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We are a leading charity, working at the centre of the giving world. We help donors to give more impactfully and charities to build their resilience so they can do more of their life-changing work.
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Home Services for charities Resources for charities Fundraising fundamentals Part 1 - Getting started
Fundraising Fundamentals
The first step to putting together an effective fundraising strategy is identifying where you are, what resources you have at your disposal and where you want to go.
Developing your fundraising strategy
Prioritising goals and activities is always a good starting point when putting together your strategy, will help ensure you make maximum use of your organisation’s resources.
There is no set template when putting together a fundraising strategy, but asking the following questions can provide a framework for your plans.
1. Where are you now?
Who are your current supporters?
What fundraising have you done up to this point and how successful was it? Include events you ran, crowdfunding campaigns, grants or partnerships.
2. Where do you need to get to?
Think about what services you want to deliver today and how this might change over the next few years.
Consider what you may need to put in place to make sure your charity can respond to changing circ*mstances and new opportunities.
Ensure your fundraising aligns with your strategy, rather than your strategy aligning with your fundraising.
3. How much can you afford to spend?
Remember, fundraising is an investment, be that time, money or both. Not all fundraising is expensive, but those that invest do so for a reason.
4. How long do you have to raise the money?
Do you have enough time to build relationships with major donors, which can take many years to come to fruition?
For example, if you want need to raise £50,000 in the next six months, trying to reach major donors that don't currently have a relationship with you will be challenging.
Thinking about how much time you have will help you decide which ways are best to raise those funds.
5. Are you set up to receive donations?
Think about the systems and processes you have in place to manage donations, including Direct Debitsand online donations.
If you don’t have these in place you may want to look into free to use online donation tools such asCAF Donate.
6. What rules and regulations do you need to be aware of?
Be mindful of which regulations apply to your planned fundraising activities and your marketing of them. Find out more about theCode of Fundraising Practiceand the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Keep it simple
The best fundraising strategies are simple and clear.
A SWOT analysis can help you understand what's realistic and achievable.
If you've never done a SWOT analysis before, there are plenty of examples you can find online. On the right are some things to think about when putting yours together.
To be successful, your strategy should be reviewed regularly rather than stowed away in the office drawer never to be looked at again.
Setting targets and developing a calendar of activities is key tohelping track and assess progress.
SWOT Analysis
Strengths
What are you good at? What facilities do you already have in place? Maybe you already have a very engaged support base that can't wait to hear from you?
Weaknesses
What are not so good at? Do you secretly know that your supporter data is full of holes and hasn't been kept up to date?
Opportunities
What's coming up on the horizon that could put you in a good position? Maybe you have some really great success stories to place at the heart of your fundraising appeals.
Threats
Is your board willing to make the required investment? Perhaps the constantly changing political environment is creating disruption that you find difficult to manage.
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