Kathy Roddy Training
WRITING A FUNDRAISING STRATEGY:
A TOOLKIT WRITTEN BY KATHY RODDY FOR MEDWAY CVS
What is a fundraising strategy?
A fundraising strategy is typically a document that covers a three year period and
which answers the question: “Where will our funding come from over the next three
years?”
The fundraising strategy should be based on two other key documents:

Your business plan (this sets out what your organisation plans to do over the
next three years, including its projects and internal organisation)

Your budget (this sets out all the costs associated with implementing the
business plan and cover the same three year period)
Only once you are clear about what you plan to do and how much it will cost can you
start thinking about where the money will come from to pay for it.
Business plan:
Answers the
question: "What
projects do we
plan to run (and
why)?"
Budget: Answers
the question:
"How much will it
cost to do it?"
Fundraising
strategy:
Answers the
question: "How
will we raise the
money to do it?"
Typical headings in a fundraising strategy
Typical headings within a fundraising strategy include:
Introduction / background – what your organisation does and why, how long it
has been in existence and who its beneficiaries are (link to the business plan)

Achievements – what have been the organisation’s main fundraising
achievements
© Kathy Roddy Training / CVS Medway. For CVS Medway members only. Not to be shared or
reproduced without written permission
(kathy@kroddy.fsnet.co.uk)
1

Funding history – where, historically, the funding has come from (last three
years)

Future funding requirement – how much will be required to fund the
organisation / projects (linked to the budget)

Competitor analysis – what are other similar organisations doing to raise money
and how does your organisation compare

Case for support – why you organisation deserves support – this section might
highlight weaknesses in the case for support and how these will be addressed

Consideration of the various funding options
o
o
o
o
o
o
o
Statutory
Lottery
Trusts and foundations
Companies
Individuals, including major donors and legacies
Income generation
Loans
This section should also include financial and non-financial targets and success
criteria for each of the fundraising methods discussed

Infrastructure and resources (human and other) required to support the
strategy

Fundraising budget (how much will it cost to raise the money)

Action plan with timescales for the first year of the strategy
What do you need to think about in order to create a fundraising strategy?
Writing a fundraising strategy requires you to do some research to answer the
following questions:







What projects does our organisation plan to do? (Look at your business plan)
How much will these projects cost? (Look at your budget)
How much extra do we need in order to run the organisation and to pay for the
costs associated with fundraising (Look at your budget)
Where has our funding come from in the past? (Look at your accounts)
Are we too dependent on one or two key funders, or on a particular type of
funding? (Look at your accounts). Use the grid overleaf to help you work this out
What have been our main funding achievements?
Which organisations are similar to ours and how do they raise money? (See other
organisation’s accounts – downloadable free from the Charity Commission
website www.charity-commission.gov.uk)
© Kathy Roddy Training / CVS Medway. For CVS Medway members only. Not to be shared or
reproduced without written permission
(kathy@kroddy.fsnet.co.uk)
2



Why should anybody fund our organisation? (Think about need and outcomes)
In relation to fundraising, what are our key Strengths, Weaknesses,
Opportunities and Threats (SWOT analysis)?
What is happening in the external world that could impact on our fundraising?
Consider the following headings when thinking about this: Social changes,
Technological changes, Economic climate, Environmental issues, Political
changes, Legal issues, Ethical issues (STEEPLE analysis)
Income stream
How many
funders in this
category?
How much
from this
stream last
year?
What
percentage
does this
represent?
Statutory
 Grants / Service Level
Agreements
 Contracts
Trusts and Foundations
(Including National Lottery)
Companies
Individuals
Other trading activity
Strengths e.g.:-
Weaknesses e.g.:-


Support from Big Lottery Fund
Lack of diversity in the strategy
Opportunities e.g.:-
Threats e.g.:-


To move into major donor fundraising
Loss of statutory funding
© Kathy Roddy Training / CVS Medway. For CVS Medway members only. Not to be shared or
reproduced without written permission
(kathy@kroddy.fsnet.co.uk)
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Social e.g.:-
Technological e.g.:-


Media coverage of our issue has
increased
Economic e.g.:

Recycling ink cartridges can generate
income
Legal e.g.:-
Government agenda not favourable to 
our cause
Ethical e.g.:
Environmental e.g.:-
Potential donors have less disposable 
income because of the recession
Political e.g.:-
Ability to fundraising via our website
Need to be aware of fundraising
regulations
Other e.g.:-
Are there companies that we should
not accept money from?
© Kathy Roddy Training / CVS Medway. For CVS Medway members only. Not to be shared or
reproduced without written permission
(kathy@kroddy.fsnet.co.uk)
4
Researching potential funders
Researching potential funders will be the most time-consuming element of the work
in preparing a fundraising strategy. The following tools are only an outline of what is
available to help you with this research.
Statutory funding:
www.governmentfunding.org.uk : This site gathers together grant and other
funding programmes from central government departments (paid subscription
required)
www.direct.gov.uk : this provides access to ALL central government departments,
executive agencies AND local authority websites. A keyword search on ‘Funding’
also brings up useful links, including one to local authority funding information.
www.gov.uk : This is a free, daily alerting service providing information and links to
new documents published by central government and other official bodies.
Local and national contract opportunities can be accessed through
www.contractsfinder.businesslink.gov.uk.
www.europa.eu/index_en.htm : The main gateway to the European Union. Type
‘Funding’ in the search box to retrieve information about EU funding (prepare to be
overwhelmed!). http://ec.europa.eu/grants/index_en.htm takes you straight to the
grants page.
Other resources that will help you research EU funding include:
Guide to European funding for the non-profit sector 2012-13 published by the
European Citizen Action Service and available from the Directory of Social
Change (www.dsc.org.uk) £32

