When the grant form asks for match funding
The committee finds a grant that fits the new equipment store or the pitch lighting. The application form has a box marked match funding. Someone turns to the treasurer and asks whether the club can show it.
That question lands on you. You may not know yet what the club holds, or whether the money in the bank is already promised to something else. Answering it well takes an hour with the cash book, not a rushed reply at the end of a meeting.
What match funding usually means in plain terms
Match funding usually means your own money, or other income, set against the grant you are asking for. If a funder offers a grant towards a project with a stated total cost, it may expect the organisation to cover part of that cost from its own resources. The share, and what counts as the organisation's own money, is set by each funder.
That is the point to check first. Funders differ. Some accept fundraising income. Some accept reserves. Some accept volunteer time or donated goods, and some want cash only. Read the funder's guidance and application notes before you assume anything. Look for the wording on what can be counted, and whether the match must be in the bank at the time of application or committed by a set date.
What to pull from the cash book before you apply
Before you write a single figure on the form, gather three things from the cash book.
First, income by fund. If all the club's money sits in one pot, it is hard to show where the match comes from. A fund for each project, even a small one, makes the answer clear. The free plan on Vasker gives you a starter cash book with one fund, which is enough to see the pattern before you decide to split things further.
Second, restricted balances. These are amounts that can only be spent on a named purpose, such as a donation given for the roof or a grant already awarded for another project. Restricted money cannot be counted twice. A balance that looks like free reserves may already be spoken for.
Third, last year's income and expenditure. Funders often want to see how the organisation has managed money over the past year or two. The figures from your last year-end give a steady base, and they show that the numbers have been checked.
Put these on one page for the committee. You will need that page again at the next meeting.
Why keeping restricted funds separate matters
A funder who awards money for one project expects it to be spent on that project and nothing else. If the grant lands in the general account and mixes with subscriptions and tuck shop takings, you will spend a weekend trying to prove where each pound went.
Separate funds prevent this. Money raised for the project goes into the project fund on the day it arrives. Money the funder awards goes into the same fund, with the award letter filed alongside. When the funder asks for a report, the figures come straight from the fund rather than from memory and old receipts.
This protects the committee as well. If a later treasurer inherits the books, the restricted balance is visible and cannot be quietly used to pay the insurance.
A worked example: a Scout group and a hut roof
Picture a Scout group that wants to replace the roof on its hut. The committee has been raising money through a sponsored walk, a jumble sale and a collection tin at the local shop. A local grant scheme says it will consider a share of the total cost, provided the group can show its own part.
The treasurer sets up a fund called hut roof. Each piece of fundraising income is recorded against that fund as it comes in. The sponsorship cheques are paid in and recorded, the jumble sale takings are banked and split from the usual running costs, and the tin money is counted, banked and noted with the date. The sponsor forms go in a folder labelled with the fund name.
The general account carries on with subscriptions and the ordinary costs of running the group. Nothing moves between the two without a note in the cash book saying why.
When the application goes in, the treasurer can show the funder the fund's fundraising balance, the total project cost from the written quotes, and the share the group is putting in. Whether that share counts as match funding depends on the funder's rules, so the treasurer checks those first. Either way, the figures are ready.
Notice what is missing from the example. There is no assumed grant amount and no promise that the application will succeed.
Recording the grant when it arrives and reporting back
Award letters often come with conditions and dates. Read them before the money is spent. Record the grant as income in the project fund on the day it is banked, with the reference from the award letter in the description.
Then spend against the fund. Each invoice for the roof goes against the project fund, and the quote or invoice is filed with the same reference so the trail is complete.
Reporting back is where small groups often slip. The funder will want to see what was spent, against what budget, and whether anything changed along the way. The committee will want a simpler picture: how much came in, how much went out, and what is left. A fund report with a short note explaining any differences suits both. Reconcile the cash book to the bank statement each month, so the report is not built from a shoebox of receipts at the end of the project.
Where Vasker fits
If you are new to this, begin with the free plan. It gives you a cash book with one fund, which is enough to keep a project separate while you learn the pattern. When you need several funds alongside members, subscriptions, reports and grant matching in one place, the Standard plan at £59 a year covers those. Neither plan guarantees a grant. What it gives you is a clear record to put in front of a funder and a committee.
Start free by creating your account, then add the project fund before the next committee meeting so the figures are ready when the question comes up.
A note on this guidance
This is general information for volunteer treasurers, not funding, legal or tax advice. Every funder sets its own rules on match funding, eligible costs and reporting. Check the funder's conditions in full, and check Charity Commission, OSCR or CCNI guidance for your organisation's own duties.
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