Hello there, I’m Jenny Wildblood, Voscur’s new Funding Lead  and yes  -   that’s my real surname! I’ve been in post a few months now and I’m really enjoying getting to grips with the job. Like most of us in the sector I’ve been involved in fundraising all my working life; everything from major Big Lottery and European funding bids to rattling a tin outside a supermarket, and I’ve recently helped to set up a new community business  -  Clevedon’s Community Bookshop.

A few years ago I got so fed up of all the stupid things that funders make us do  -  the form-filling, the document-supplying, the monitoring  -  that I jumped the fence and went to work for a funder, quite convinced that I’d sort them all out. Well, all I can say is that it’s a lot harder to make grants well than it looks. Giving away money is a surprisingly complicated job! However, my time as a Grant Manager has taught me a lot about how to fundraise well, and taught me sympathy for grant-makers as they face up to a lot of the same pressures that we’re facing here on the front-line  -  not enough money, far too much demand.

Looking forward to meeting you, do get in touch if I can offer you advice or support. My email is jenny@voscur.org