This year, learning has become a non-negotiable for me. Not just something I squeeze in when I have capacity, but something I actively protect in my calendar every week.
Because in a sector that’s changing fast—where funders are changing how they operate and competition just keeps increasing —learning isn’t a luxury, it's essential. It’s how we can maintain, and even increase, success rates and feel confident and inspired rather than dejected and demotivated.
Read MoreI’m often asked for recommendations for freelancers and although I can point people in the direction of some of the consultants lists and Facebook groups, I’d like to do more to champion and showcase some of the talent in the sector. Which is why I’m creating ’40 Fabulous Freelancers’ – a project to put a spotlight on some of the brilliant bid-writers who are raising money for great causes.
Read MoreThere are many ways in which companies can support charities, one of which is to form a separate charity or ‘corporate foundation’. Here’s a quick overview of how and why corporate foundations can offer new opportunities in the increasingly competitive world of trusts and grants fundraising.
Read MoreThis week I’ve been thinking about the days when I was new to freelancing and what I’ve learnt since then. I’ll keep my story of how I first started for another day, but there are three things I want to share this week that I wish I’d known about freelancing when I started out.
Read MoreOne of the principles of great application writing is to have a strong case for support, backed up by evidence and statistics.
But what if you’re not sure how to use evidence or what kind of statistics you should even be using?
Read MoreAs with most fundraising decisions, knowing when to invest and what you need to invest in, requires careful thought. At the basic level you’ll want to know your numbers – how much is this going to cost me and what might the return on my investment be (if you want to read more about ROI take a look at this blog post). However, there are usually other questions you need to ask yourself so that you can make an informed decision about whether now is the right time to hire in a freelancer to help with your trust fundraising. Here are five scenarios when investing in a freelancer might be the right decision for you:
Read MoreOk, so first things first, if you DO call a Trust and they say don't apply because their next meeting is full up or they're not accepting applications, or you're not eligible to apply, then this is a GOOD THING! It saves your time in writing and sending the application so that you can focus on prospects who will accept your application. If you're not the type of organisation they would support then far better to know this up front than to spend time drafting your application.
Read MoreIf your staff are feeling pulled in multiple directions collecting endless types of data for multiple funders you need to get smart with your monitoring and evaluation.
I remember the long nights chained to my desk only too well – the dreaded funder return, due at the end of the month, with an annual report to be drafted and board papers to write. When I was a charity CEO it is what frequently kept me working until 11pm.
Read MoreDo you think it takes you too long to write grant applications? Are you finding you’re spending hours and hours writing an application for a few thousand pounds? Yes, some grant application forms are longer than others, and it doesn’t always correlate to the amount of money you’re asking for. But here’s the thing – imagine if that was YOUR money you were giving away. Let’s say you’re writing a small application for £4k – I’d bet if that was your £4k you’d want some pretty decent information on who you were giving it to and what it was going to be spent on too! Luckily there are some key ways that you can speed up the application drafting process.
Read MoreAs a consultant I’m often asked what kind of return on investment you get from trust fundraising. Particularly if you’re at the beginning of your fundraising journey, trust fundraising can seem like a lot of effort. The hours spent researching prospects, shaping projects, building relationships and all before you even get around to crafting the perfectly worded, compelling application.
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I’ve read and reviewed a lot of trust applications over the past two decades as a fundraiser and there are some words that just make me cringe when I read them. So I’ve put together a list of some of the best –words that to me seem overused, and don’t make much impact. And that’s not what we want when potential funders are reading our applications!
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There’s no denying that trust fundraising is getting more and more competitive. With statutory funding cuts and new charities registering every day there are simply more charities competing for the same pots of money.
Grant administrators and trustees often have to sift through hundreds and hundreds of applications so how do you make sure yours is one of the ones that stands out from the crowd?
Read MoreLooking for new prospects is an essential part of the trust fundraising process. We’ll assume for now that you’re already engaging with all your current funders, and you’ve identified your lapsed funders and have a plan of action in place for those too.
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