European Union grants guide 2012 published by Chapel & York (www.chapelyork.com) £25 to download.
© Kathy Roddy Training / CVS Medway. For CVS Medway members only. Not to be shared or
reproduced without written permission
(kathy@kroddy.fsnet.co.uk)
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Trusts and Foundations:

GRANTnet (www.grantnet.com): this provides FREE access to the
GRANTfinder database via a local provider. It is ‘clunky’ to use, but very
comprehensive. Users are required to register.

www.j4bCommunity.co.uk: Similar to GRANTnet, basic searches are FREE,
but more detailed information is available on subscription only. Also FREE is a
weekly alerting service, highlighting new funding. Users are required to register

www.fit4funding.org.uk: Produced by The Charities Information Bureau, who
provide a monthly e-newsletter detailing new funding streams. The cost is £35
per year and is well worth the money!

www.fundingcentral.org.uk: Is a relative newcomer. It provides a FREE
searchable database of grant funders.

www.trustfunding.org.uk: This is the Directory of Social Change’s online trust
database. Paid subscription required. Their publications: The guide to the major
trusts volumes 1 and 2 are great resources and enable you to browse more
easily.

www.grantsonline.org.uk: Is very comprehensive and includes EU funders and
UK government funding as well. Paid subscription required but you can have a
FREE 7 day trial.

The Charity Commission (www.charity-commission.gov.uk) holds a register of
all charities in the UK, together with details on trustees, accounts and
constitution. As all grant-making trusts are registered charities, this is a useful
source of further information.
Companies:
The guide to UK company giving 2011/12
Directory of Social Change (in association with Charities Aid Foundation)
This guide provides information on over 500 UK companies.

www.companygiving.org.uk : Paid subscription required

www.bitc.org.uk : The Business in the Community website, giving information
about companies with corporate social responsibility policies and programmes.

www.companieshouse.gov.uk : The official UK register of companies, proving
access (for a small fee) to company accounts, shareholder and director details
© Kathy Roddy Training / CVS Medway. For CVS Medway members only. Not to be shared or
reproduced without written permission
(kathy@kroddy.fsnet.co.uk)
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Individuals:
The Sunday Times rich list
This book contains information for over 5,000 of the wealthiest people in the UK. The
Rich List estimates the minimum wealth of 5,000 of Britain's richest people or
families, based on identifiable wealth, whether land, property, racehorses, art or
significant shares in publicly quoted companies. It contains insights into how wealth
is created and distributed, as well as contact details for all the individuals portrayed.
Who’s who
Published by A&C Black, this annual publication gives information on influential
people in the UK. The entries are autobiographical.
Wealthwatch
Published by Sunrise Publications (www.sunrisepublishers.com). A monthly
publication which tracks the increasing numbers of multi-millionaires in the UK. Each
issue contains in-depth detail on the backgrounds, interests, careers and lifestyle of
high profile and / or wealthy people.

www.prospectingforgold.co.uk : Providers of research services for identifying
wealthy individuals. Some services are free, including summary information about
new millionaires
Other resources include:




Celebrity magazines
Lifestyle magazines
Local and national newspapers
Company directories / websites
Local estate agents
Also, look at what other charities are doing to raise money from individuals. You
might think about, for example:







Events such as concerts, dinners etc.
Sponsored events
Raffles and lotteries
Appeals (email, postal and / or telephone)
Collections
Committed giving (where donors sign up to a fixed amount each month)
Legacies
In memoriam giving (donations instead of flowers at a funeral)
© Kathy Roddy Training / CVS Medway. For CVS Medway members only. Not to be shared or
reproduced without written permission
(kathy@kroddy.fsnet.co.uk)
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How will you implement the strategy?
Once you have considered all the possible income streams available to you, you
then need to consider the resources you will need to take the fundraising forward.
This will include, for example:








Staff – who is going to do the fundraising?
Volunteers – can we get volunteers to help?
The role of Trustees
Research aids (books, subscriptions etc.)
Fundraising database to record information about potential and actual donors /
funders
Stationery costs
Postage and telephone costs
Equipment for events
Venue hire for events etc…
Costing the strategy
Once you know who is going to do the fundraising and the equipment and resources
you will need, you can then cost the strategy. Do not forget to include the cost of
staff time in your calculations!
Other useful links / resources

http://knowhownonprofit.org/funding

www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk

http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/advice-support/funding-finance/incomesources/fundraising-strategy-essentials
GOOD LUCK WITH YOUR
FUNDRAISING STRATEGY!
© Kathy Roddy Training / CVS Medway. For CVS Medway members only. Not to be shared or
reproduced without written permission
(kathy@kroddy.fsnet.co.uk)
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