Securing funds from businesses

Although schools across the UK have become much more business-like in their operation over recent years, most have yet to harness the full potential of local, regional and national businesses to inject much-needed funds and additional expertise into their provision.

This article will provide practical advice, based on the work of successful schools, that will allow your school to carry out positive actions to secure a fairer share of the hundreds of millions of pounds of offer every year from businesses.

One of the things that holds schools back in their quest for business funding is the fact that their views on how businesses can provide support are often very narrow, and frequently out-of-date. Many schools are still focusing on asking businesses for raffle prizes or supporting them in other low-key ways that do not reflect the need to create the long-term partnerships that can bring benefits to both sides. Successful and sustainable fundraising from businesses occurs when schools give careful consideration to the many diverse ways in which support can be gained from the business community, including “in-kind” support and free materials. It is also vital to consider a range of geographical scales, targeting local, regional and national businesses as appropriate. Most schools tend to focus on the local, missing out on the more significant funding available from larger businesses operating beyond their immediate areas.