Hi all,

SUSS are planning an exped for the summer of 2018.
I was wondering if we could have some advice or suggestions on possible avenues for funding and sponsorship. We are already applying to things like the Ghar Parau foundation, our student alumni fund and RGS.
Any advice at places to look at contacting or applying for would be of great use.

I was just looking on AlpKit's website and they have a section on sponsorship (probably more in the form of discount on tents / sleeping bags etc).

Some individuals have had success with the Winston Churchill Memorial Fund.  It is an individual award but most caving recipients I know have put the grant into the expedition kitty.  If you are doing something quite spectacular you could try the National Geographic Expedition Advisory fund which has a European branch.  The easiest grants you have probably already mentioned.

In most cases it is difficult to get grants of cash for caving expeditions.  Some might require a lot of work and change the initial focus of your expedition.  Spending hours filling out forms, interviews etc for a few hundred quid is really not worth it.  Consider whether it is easier for the team to chuck in another ?20 each.

Another avenue is to think whether there are any private benefactors who might support your trip in some way.  Ex-club members who have done well etc.  Good luck anyway.

Just Gangle said:

Hi all,

SUSS are planning an exped for the summer of 2018.
I was wondering if we could have some advice or suggestions on possible avenues for funding and sponsorship. We are already applying to things like the Ghar Parau foundation, our student alumni fund and RGS.
Any advice at places to look at contacting or applying for would be of great use.

Click to expand...

PM sent.

Mark

Ario Caves project got some good sponsorship last year, perhaps you could try talking to them at the next available opportunity (Somerset in a couple of weeks?).

Also might be a thought, along the lines of Badlad's suggestion "Ex-club members who have done well etc."
Try asking your alumni if they work for any large companies and whether they might be able to offer sponsorship.
Or try your alumni foundation for Expedition specific asset purchases (though I know you've now got a club drill) so I guess it would be for other things https://www.sheffield.ac.uk/alumni/foundation

alastairgott said:

Expedition specific asset purchases

Click to expand...

I guess I mean items that you could pass onto future SUSS expeditions: Hangers, Metalwork, hand Bolting kits etc.

but don't make the list too heavy!

The OUCC Picos expeditions (now Ario Caves Project) got a lot of food for free, especially some years. Piles of flapjacks, mountains of Mornflakes, and enough stringy cheese to rig the cave with (although rope is safer, admittedly, so we had to eat the cheese). And many other non-perishable items. You need someone willing to write to lots of companies. Some people are spectacularly good at this (Rosa).

Getting free or heavily discounted caving kit is harder. If nothing else, you can get some discount from places like Starless River, when you're buying lots of rope / hangers / maillons, etc. Could be worth a try writing to some manufacturers such as Spanset, who have provided free rope to cavers recently. And of course UKcaving has been handing out free rope in competitions like this one.

We used to be lent a big Land Rover Defender from the Royal Geographical Society, but then they decided they were not an organisation that supports exploration, only science (interesting decision, given their history). So I suspect they are no longer an option, unless your expedition has some significant scientific merit. I think we found that "studying cave spiders" didn't cut it.

Have been on a couple of expeditions that done quite well through some good old fashioned fund raisers ? Might depend on your area but a well-publicised Pub quiz or lectures series with raffle prizes can pull in good few quid and are relatively easily organised.  Also a bit more enjoyable than filling in funding applications that may not come to pass.  We ran a couple of winter lecture programs that helped with a surprising amount of funding and also helped to drum up local publicity and support.  Obviously, a good key note speaker who might be willing to talk for beer or travel helps, as does a good venue or free lecture theatre through the uni.  If you can get a good speaker(s) lined up, pimp the talks hard over face book etc. especially amongst other uni outdoor clubs (climbers, divers, paddlers etc.) you might get a good turnout.  Ask local outdoor shops, climbing walls, restaurants for smaller raffle prizes, lots of acknowledgments, thank yous likes and shares on face book etc. Cut a deal with a suitable pub for beer tokens and a quiz if you offer to bring a load of thirsty outdoor types in for some afters on a quiet evening. Folks get a good night out and something in return for their ?5-10 everyone happy.    (https://www.facebook.com/events/892990630796072/)

Just Gangle said:

Hi all,

SUSS are planning an exped for the summer of 2018.
I was wondering if we could have some advice or suggestions on possible avenues for funding and sponsorship. We are already applying to things like the Ghar Parau foundation, our student alumni fund and RGS.
Any advice at places to look at contacting or applying for would be of great use.

