Name: Citizens Advice Braintree and South Essex (CABSE)
Service: Trust & Foundation Bid Writing (retained)
Weblink: https://cabse.org.uk/
Start date and end date: Jan 24 – Present
Citizens Advice Braintree and South Essex (CABSE) is a local charity. Whatever their problem, CABSE helps people find a way forward through clear and confidential advice to improve their financial situation and wellbeing.
Challenge: In 2023 MMC had been working with Citizens Advice Braintree, Halstead and Witham to deliver an outsourced trust and foundation bid writing service due to limited internal capacity. In late 2023 they merged with Citizens Advice South Essex to form CABSE.
Our role: MMC was asked by Kathy Kentish, CABSE CEO to deliver an outsourced trust and foundation bid writing service for CABSE.
During the first month the MMC team gathered information from Kathy. The more information that can be shared with us, the better we are able to deliver your work. Two members of our team developed a Funding Pack for CABSE which included a master Case for Support for each project identified by Kathy and a Funding Pipeline of potential funders.
Process: Together with Kathy specific funders were identified and our team developed tailored bids to each funder. This involved:
- Associate Expertise: Working with an Associate who is a former CEO of local Citizens Advice charity.
- Bid Assistance:Providing CABSE with comprehensive information about each funder and their requirements.
- Bid Development and Submission: Writing and sending tailored applications, letters and proposals.
Outputs:
- Developed master Case for Supports for four projects which can be tailored to each funder and used to help fill in applications.
- Bids submitted in February, March and April.
- A funding pipeline – a prioritised list of researched funders to apply to each month.
Outcomes:
- New funder relationships have been established
- A 12-month pilot outreach project has been funded.
- Strategic approach being developed to apply for multi-year funding.
Client quote/testimonial
MMC are a pleasure to work with, professional and knowledgeable about bid writing and fund raising. Their work in 2024 has enhanced our ability to increase funding and diversify our income streams, leading to increased service delivery to help our local residents. Thank you.
