly, nearly half of grantees report that no other funders they work with provide pro bono support and training.
Since The Fore was founded in 2017, we have distributed over £6.2 million in unrestricted grants. Strategic support begins during the application process, as short-listed applicants are mentored by expert Strategic Applicant Consultants. 90% of grantees either agreed or strongly agreed that their conversations with the consultants helped them to more clearly describe their organisation’s strategy
What Our Grantees Have To Say
The organisations we supports are embedded in local communities. With small teams, they can lack access to business expertise which could support them to become more sustainable or grow. To meet this need, The Fore has delivered over 4,000 hours of training to more than 2,000 participants. We have connected 130 grantees to skilled Pro Bono volunteers and enrolled a third of grantees on to impact measurement courses. Nearly 60% of Fore grantees said that the non-financial support they received was just as crucial as the grant.
Grantees report that their experience with The Fore was different to the average, distant funder-grantee relationship. One organisation remarked “The one-to-one communication and conversations really help to achieve a trusting relationship where you can openly discuss challenges as well as successes”. With collaboration at heart of our process, the report has also brought to light some key learning points. Over the next year, we will grow our wraparound support and meet charity demand for peer-to-peer networking events. Importantly, we will streamline processes to make funding more equitable and accessible.
For additional insights into The Fore’s findings, read the full report here.
Explore more research in to our impact here.