Click to expand...

Let your members and/or expedition teammates, who work in larger firms, check if there are any firms having sponsoring rules for their employees. The firm for which I work have strict but simple rules for that. I can ask every year a budget for our club.

The rules the I need to keep in mind
- I (the employee) must be member of the board of the club
- The club needs some kind of youth activities
- At least one of my kids need to be member

I thick all the boxes and I'm granted a nice budget for that every year for already 3 years on a row.

Leclused said:

Just Gangle said:

Hi all,

SUSS are planning an exped for the summer of 2018.
I was wondering if we could have some advice or suggestions on possible avenues for funding and sponsorship. We are already applying to things like the Ghar Parau foundation, our student alumni fund and RGS.
Any advice at places to look at contacting or applying for would be of great use.

Click to expand...

Let your members and/or expedition teammates, who work in larger firms, check if there are any firms having sponsoring rules for their employees. The firm for which I work have strict but simple rules for that. I can ask every year a budget for our club.

The rules the I need to keep in mind
- I (the employee) must be member of the board of the club
- The club needs some kind of youth activities
- At least one of my kids need to be member

I thick all the boxes and I'm granted a nice budget for that every year for already 3 years on a row.

Click to expand...

SUSS is a student club

2xw said:

Leclused said:

Just Gangle said:

Hi all,

SUSS are planning an exped for the summer of 2018.
I was wondering if we could have some advice or suggestions on possible avenues for funding and sponsorship. We are already applying to things like the Ghar Parau foundation, our student alumni fund and RGS.
Any advice at places to look at contacting or applying for would be of great use.

Click to expand...

Let your members and/or expedition teammates, who work in larger firms, check if there are any firms having sponsoring rules for their employees. The firm for which I work have strict but simple rules for that. I can ask every year a budget for our club.

The rules the I need to keep in mind
- I (the employee) must be member of the board of the club
- The club needs some kind of youth activities
- At least one of my kids need to be member

I thick all the boxes and I'm granted a nice budget for that every year for already 3 years on a row.

Click to expand...

SUSS is a student club

Click to expand...

And there are no parents of these students member of SUSS?

Leclused said:

And there are no parents of these students member of SUSS?

Click to expand...

Leclused, That's the great thing about Student caving!

A lot of the Students who join these clubs are First Generation cavers, and their whole family cannot understand the reason why you would want to do it! (and so, no, they're not members).

alastairgott said:

Leclused said:

And there are no parents of these students member of SUSS?

Click to expand...

Leclused, That's the great thing about Student caving!

A lot of the Students who join these clubs are First Generation cavers, and their whole family cannot understand the reason why you would want to do it! (and so, no, they're not members).

Click to expand...

That's a pitty then.

But there are other ways of raising funds. Some of the fund raising action I've seen in the caving community

- Brew a special beer and sell it in the caving community (fe one of the student caving club of the university of Leuven 
  http://spekul.blogspot.be/2017/06/spekul-50-bier.html)
- sell wine with special label (we have done this for years)
- Rent a caving box and let kids going through for a small fee (that is what we do yearly)
  http://scavalon.blogspot.be/2011/09/speleobox-2011_8.html
- build some scaff and let kids climb  for a small fee
  http://scavalon.blogspot.be/2012/09/jaarmarkt-edegem_11.html
- A BBQ
- Carwash
- Collect white paper at the printers in the university and sell it. today's price 175-200 eur / ton
  http://www.oudpapierprijs.nl/
-....


I hope these examples give you some ideas 

Might be worth asking the quarrying companies around the Peak to see if they'd offer sponsorship - although I'd be doubtful that Tarmac, Omya or Bardon would chip in you might get something from Hope?