Are there any differences between fund and funding when used as a noun? They seem both to have a meaning of "money made available for a particular purpose", and I was wondering why we need "funding" when "fund" means the same. Is it because "funding" is the gerund of the verb form of "fund", and therefore more emphasizes on the action than fund(n.) does?
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Actually, due to blocking, they couldn't mean the same thing no matter how hard they tried. – RegDwigнt♦ Jan 28 '14 at 20:32
A fund is an existing collection of money. Funding is the source of that collection. In other words, funding is the money coming into the fund. They can often be used interchangeably, but they do mean slightly different things.
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1Nearly, but I don't quite agree. I would say that funding is rather the situation that the fund exists. To me our funding doesn't mean the bank, donors or whatever, it means the state of affairs, or the arrangement, by which funds are supplied to us. – Colin Fine Jan 28 '14 at 19:38
Consider some of the following sentences:
Fund/funds
The school has a building fund to cater for any needed repairs. There are funds available for John to start a business. The church is going to start a fund, to which persons can contribute, to assist the homeless. I shall make the purchase as soon as I am in funds. Mike has a fund of anecdotes which he uses at social events. There is no money left in the fund.
Funding - as a gerund
We will start the work as soon as we get funding. Given the nature of the project funding may be difficult to obtain. Funding has been approved for the scheme.