Interviews with funders

Whenever the time comes to talk to funders about bids we have submitted there is always an element of anxiety creeping in on two counts . Firstly will I be able to convey to the funder the rationale behind the bid and back it up with hard evidence rather than emotional passion and do justice to  the hours spent by officers of DVSC in putting the bid and additional paperwork together. Secondly have we raised the expectations of the community , our customers, to a point that we cannot deliver thus putting at risk our reputation in the community which I would like to think is currently of a very high standing. Finally lets not forget that whilst we are here to serve the community there is always inevitably a strong underlying desire to support the staff and volunteers of DVSC and secure additional money so that the excellent work they do continues as I am firmly of the view that DVSC staff including our carers service NEWCIS deliver day in day out an excellent service to the community and do so through a sense of public service because if salary was the main driver, to be honest, they would have left DVSC many years ago and probably moved in to the private sector.

So against this background when I came into work this morning to take a call from BBC Children in Need I wasn't quite sure how it was going to develop. Well , 75 minutes later , I think when I put the telephone down I had  managed to convey the message and that our bid around Safeguarding children and young people in Denbighshire  , if successful would make a difference. What has encouraged  me throughout the process is that the bid whilst penned by DVSC staff mainly Suzanne Bradley the architects of the bid are the young people themselves who will benefit from the funding we can draw down. Its easy to talk about empowerment and engagement but when you actually do talk to young people or whoever the beneficiaries are likely to be its a powerful experience because you find yourself simply  developing a real project around real people's lives and so no longer does it become a bid around the various strategic objectives contained in the various documents scattered around the County . Naturally you would expect that the project outcomes map with those strategies as the strategies have equally been based on the needs assessments carried out but in the final analysis what makes the bid process very real and potent is the hard evidence you gather in talking directly to the community and  setting down their experiences, their environment and their aspirations. I suppose for me that's when I can see how we can make a difference together.

I know the question I will be asked is "Will DVSC get the money" . Its hard to say because there is so much competition for the money and there will equally be other  deserving projects elsewhere in Denbighshire  and beyond. However I remain positive and take the view that if isn't Children In Need this time then it will be  another funder who will see that the project we have proposed will have an impact in Denbighshire and allied to other  projects currently operating in the County  our proposal brings real added value. For me its about bringing in as much investment as possible into the County to give our communities every opportunity as we all have hopes for the future and if we can help in some small way then I think that DVSC will have gone a long way to achieve their strategic objectives and overall mission.

So by 10.15am this morning the interview was over and my attention had by then  turned to the 12 noon deadline set by Conwy County Council with regard to the submission of a PQQ for an advocacy project  and fingers crossed that our submission would arrive by courier before the deadline because again we had spent a fair amount of time putting a submission together which I think builds on the expertise and knowledge  of the DVSC staff around advocacy. We will know whether we have been successful within a month and thereafter that's when the work starts in putting together a detailed tender.

Has today been  any different to other days , well in one way it has  because its not everyday we deliver bids to deadlines or talk to our funders  but most days does involve us working with third sector organisations in helping them develop their services which inevitably at some point involves funding. Tomorrow for example I have two important meetings in Rhyl and Denbigh with two third sector organisations and a number of statutory bodies and both schemes revolve around developing proposals that will support the respective organisations for years to come. If all goes well it will be pleasing to report sometime in the next 12 months the outcomes.

And finally I have to finish our 6 monthly report to WAG with regard to our activity and so I have had everyone in the office counting what they have been doing  such as  how many volunteers have we interviewed and placed, how many organisations have we helped with training, funding etc , how many carers have we helped , how many strategic partnerships have we attended, providing case studies demonstrating the difference we have made  even to the point of  tracking how many enquiries we have had by email, telephone, personal callers , letter etc - that last number is staggering  and just demonstrates the demand placed on our service and this is all activity  before any tough spending cuts start to take effect.  What will the demand on our services be like once the cuts start to impact? The deadline for this report is the 31st October and yes we will deliver on time.