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Start here: Get started: your first ten minutesTry Trovu free, without signing upSet your password and sign inFind your way around Trovu
Getting started
- Get started: your first ten minutesYour dashboard walks you through four steps: shortlist, budget, apply and team.
- Try Trovu free, without signing upPick your charity on Find grants to see how many grants suit it, and the best 3 in full.
- Set your password and sign inUse the link in your welcome email; it works once, for 24 hours.
- Find your way around TrovuThe bar under the header has every page; your account menu is the circle with your initial.
Finding grants
- Why a grant is suggested for youTrovu compares what the funder supports with your charity's work, place, size and past funders.
- Read a grant's details and closing dateOpen a grant to see who can apply, what it funds, how to apply and when it closes.
- Find grants for one thing in your budgetPress the Trovu icon on a budget line to search for grants for exactly that.
- Download your grants as a spreadsheetUse "Download all as Excel" in the Grant Finder, or "Download Excel" on your shortlist.
- Tell us about a grant we've missedUse "Suggest a grant", and earn Trovu credit if you're first.
Your shortlist and applying
- Shortlist a grantTap ☆ on a grant. It joins your shortlist with its deadline, for everyone on your plan.
- Move a grant through its stagesConsidering, Preparing, Submitted, then a result: Awarded, Declined or Withdrawn.
- Why a grant needs a budget line to move onApplications are for something: choosing which part of your budget keeps your figures true.
- Keep notes, documents and links on an applicationEach grant you're working on has its own notes, for your whole team.
- Set a reminder on an applicationPress the bell in its notes, choose a day and who to remind: they get an email that morning.
- Get reminded before a deadlineTrovu emails your team 14 days and 3 days before a shortlisted grant closes.
- Put your deadlines in your calendarSubscribe once with "Keep my calendar up to date" and deadlines appear and update by themselves.
- Archive or delete a grantUn-star to archive it (kept, with Undo); the bin deletes it.
- Bring in grants from a spreadsheetUse Import data in the Toolbox: check what Trovu found, then press "Add".
Funders, alerts and research
- Get emails about new grantsGrant alerts email you new grants that suit you, weekly or daily.
- Follow a funderPress "Get alerts" on a grant or funder and you'll hear when it opens something new.
- Learn from organisations like yoursSee charities like you that have won grants, and bookmark them for Research.
- Find out how other charities won their grantsResearch keeps the organisations you bookmark, with prompts for what to ask them.
Budgets
- Make your budgetAdd what you need money for this year, split it into items, and add grants to each.
- Understand secured, waiting, in progress and possibleOnly awarded money counts as covered; the rest shows what could come in.
- Plan next year, and set your financial yearUse "+ Plan" for next year: it starts from this year's budget, and you untick what's finished.
- Take a line off your budget that has grants on itTrovu asks where its grants should go; awarded ones always stay on your budget.
Reports
- See your figures in reportsTen reports draw themselves from what you record, ready to download as PDFs.
- Make a pack of reports for your trusteesTick the reports you want, then "Save as a pack" to download them together any time.
- See how your budget could be coveredOne bar per budget head: secured, waiting, in progress, possible and still to find.
Your team
- Add people to your planOn People, give their name and email: they get a link to set a password. No charge per person.
- What Admins and Data admins can doData admins use everything; Admins also add people and look after the plan and payment.
- Remove someone from your planAdmins press the bin beside them on People; Undo puts them back with their role.
- See who changed whatEveryone sees "Since you were last here"; Admins see the full Activity log.
Your plan and paying
- Which plan and price is ours?Your price depends on your yearly income, from £9 a month. One plan covers everyone.
- SubscribeFind your charity, choose monthly or yearly, and pay by card.
- Switch between monthly and yearlyAdmins use "Switch to" on Your plan; it takes effect at your next payment.
- Pause or cancel your planMonthly plans can pause; any plan can cancel and keeps everything to the end of the paid period.
- Update your card or pay a failed paymentAdmins press "Update card" on Your plan or Account.
- What happens to our records when a plan endsThey're kept for two years: sign in to download them, or subscribe again to carry on.
- Earn money off with Trovu creditTell us about grants and funders we didn't know, and get up to 30% off your next year.
