It could be said that it is the job of bid writers to turn a ‘pig’s ear into a silk purse’. They take raw and often sparse information from service colleagues and turn it into finely crafted proposals that read well and convey an impression of being both investible and investment ready.
However, irresp
ective of the glossiness of the end proposal, bid writers sometimes know that the silk purse they have crafted is still really just a pig’s ear in disguise. The proposal may well have all the fineries you would expect to see…but in reality it’s a bit like the Emperor’s new clothes – lacking in honesty and delivered under pressure.
This pressure can come in many forms:
- The pressure to be able to share a well-developed prospect pipeline with management and in team meetings
- The insurmountable pressure to meet financial targets
- The need to get a set number of bids out the door each month…
- Internal decisions that particular initiatives must be funding priorities
All bid writers experience these pressures at some point or another and at times they can be particularly acute. When this happens…the pigs’ ears in disguise get submitted.
The problem with such bids is that if they are successful, they cause a host of problems for the charity…
- the funding may be inadequate
- the charity may not be best placed to deliver the project
- the proposed activities may not be sufficient to achieve the lofty outcomes that have been outlined
…and so on.
In these circumstances, the charity often ends up in breach of contract or terms and conditions of grant. It can be put in the awkward situation of having to try and come up with convincing excuses as to why it has not been able to deliver. Funding can be lost, reduced and the chance of future funding can become somewhat diminished…at least whilst the principal contact or commissioner is still in post or until the charity’s record is purged.
The legitimate need that exists ‘to raise money now’ can be in conflict with the equally valid need ‘to protect the charity’s reputation and its ability to raise funds in the future.’
Bid writers …be it for grants or contracts, must be empowered to ‘pull / back bench’ proposals where there is a clear and present danger that the charity will not be able to fulfil their obligations to the funder should the bid be successful resulting in damage to the charity’s brand.
The win-win is giving the bid writer the authority they need to concentrate on the genuine prospects with the best project matches in conjunction with a cultivation mandate to develop organisational relationships that have the potential to yield significant future funding.
Let’s not make a pig’s ear of it!
For training and support in developing your bid programme, please contact enquiry@vcschange.co.uk or call 0203 667 7326.
VCSblog 