Fundraising strategy

A fundraising strategy is a document which maps out what you will do to generate sustainable income to carry out your mission. It helps you take more control of your financial future, fuels flexibility to run projects of your own design, meet unexpected costs, help with core costs and enables your non-profit organisation to be better placed to deal with increased need for your services.

We remain steadfast in our optimism for the future and regardless of how the marketplace, technology or the economy evolve; an income strategy will help you pre-empt and deal with challenges and make timely use of opportunities, utilising strengths that you may not yet have discovered.

It makes sense to formulate a charitable income strategy, so you are better at raising funds. Clear strategic direction will bolster your financial health and spread risk by pinpointing income streams that are good fit for your social enterprise or voluntary organisation.

Throughout the process it is important that we work in partnership. We know lots about raising money, and you know lots about your organisation and its stakeholders. Whilst it does not require a major time commitment on your part, it is only by marrying the two knowledge bases together that a top notch fundraising strategy can be devised.

We will carefully consider your requirements to establish what should feature in your bespoke two to five year fundraising strategy. Focus will be where it is most needed, and a timeline agreed to highlight milestones to complete the job.

We recommend keeping an eye on the future to secure long-term regular income, but also understand the importance of getting a prompt return on investment. Funding solutions, such as running a lottery for example, may lead to worthwhile net income within a relatively short time span, whilst promoting legacy giving can be very lucrative, but take longer to come to fruition. It is crucial to have a carefully balanced fundraising mix and prioritising the timing to implement each element is agreed when discussing your objectives.

The next stage in developing a fundraising strategy is to review your organisation and the environment in which it operates. We believe in fundraising with confidence, because it is proven to be effective. However, it is foolhardy to do so without a clear plan, and rash to have a plan for the future without a good understanding of the present.

Information, which is gathered via a combination of feedback from key stakeholders and secondary research, provides the background knowledge required for prudent strategic decisions to be made.

We explore an assortment of elements, to help ensure that your fundraising strategy is a good fit for your organisation. This can include internal strengths and weaknesses, and external opportunities and threats; similar organisations and fundraising trends; stakeholders and supporters; your core vision, mission and beliefs; current fundraising activities, procedures and communications; and evidence of the impact of the work you do.

The complexity of a fundraising strategy varies depending on objectives, resources, type of organisation, and its breadth of appeal to would-be donors and fundraisers.  Guidance from even a simple two year fundraising strategy for a small group can add significant value to your fundraising endeavours.

The strategic fundraising plan will enable you to understand your fundraising environment and identify a strong fundraising mix.  It will help inspire current stakeholders to support your organisation and attract new friends. Simple procedures to monitor progress help keep you on track to achieving financial and other organisational goals.

We want you to have a truly meaningful and practical guide to building sustainable income. We encourage you to review the document, and if necessary it can be tweaked until it is completely satisfies your needs.

After completing the strategy we can help further as required via any combination of fundraising advice,  fundraising project planning,  freelance fundraising, or by helping recruit a fundraiser to deliver your strategic plan.