Submitted by Michael Wignall on Wed, 02/11/2011 - 13:00
Advice UK

 

Sarah Collins of AdviceUK looks at fundraising within small charities.

Working for AdviceUK, a national organisation that has over 800 charities as members, a lot of questions have arisen over the years around fundraising...... and now, more so than ever.

 

 

Chasing the money

Small charities face specific problems with fundraising. ‘Chasing the money’ is by far and away the biggest danger, particularly at a time of tough competition for dwindling money. Applying for pots of money that just about fall into what your charity does, can easily lead to mission drift. 

Before you know it, your key purpose has been diluted, you’re in breach of your memorandum and articles; and you may end up bidding successfully for a service that you’ve no experience in delivering!

Another issue is often there is just one person involved in fundraising, and that is often the manager.  In fact, trustees are legally responsible for the charity and should be leading the way – but sometimes they don’t have the skills or the contacts. 

The manager is left juggling service delivery, staffing, reporting....with barely the time to investigate new funding opportunities.

Last but not least are difficulties proving the value of work that your organisation does.  It’s likely if you’re involved in a small organisation, that you don’t have a fancy case management system to capture all your work.  Managers or admin staff may spend ridiculous amounts of time pulling together statistics from various teams, from various spreadsheets, simply to report to existing funders.  It doesn’t feel like there is any time to gather more.

 

 

What to do? 

Dare I mention the words ‘fundraising strategy’?  This usually brings a roll of the eyes, a sigh, or involuntary shudder.   But the main point to make is that a strategy should not be a document pulled together and shoved into the bottom drawer.

 

1 - Developing a strategy......

.......can be incredibly inspiring, leading to new ideas, or consolidation of purpose.  Involving all staff, whilst setting out clear responsibilities, can reduce anxiety about job security, as well as providing different perspectives and generating enthusiasm.  And managers can relieve pressure on themselves by getting trustees to recognise their roles. 

With a strategy, it is easier to see what information might be required to evidence a need for a service.  With a strategy it’s much more difficult to drift into unchartered waters.

 

2 - Understanding what fundraising is.....

......and it’s not just about raising money.  The purpose of fundraising is to allow your charity to achieve its aims; to deliver services to clients; to build a strong future for your organisation.  It is also about communicating your cause, promoting your organisation and building a long term relationship with supporters.

 

3 - Who should be involved?

You may have skills within your organisation that you aren’t even aware of..... an administrator who has organised events; a volunteer who has great connections within the local community; a trustee with a potential contact; someone who’s produced marketing material in a previous job.  Gather information from your staff on skills and contacts that might be useful.

 

4 - Things to look out for

Ultimately your trustees are responsible: so they need to assess financial and reputational risks.  A cancer charity accepting money from a tobacco company, for example, could do great damage to reputation and future funding.  There are specific legal requirements around certain fundraising activities e.g. raffles, face to face fundraising and more.  

Data protection will affect how you hold and use information on supporters.  You may need insurance for particular activities.  And it’s worth looking into tax efficiencies around fundraising, for example gift aid on donations. 

 

5 - Developing your Case for Support...

Evidence that your service or project is necessary is essential.  If you don’t collect information already, why not start with a four week trial period?  Think about the difference you make and ways you can show this.  Also, bear in mind that different potential funders will fund different things so be creative with your information. 

 

 

More help

  • Funding Central website is a great, free website for voluntary and community sector, and social enterprise. As well as giving your relevant funding opportunities, there are some excellent tools which will help you with planning and skills needed.  http://www.fundingcentral.org.uk
  • The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) has a vast amount of resources and tools, particularly focussing on developing a sustainable funding mix: http://www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/sfp

 

 

Sarah is a member of OpenSpace Co-working Co-op in Manchester. We provide lovely officespace to social enterprises, ethical businesses and freelancers.

AdviceUK is the UK’s largest network of independent advice agencies; our members work in some of the poorest parts of the UK, helping people solve their legal and social welfare problems. 

AdviceUK provides support to these organisations around fundraising, service delivery, governance, partnerships. For more information, visit www.adviceuk.org.uk or contact Sarah.collins@adviceuk.org.uk.  Note: we do not provide advice direct to the public.