Tips for a successful application

1. Is Futurebuilders really for you?

Futurebuilders England is an experimental fund whose purpose is to test a particular approach to funding. Every investment we make will contain a substantial loan element and we can only support third sector organisations that are involved, or planning to become involved, in delivering public services.

If your plans do not involve delivery of a public service, or if you are not willing or able to take on a loan, then we cannot support you – no matter how good or interesting your scheme.

2. Answer the question!

Our application form asks for quite a lot of information but also imposes strict character limits on the answers.

This is because we want facts, not waffle! The best applications we receive are almost always the shortest and most succinct, where applicants have read the questions carefully, thought about what we want to know and provided only the information we need.

We don’t need you to tell us how good your organisation is. We do need to know what it does, what it plans to do, who will benefit, how they will benefit and how carefully you have planned and costed your scheme.

3. Name your potential purchaser/s

Tell us the name of the primary care trust, local authority or other public sector organisation you think is likely to purchase your service. We understand that you may be some way from a signed and sealed contract, but we do need to know that you have at least talked to a prospective purchaser about your plans.

If you can’t name a potential purchaser when you submit your application, we may have to reject you in favour of an organisation that can.

4. Have your plans ready

We don’t ask for any supporting documentation with your application, but if your application is longlisted for Stage 2 assessment we will ask you to send us your Business Plan, audited accounts, cashflow and other information within a month.

This is because we expect you to have planned your scheme carefully before you apply – and this would normally include preparing detailed operational and financial plans.

5. Capital doesn’t always mean buildings …

Futurebuilders expects capital investments to make up around 80% of its total investments – but this need not always mean buildings and buses!

We define ‘capital’ in the widest possible sense, and we welcome requests for working capital or intangible assets.

Our definition of capital includes:

  • Physical assets, e.g. buildings, equipment or land, and expenditure directly related to acquiring them (professional fees, taxes etc)
  • Intangible assets, where the asset created has a continuing value to the asset holder (for example research and development, collection and presentation of information, sharing of learning)
  • Loan finance, this can be for capital or revenue purposes, but we count it as capital if it is funded via a loan
  • Development capital, the money needed to support an organisation through the early stages of a scheme before it can generate income.

6. Plan ahead – but not too far ahead

We expect any organisation we invest in to start drawing down the funding within a year of accepting our offer. If you do not expect to be in this position, we may have to reject you in favour of an organisation that will be.