Trust Fundraising

Fundraising Fair – November 2016

Gill Jolly BSc (Hons) FInstF (Dip)

Director

Consultants LtdManagement, Fundraising and

Training

“There is a way to do it better – find it.”

Scene setting

See it from their perspective

Why will they support youThis image cannot currently be displayed.

What do they want/need from you?

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What you need to know

Two stage process

On line process

6 rules of engagement

Know your grantmaker

Know who you are dealing with

Know their considerations

Know what they value

Know how to give it to them

Minimize risk

Know who you are dealing with

Mega Foundations Specialists Staff are influential

Competitive Foundations Generalists Boards are more involved

Family Foundations The Donor The Buck Stops Here

Know what they value Product Data Deliverables A Plan That is Likely to Work

People Authority Content Responsibility

Protocol

Risks

Shrewd investment

Impact

Common mistakes

Not reading fully materialsApplying for what you want rather than what fulfils their criteriaAssuming prior knowledgeUsing different language/jargonNot following prescribed formatUsing standard template/infoUndersellingBad writing

See it from their perspective

Sound Successful

Demonstrate that funds represent shrewd investmentState impact of work, who will benefit and how you will prove itSpell out benefit of future work – refer top track record of managing external fundsDemonstrate and list past successesn qualitative terms, be upbeat, self-confident and creativeThink about crucial first impression f you can’t communicate a belief, how can you expect

DiscussQ1: What does success look like at your project/charity?

Q2: How do you know when you have achieved uccess?

Q3: How do you know that your activities are achieving the impact you require?

Give evidence of success

What To Communicate

• Clear mission/purpose• Defined aims• Coherent activities• Achievements• Evidence• Lessons learned• Improvements

‘Charities told us that the greatest benefit of measuring their impact was to improve their services. That’s incredibly important, because it means that charities can deliver better outcomes in tough times, and ultimately help improve people’s lives even more.’

1. Clear PurposeWhy do you exist?What issues are you ultimately trying to tackle?What overall impact do you want to have?What change do you seek?What impact do your key t k h ld t t h ?

2. Defined Aims

What are your specific short and long term aims?

How does achieving these aims help you achieve your overall purpose?

3. Coherent ActivitiesWhat activities do you carry out to achieve your aims?What resources do you use to make these activities happen?What are the outputs of these activities?How do your activities help achieve the aims and create change?Are our activities part of a coherent plan?

4. Demonstrated Results

What outcomes/impact are you achieving against your aims?

What impact are you achieving against the overall change you seek?

5. Evidence

How do you know what you are achieving?

Do you have relevant proportionate evidence of your outcomes and impact

Are you sharing evidence to back up the claims we make?

Are we seeking feedback review and input where appropriate?

6. Effective Methods you can Use

PledgesTangible successesTestimonialsSurveysConfiding in stakeholdersWordbites

i t t d i t t

Ongoing evaluationWhat are you learning about your work?How are you communicating what you learn?How are you improving and changing from what you learn?Are you allocating resources to best

ff t?

Impact

Impact reporting

Be accountable to your stakeholders; engaging them in open and honest dialogueEngage and inspire supporters and potential supportersReview your activities and impact against your vision and purposeChallenge your assumptions and revise strategies and plansMotivate and involve staff and volunteers

Tell them who else is funding you

Share what others say about you

Share what others say about you

Why do applications fail?

Some reasons relate to the way applications are written (good ideas, poorly presented)

Others have nothing to do with the way the application is written

Ineligible applications

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This report looks at the wasted work of the voluntary sector ;

A research study carried out by DSC as part of the Great Giving Campaign

% of ineligible applications

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0

5

10

15

20

25

30

35

40

45

0-100k 100-250k 250k-1m 1m-5m 5m+

%

Grant total

% of ineligible applications

What funders are looking forThis image cannot currently be displayed.

Robust projects Consultation

People focus Exit strategies

Outcomes not processes ‘Lean’ organisations

Innovation & creativity ‘Fit and proper’ management

Partnerships Sustainability

User involvement Range of policies

What funders are don’t like...This image cannot currently be displayed.

See ‘attachments’ TDLA

Incomplete applications Round figures

Late applications Loose financial proceedures

Unanswered questions We’ll close if you don’t

fund us

Lies! Name dropping?

Avoid being an ineligible application

Read the guidelines Do your researchSeek clarification Do not send blanket appeals Clear, concise & jargon-free applications

Exit strategies

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• Project becomes permanent & self financing• Project is a one-off• Project is a demonstration project• Project creates partners• Project scales down activities towards end• Follow-up projects & activities are created• Aim for another funder to take over funding

common error is answering the wrong question:

e.g. the funder asks about OUTCOMES and you write about OUTPUTS

Common Errors

Evidencing outcomes (1)

OUTCOMES are not the same thing as OUTPUTSOUTPUTS tend to measure how busy you areOUTCOMES refer to the difference you make to the lives of your beneficiaries

Evidencing outcomes (2)

Outcomes may be soft or hard:– 80% of students passed the exam (Hard

outcome)– Students reported a greater sense of self-

confidence and esteem (Soft outcome)– Again, you need EVIDENCE of outcomes

Don’t just say…

“Horse-riding makes the children feel better.”

“Our clients enjoy the basket-work therapy sessions.”

“Our group-work sessions are very positive.”

Say instead (or as well)….

“The results of this study suggest that hippotherapy has a positive effect mobility, co-ordination and mood in children with cerebral palsy.” Journal of Neuroscience….

So…

“After 8 weeks, the clients engaged in group work reported an improvement in personal motivation. This was measured using the Rickter Scale. Clients were asked to rate their motivation on a scale of 1 to 10 and after 8 weeks had improved their score by an average of 5 points.”

Monitoring and evaluation

The most difficult questions

What is the need for your project?How have you established this need?What difference will your project make to your beneficiaries?How will you know you are making a difference?

Writing about need

on’t make bald statements like

“There is a desperate need for youth facilities in Newtown”

“Many Gypsies and Travellers suffer from mental health problems”

“There are no facilities in Newtown for disabled people to ride a horse”

ack up assertions with facts:

“Newtown is in the top 5% in the Government’s scale of deprivation (no. 577 out of 32,482). Education deprivation is also one of the highest in the country (no. 495 out of 32,482). This means that we see children of eleven who lack basic skills in reading and writing.”

nd ................

“Research published in the Journal of Psychiatry shows that Gypsies, Roma and Travellers suffer a greater level of depression when compared with the settled population. The suicide rate amongst this group is also significantly higher. This is attributed to…..” (Professor X)

Find and give the relevant statistics

Find and give the relevant RESEARCH

Boost this data with your own findings / experience (good use for a case study)

Your language

What you say and how you say it

Sound positive

Sound positive

“we plan to…”

NOT

“we hope to…”

Hesitative vs. Definitive language

Hesitative:• We aim / hope to....• We hope to repeat past successes• We anticipate that ....

Vs.

Definitive:• We will...• Our past results prove....• Our projections show

Be specific, not general

Help us to support....Vs. Your donation could ....

Be specific, not general

Pig in the middle

”Pig in the middle”

move the ‘us’ and ‘we’ nd replace with ‘you’

Make them feel part of it

ReviewRecap & review

Gill Jolly BSc (Hons) FInstF (dip)

Consultants LtdManagement, Fundraising, Training, Mentoring

A huge thank you for listening, joining in and sharing your thoughts