Chat with Trovu and the API
Your data and where ours comes from
For councils and CVSs
- How Trovu works for councils and CVSsYou pay once a year; local groups apply on your page; you approve them; each gets a full plan.
- Order Trovu for your area and pay by invoiceOrder online or talk to us; we send an invoice with your purchase order number, payable in 30 days.
- Approve or decline a group's applicationOpen Applications, check the group, and press "Approve" or "Decline".
- See how your groups are getting onYour report shows groups using Trovu, applications made and money won, as a PDF for your committee.
- Renew your council's licenceThree months before it ends we email you a link: give a purchase order number and press "Renew for a year".
Groups sponsored by a council
For consultants
- Add a client charityOn Your plan, find the charity under Clients and choose who there can see your work.
- Switch between clientsUse "Work for" on Your plan, or "Working for" in the Grant Finder header.
- Stop working for a clientRemove it on Your plan: it moves to Past clients with its records kept.
- Plans for consultants and bid writersYearly plans for 5, 20 or 50 clients: £900, £1,800 or £3,600.
Good help from elsewhere
Guidance we rate from other organisations, summed up in a few lines, with the way to the original.
Writing applications
- Decide whether a grant is worth applying forNCVO: Check you fit the funder's aims and rules before you spend days on a bid.
- Get ready before you write a grant applicationNCVO: Have your plan, budget, policies and evidence of need ready before you start.
- Write a grant application that answers the questionNCVO: Answer what each question asks, in plain words, with evidence and numbers.
- What to do after you've sent an applicationNCVO: Keep track of decision dates, ask for feedback if you're turned down, and thank funders who say yes.
- Get ready to apply to The National Lottery Community FundThe National Lottery Community Fund: The UK's largest community funder explains what it looks for and how to prepare.
- Manage a grant once you've won itThe National Lottery Community Fund: Spend it as agreed, keep records, report on time, and tell the funder early if plans change.
- Plan how you'll show the difference you makeNCVO: Decide what you'll measure before you start, so you can tell funders what changed.
- Draw up a theory of changeNCVO: A one-page picture of how your work leads to the change you want, which funders love.
- See who a funder has given grants to360Giving: GrantNav lets you search grants that many UK funders have published, free.
Money, budgets and full cost
- Prepare the budget for a grant applicationNCVO: Cost the whole project, including a fair share of running costs: full cost recovery.
- Plan where your income will come fromNCVO: Spread your income across sources so losing one grant doesn't sink you.
- Write a fundraising strategyNCVO: A simple plan of how much you need, from where, and who does what.
- Set a reserves policyCharity Commission: The Charity Commission explains how much to keep in reserve, and why funders ask.
- Claim Gift Aid on donationsGOV.UK: Charities can claim 25p from HMRC for every £1 a UK taxpayer gives.
- Find out whether social investment suits youGood Finance: Good Finance explains loans and investment for charities, and finds investors.
Running a charity
- Know what trustees are responsible forCharity Commission: The Charity Commission's guide to trustees' six main duties.
- Know trustees' duties for fundraisingCharity Commission: The Charity Commission's guide (CC20) to fundraising responsibly.
- Follow the Code of Fundraising PracticeFundraising Regulator: The standards every UK fundraising organisation is expected to meet.
- Get the basics of a good board rightNCVO: NCVO's tools, templates and guidance for trustee boards.
- Prepare your charity's accountsCharity Commission: The Charity Commission's guidance on what accounts to prepare and file.
- Look after people's data properlyInformation Commissioner's Office: The ICO's plain guidance on data protection for small organisations.
- Look up a charity on the registerCharity Commission: See any registered charity's purposes, trustees, income and accounts.
Support near you
- Find your local CVSNAVCA: Your local council for voluntary service gives free funding advice and training.
- Get funding advice near youNCVO: NCVO points you to local and national help with finding funding.
- Find trustees and skilled volunteersReach Volunteering: Reach Volunteering matches charities with people offering their professional skills.
- Learn fundraising with other fundraisersChartered Institute of Fundraising: The Chartered Institute of Fundraising runs training, guidance and local groups.
- Get support as a community organisationLocality: Locality supports community-led organisations with advice and a national network.
Still stuck?
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