{"id":82,"date":"2025-07-24T15:34:23","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T15:34:23","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/?post_type=ht_kb&#038;p=82"},"modified":"2025-07-24T15:34:56","modified_gmt":"2025-07-24T15:34:56","slug":"guidance-on-scoring-projects","status":"publish","type":"ht_kb","link":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/help\/guidance-on-scoring-projects\/","title":{"rendered":"Guidance on scoring projects"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Once your fund closes and you\u2019ve received applications from community groups, it\u2019s time to move on to the decision-making stage. Scoring projects is a simple, structured way to ensure funding goes to the projects that best align with your goals and deliver the greatest impact.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This article outlines how to score project applications fairly and effectively.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why scoring matters<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Scoring helps funders compare applications consistently and transparently. It allows you to assess each project against clear criteria, so decisions can be made based on merit\u2014not preference or guesswork.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We recommend that more than one person scores each application to reduce bias and encourage balanced decision-making.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Getting started<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Your Customer Success Manager can provide:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>A CSV download of all your matched projects<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>A scoring template to help you record and track scores<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Core scoring criteria<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>We suggest using the following four criteria for every fund. Each should be scored on a scale of 1 (low) to 5 (high):<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Community need<\/strong> &#8211; Is there a clear understanding of why the project is needed in the local area?<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Community impact<\/strong> &#8211; Will the project deliver a strong, positive impact? Is there clarity on how this will be measured?<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Attainability<\/strong> &#8211; Are the goals realistic and achievable within the proposed timeframe and budget?<br><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Effective use of funding<\/strong> &#8211; Will the funding be used to achieve tangible and meaningful outcomes?<br><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Optional criteria<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Depending on your fund\u2019s focus, you may want to include additional criteria, such as:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Fund alignment<\/strong> \u2013 Does the project clearly support the fund\u2019s purpose or theme?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Inclusivity<\/strong> \u2013 Does it benefit underrepresented or marginalised communities?<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Public benefit<\/strong> \u2013 Is the project open and accessible to the wider community?<br><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Final steps<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Once scoring is complete, compare the results to identify the strongest applications. Scores can be used to support group discussions and final funding decisions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"has-text-align-center\">&#8211;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>If you have any questions about scoring or need help setting up your evaluation process, please reach out to your Customer Success Manager or contact us at customersuccess@actionfunder.org.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Once your fund closes and you\u2019ve received applications from community groups, it\u2019s time to move on to the decision-making stage. Scoring projects is a simple, structured way to ensure funding goes to the projects that best align with your goals and deliver the greatest impact. This article outlines how to&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"ht-kb-category":[28],"ht-kb-tag":[],"class_list":["post-82","ht_kb","type-ht_kb","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","ht_kb_category-decision-making-tools"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/82","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=82"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb\/82\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-category?post=82"},{"taxonomy":"ht_kb_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/help.actionfunder.org\/funders\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/ht-kb-tag?post=82"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}