Professional Fundraising for the non professional It’s not the “Where from” but the “How” that’s really important Richard Witt

Who is doing the asking? Fundraising in successful organisations is a full time job. Is it for you? It takes time, costs money, needs persistence and a certain amount of knowledge. It needs support from senior management It requires administrative back up You must meet legal requirements of Fundraising Regulator and GDPR

Fundraising Options- if it isn’t you! Get someone else to do it Employ a professional fundraiser Use a consultant Use a “friends” group Use volunteers

“Where” is the easy bit. There are only 6 sources of funds 1- Statutory/Lottery 2- Grants and Trusts 3- Corporate 4- Organisations 5- Public 6- Commercial

Finding the Sources Statutory grants – agriculture, environment, tourism. Lottery- Heritage, Sports, Arts, Big, Grants and Trusts nearly 200,000 charitable trusts. On line directories e.g. “Grant Finder” Corporate; think laterally not just “sponsorship” Organisations; community groups, schools, scouts, Rotary, WI, Public; memberships, donations, legacies. Commercial; sale of goods and services, visitor centres, guided walks, events, publications

How? Should we be using….. Web site? Email? Telephone ? Just Giving? Crowd- funding? Membership? Credit cards?

“How? ” Is the difficult bit. How to choose, how to ask, who to ask, how much to ask for, when to ask Professional fundraisers ask the right person, for the right amount, in the right way at the right time for the right project. This significantly increases the likelihood of success and long term support from a funder. It only happens with research.

Research- Lottery, Trusts and Grants What sort of project will they fund? When should you ask? How much should you ask for? What % will they fund ? What projects have they funded in the past? How do you apply ? Are there other funding rounds ? When you have done this: Can you write up a grant application Can you write a business plan Can you draw up a budget, risk assessment exit strategy?

Research- Companies Do they have a CSR budget? Do they have a sponsorship/marketing budget? Do they support charities or local community projects. Especially environmental ones. Look at the websites, identify a person, ring, ask. Find out if they do , when they do, what they do and how much they do. When you have done this Can you craft a sponsorship proposal Could you ask them for non cash support C-I-K Would staff volunteer to support the organisation

Research- People Are you prepared to ask individuals for money? Have you got a database? Is it GDPR compliant? Have you got a history of donors/donations? Have you lists of event participants, newsletter subscribers, clients, people who bought things? Look up information on facebook, LinkedIn, Google, find out what you can. When you have done this Can you craft an appeal and get it out to your potential supporters Could you meet people and ask for money? Can you handle donations when they come in?

Relationship Building The most important part of fundraising is building relationships with individuals. It takes time, patience and persistence. Long term relationships provide long term sustainable funding. eg YDMT, HLF, Postcode Lottery, corporate members, donors, legacies. Once you have built the relationships then you are in a position to identify the best fundraising approach

Asking People for money Web site Advertising Writing Telephoning E-mailing Get someone else to ask Face to Face Text Visitor payback

Getting people to say “YES” The Principles of Influence LIKING RECIPROCITY SCARCITY CONCENSUS CONSISTENCY AUTHORITY

New technology Social media provides a whole new way of engaging with supporters and building relationships. Videos, 3D and Virtual Reality provides opportunities for real experiences of your projects. Mobile phones/tablets provide quick and easy ways of getting people to donate, attend events or buy things. Is your organisation up to speed?

What next? Have you got a project? Are you the best person to fundraise? Draw up the fundraising strategy Draw up the business plan. Identify the resources Put the admin and support systems in place Identify the sources. Build the relationships. Do the asking.

Then Thank Publicise Celebrate Start on the next one….....