{"id":138,"date":"2026-06-12T10:54:30","date_gmt":"2026-06-12T10:54:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/?post_type=ht_kb&#038;p=138"},"modified":"2026-06-12T12:50:42","modified_gmt":"2026-06-12T12:50:42","slug":"writing-a-good-fund-description","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/help\/writing-a-good-fund-description\/","title":{"rendered":"Writing a good fund description"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Your fund description is the first thing non-profits see when they come across your fund on ActionFunder or are signposted to it. A clear, well-structured description helps the right organisations apply &#8211; and saves everyone time by setting expectations upfront.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The aims of your fund<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Start with the &#8220;why&#8221;. Non-profits want to understand what you&#8217;re trying to achieve and whether your fund is a good fit for their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Explain what motivated you to create this fund, what change you&#8217;re hoping to see, and what kinds of communities or issues you care most about. Be specific &#8211; vague mission statements make it harder for applicants to self-select, which can lead to a mismatch between the projects you receive and the work you want to fund.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What you can fund<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Be clear about the types of projects, activities, and costs you&#8217;re able to support. This might include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Project types<\/strong> &#8211; for example, community events, capital projects, service delivery, training programmes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Eligible costs<\/strong> &#8211; such as staff time, materials, equipment, or venue hire<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Geography<\/strong> &#8211; if your fund is limited to a specific area, say so clearly<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Organisation types <\/strong>&#8211; for example, registered charities, CICs, community groups, or a combination<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The more specific you are, the easier it is for non-profits to work out whether they should apply.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What you can&#8217;t fund<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Being upfront about exclusions is just as important as explaining what you do fund. Common exclusions to consider include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Activities that have already taken place<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Statutory or public sector organisations<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Projects that don&#8217;t benefit the local community<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Endowments, loans, or deficit funding<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Political or religious activities<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;ve had a recurring issue with ineligible applications, it&#8217;s worth addressing it directly here.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What a good application looks like<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Help non-profits put their best foot forward by describing what you&#8217;re looking for. This could include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A clearly defined need or problem the project is responding to<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A realistic plan with measurable outcomes<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Evidence that the organisation has the capacity to deliver<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A budget that is proportionate and well-explained<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Genuine community involvement or co-design<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You don&#8217;t need to write a rulebook \u2014 a short paragraph describing the qualities that stand out in strong applications is often enough.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Scoring criteria<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you use a scoring framework to assess applications, sharing it (or a summary of it) helps applicants understand what matters most. For example, you might weight criteria like:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Impact &#8211; the difference the project is likely to make<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Reach &#8211; the number and diversity of people benefiting<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Value for money \u2013 how efficiently the funding will be used<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Organisational capacity &#8211; whether the team has the skills and experience to deliver<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Even a high-level breakdown of your priorities gives applicants something to respond to directly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The review process<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Set clear expectations about what happens after an application is submitted. Non-profits appreciate knowing:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>When applications open and close<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How long decisions typically take, and how frequently if projects are being awarded on a rolling basis<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Who reviews applications (for example, an internal panel, an external committee, or both)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Whether there is a shortlisting stage or interview process<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>How and when applicants will hear the outcome<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Transparency here builds trust and reduces the number of chasing emails you receive.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Examples:<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here are some examples of what a great fund description looks like:&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/app.actionfunder.org\/fund\/577\">Brent Council &#8211; Wembley Housing Zone Project &amp; Wates Residential &#8211; Community Chest 2025<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/app.actionfunder.org\/fund\/849\">Better Futures Fund &#8211; South West Water<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><a href=\"https:\/\/app.actionfunder.org\/fund\/735\">The Better Luton Environment Fund<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Need help?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">If you&#8217;d like support writing or refining your fund description, get in touch with us at customersuccess@actionfunder.org.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Your fund description is the first thing non-profits see when they come across your fund on ActionFunder or are signposted to it. A clear, well-structured description helps the right organisations apply &#8211; and saves everyone time by setting expectations upfront. The aims of your fund Start with the &#8220;why&#8221;. Non-profits&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[26],"ht-kb-tag":[],"class_list":["post-138","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-setting-up-a-fund"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/138","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/ht_kb"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=138"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/138\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=138"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-category?post=138"},{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-tag?post=138"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}