Watts Funding Welcomes You!

Lighting the way

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About Me!

Freelance Bid Writer supporting 'profit for good' organisations

Sourcing funding is a huge challenge for any organisation, especially in current times. All too often, you are spinning multiple plates- working on, and in, the organisation, managing projects, looking after the amazing team, networking, mopping the floors...... sound familiar? I’m here to light the way and free up your time, allowing you to focus on that vital delivery.

The majority of my working life has involved working in a supportive role with families, young people and children- often those who are considered 'hard to reach.' In recent years my work within the third sector has developed and I took the lead on fundraising and business development, with a specific focus on bid writing.

Following my success and passion in this area, in 2022 I decided to utilise my expertise and launch my own business which has gone from strength to strength!

I have extensive experience in management and recruitment, as well as managing budgets and services. I am passionate about equality and collaboration and am an approachable, reliable and personable individual who prides herself on being a 'shining light' for the organisations I support.

I live in Lincoln with my partner, son and gorgeous rescue Staffie, Chase. I love the simple things in life, am passionate about sustainable living and my family and friends mean the world to me.

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Why Choose Me?

The people that you help need a lifeline, and you need and deserve funding in order to support them and be sustainable.

Did you know that 66% of grant applications fail every year (Brevio, 2022) and 51% of third sector organisations have seen a decrease in their success rate (Fundraising.co.uk, 2020)?

It’s unfair that funding is so difficult to access but my passion is to help you with this. Let me do the hard work and take the pressure and stress away from you so you can focus your time where it is needed most; delivering your incredible work.

Since 2020, I have secured just under £1.5 million for 'profit for good' organisations and, Watts Funding had an 80% success rate in the first 6 months raising over £504,000! I have had the pleasure of supporting amazing organisations including Fly Anyway Foundation, Blackfriars Theatre Academy, Lincolnshire Traveller Initiative, Noise Academy, NW Counselling Hub, Bearded Fishermen, Clear Path UK and Parental Education Growth Support (PEGS).

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Services

Bid writing

Do you have a project or idea that you’d love to bring to life? Or does your organisation need funding to enable you to deliver your vital work? Struggling to find the time to research funding streams, let alone write a bid? Juggling too many pressures? Let me use my extensive expertise and experience to do it for you! I am passionate about my work and can illuminate your cause. By employing a specialist bid writer you will be significantly maximising your chances of success.

Service, Project and Delivery Planning

It can be really valuable to have a fresh set of eyes to evaluate your services and delivery. This can provide a fantastic opportunity to take stock and identify gaps in services. Let me support you in your project planning to meet the skill set of your organisation as well as supporting expansion and growth of your good cause to meet the needs of your client group(s).

Budgets

Managing your budgets can cause a headache! Let me guide and advise you in your project budget planning, ensuring full cost recovery and avoiding unexpected financial surprises!

Business Award Nominations

One of the things I also love is writing award nominations for outstanding organisations, and the people working for them. Not only do these award nominations provide recognition for the amazing people delivering such essential work, they also provide visibility for your organisation. It's a win win situation!

Unrestricted Funding Sources

Building your organisation's unrestricted funding pot is a real challenge but it would light me up if I could help you to do this! Using my considerable knowledge and expertise in this area I will support you in building up your unrestricted funding quickly and efficiently.

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Testimonials

"Working with Lucy so far has been brilliant. She has taken care of 99% of the process so that I don’t have to worry about it. She has calmed my nerves and has been very reassuring. I’m very excited to continue working with Lucy, I have every faith in her business aid."

Lejla Dauti- Director of Lejla, Please Tell My Story.
September 2022

"We started with Lucy to help us write our funding bids for our charity, We have had several grants through now and Lucy is very easy to talk to, she is very knowledgeable at what she does and really puts you into the right light with funders. A very professional service we will continue to use Lucy for our funding searches and applications."

Rick Roberts- Bearded Fishermen.
July 2022

"Working with Lucy has been a breath of fresh air, she is very professional and delivers an exceptional service. Lucy’s cheery disposition makes working with her a very pleasant experience and her guidance and support have been gratefully received for writing a strong funding bid. NWCH would fully recommend Watts Funding and the service Lucy provides."

Naomi Watkins-Ligudzinska- CEO of NW Counselling Hub.
June 2022.

"Lucy has been very easy to work with and super responsive. She understood our company very quickly and within 1 month of meeting we had our first grant application submitted. I would highly recommend her services to anyone who needs assistant writing grants and bids."

Joe Townsley - Managing Director of Noise Academy.
May 2022

"LTI recently engaged Lucy Watts to prepare a Stage One application to the Community Fund. We engaged Lucy because we knew she had an in-depth knowledge of the criteria looked for by a range of funders, and, in particular, the Community Fund. Lucy already knew about LTI but her research was thorough and, in many areas, she brought a new perspective on the significance and impact of our work. She covered an enormous amount of information and presented a compelling case for the need for LTI.
Throughout the process of her work for LTI she was professional, unobtrusive and double-checked the accuracy of what she was saying. We were confident to hand over to her a lot of direct communication with the funder.
We were very happy with the final application that Lucy produced and from the direct feedback that Lucy received during the application process we believe the funder has reason to be suitably impressed."

Paul Boucher- Director of Lincolnshire Traveller Initiative.
May 2022

"We are extremely grateful for the knowledge and support that Lucy has shared with us while searching for funding for our young people at Blackfriars Theatre Academy. She is understanding of time pressures, flexible and able to work around our busy time schedule, whilst still delivering successful outcomes. We would definitely recommend Lucy."