“If you don’t know where you are going, you’ll end up someplace else.” ― Yogi Berra.
“By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” ― Benjamin Franklin.
“It does not do to leave a live dragon out of your calculations, if you live near him.” ― J.R.R. Tolkien, The Hobbit.
There are many quotes on planning, but at the heart of them all is the simple truth – in order to get somewhere, you need to know where you want to go, and then work out the best way to get there.
It is very easy at this time of year to get caught up in the helter-skelter that is the dash to the end of the term and the end of the year – the finish line is in sight and we can almost smell the Christmas cake. But all too quickly January rolls around and then suddenly it’s February, and the year is underway. If you leave your planning until next year it gets over taken by the here and now…the education courses you need coaches and judges to attend that you wish you’d got funding for, the equipment you need that you still need funding for, the programmes you want to introduce but aren’t sure how to staff…
DON’T LEAVE IT TOO LATE – every hour spent on planning and preparing for 2017, will be repaid in triplicate as you approach the year in an organised fashion, apply for grants on time, put new programmes in place, develop the volunteers you need before you are desperate, etc.
– Club Annual Plan – what is the club wanting to achieve in 2017?
– Financial Plan – what finances are needed to bring this plan to life?
– Grants Plan – what grants do we need in order to support our plans, and when should we be applying for them?
If you would like assistance with your planning, please contact your Relationship Manager. For detailed information on applying for grants, watch out for the Grant Funding Guide that will very soon be available to all member clubs. This document not only takes you step by step through the grants application process for those new to applying for grants, but offers ideas for improving your grant applications, answers frequently asked questions and offers a region by region list of grant providers, what they fund and when.