First Masters in grant-making announced
Howard Lake | 4 August 2004 | News
Cass Business School at City University, London, has announced “the world’s first ever Masters programme in practical grantmaking”.
The course is designed to improve significantly the business processes behind grant making in the UK which makes £6 billion in grants in year. The aptly named programme director, Peter Grant, says that the “fledgling UK industry” recognises that it needs to become more professional.
The MSc in Grant Making Management will be run from Cass Business School’s Centre for Charity Effectiveness. Peter Grant, until recently Director of Operations of the New Opportunities Fund (now the Big Lottery Fund), will join Cass as a Visiting Senior Fellow from September 2004.
Grant, who has spent over 20 years on both sides of grant-making – as a fundraiser and grant giver – says professional education is desperately needed by the industry.
“The industry directly employs 5,000 people so it is a major business. There has never been any professional qualification in this area and if we can help to improve efficiency, even by 10%, this could mean millions of pounds in additional grants for charities and good causes.”
Grant added that the industry first began to take off in the 1980s but has developed in a rather ad hoc fashion, meaning it is not as efficient or effective as it could be.
“Banks don’t just hand out loans to people off the street without first taking a long hard look at whether that investment will work. It needs to be just the same for grant makers, it’s just that the investment needs to be measured in social benefits as opposed to financial benefits – which is, of course, far more difficult and another reason for better training.
“The Irony is that grant makers expect those applying for funding to go through a very rigorous business planning process before money is given out, yet currently they don’t subject themselves to those same standards. There is plenty of good practice on how to run a charity but very little on how to deliver funding.”
Grant said that he expects those involved in the policy and operation of grants within Government and the UK lottery distributors to attend the course. Topics covered will include process development, performance management, effectiveness measurement and problem solving.
The MSc in Grant Making Management is one of three new MSc programmes to be delivered at Cass from September 2004. The others are the MSc in Charity Accounting and Financial Management and the MSc in Charity Marketing and Fundraising.
The Big Lottery Fund will continue to pay Peter Grant’s salary for one year after he joins Cass. He will spend half his time co-ordinating the new programme and the rest of his time will be spent as a consultant for the Lottery Forum, the umbrella organisation of the UK’s lottery distributors.
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.