**Raising the Bar is currently closed to new applications whilst I work on something even better to help you navigate today’s world of trust and foundation fundraising. If you’d like to get on the waitlist to hear when my new training opens in October, please sign up here.
You know what you need to raise money for but don’t know how to put together a grant application
You’re facing uncertainty in other areas of fundraising and want to learn how to write successful grant applications to help secure your income in the longer term
You want to invest in your own staff’s training and development rather than outsourcing bid-writing to a freelancer
You’re new to trust fundraising and want to make sure you create the right foundations from the start rather than experimenting as you go along.
“This was literally ‘raising the bar’ - trust fundraising is so competitive now and I wanted some ways to stand out and up our game.”
LAURA, DEMELZA HOSPICE CARE FOR CHILDREN
“A really comprehensive introduction to trust fundraising.”
FERN, ANTHONY NOLAN
“Alicia was highly professional, experienced and friendly. The structure and time commitments of the course suited me well.”
IMOGEN, CORNWALL RURAL COMMUNITY CHARITY
I am very nearly at the end of my first year as a fundraiser and I wanted to say a huge thank you for helping me - I felt so lost in the beginning. I feel I've had a good first year - I have written 13 applications for the educational federation I work for - 9 out of the 10 applications were awarded funding. I am waiting to hear the outcome of the remaining 3 applications. So far the total raised is £29,173.
I know it's not huge money but I have had success!! It has enabled a number of projects to be started and in some cases completed. I've learnt loads! Thank you again.
Understand the different elements involved in successful trust fundraising
Learn how to shape compelling, fundable projects
Put together a pipeline of suitable prospects
Feel excited about the opportunities that more funding will create for your charity
Master the art of writing successful applications to trusts and foundations.
There are video teaching sessions to watch, as many times as you need to. This is your chance to get the information you need to tailor what you learn to your own organisation.
By successfully completing this course you will also receive a Certificate of Completion.
For every module, you'll have a printable workbook and ready-made templates so that you can implement what you’re learning. This course will give you the foundations of a successful trust fundraising programme, if you put in the work to make it happen.
This isn’t a ‘done for you’ course - you’ll need to put some work in and tailor what I’m teaching to work for your organisation but the workbooks and templates will help you every step of the way and save you so much time than trying to do this by yourself!
I want to make sure you get access to all the help you need whilst you’re learning so as part of the course you can also benefit from an application review from me (which I normally charge £187 for) completely free.
So when you’ve drafted your first application, I’ll give you video feedback and written recommendations to make sure your writing is spot on.
This first module is all about understanding that trust fundraising is so much more than just writing applications. We’ll look at the 6 steps in trust fundraising and what’s involved in each stage. We’ll have a look at the current trust fundraising landscape, as we all know that things have changed A LOT in the past few years. We’ll look at some of the challenges as well as the opportunities that your organisation might be able to take advantage of.
I’ll also walk you through how to show funders why your projects and services are needed and how to show funders why they should fund your organisation.
This module is all about how to put together ‘fundable’ projects - whether that’s your existing core services or brand new work. We’ll look at the differences between core and project funding and I’ll show you some different methods for packaging up your work into fundable projects.
Next I’ll tell you the key success factors in trust fundraising so that you can make sure you’re doing all of these things as well as the pitfalls and how to avoid them!
The key to great trust applications lies in the preparation. In this module, we’ll look at what information you need to prepare before you start writing your applications and how to get this information. We’ll look in detail at how to talk about the differences your services make, and how to put a project budget together.
I’ll also walk you through how to make sure you are covering your overheads and the importance of full cost recovery.
First we’ll start off by looking at what a prospect research process looks like as well as some of the free and paid-for resources you can use. Next, I’ll walk you through a 3-step process to your prospect research so that you can assess who the best prospects are for your organisation.
We’ll also look at some of the common mistakes with prospect research so that you can avoid these!
This module is all about the writing. I’ll walk you through the structure for a great application letter and show you what to include (and what to leave out!). We’ll look at some example applications so you can see how to implement the template.
Next we’ll look at the writing process with some techniques to make the most of your time and avoid those moments where you’re starting at a blank piece of paper!
In the final module we’ll learn about some of the techniques you can use to elevate your writing. We’ll look at why storytelling matters and how to choose which stories to tell. I’ll also go through some principles of design so that your applications look great and stand out.
Then, we’ll look at what to do after you submit your applications and the next steps you should take when you hear the outcome. We’ll go through a thank you letter template and look at how to forecast and predict your trust income as your grow your trust fundraising programme going forward.
I liked the fact that it wasn’t just about the science of trust fundraising but also about the art and the nuances. Appreciated Alicia’s responsiveness and her calm, structured and personal delivery.
-PHILIPPA, LONDON’S AIR AMBULANCE
Alicia is just excellent in her approach and style of explaining. The information was very relevant and extremely helpful. I particularly liked how every stage of trust fundraising was so well broken down and each aspect was very clearly laid down. Also AMAZING templates and helpful workbooks.
My fundraising career started 20 years ago when I came back from teaching English in Japan and wanted to find a job with a purpose beyond just making money. Today, I work as a fundraising consultant, juggling family life with my husband and two boys whilst helping charities to be more effective in their trust fundraising.
Over the years I’ve written, and read, hundreds of grant applications. I’ve seen what works and importantly, what doesn’t! Some of the funders I have secured grants from include the City Bridge Trust, Morrisons Foundation, February Foundation, Garfield Weston Foundation, Henry Smith Charity, Reaching Communities, the Department of Health and the list goes on….!
In 2018, I set up the Trust Fundraising Hub, a free Facebook community which now offers advice, support and inspiration to over 7,000 CEO’s, volunteers and fundraisers.
Five hours of teaching videos taking you through each step of a successful trust application
Printable workbooks to help you work out what you’re fundraising for
Templates for your prospect research, application letters, thank you letter, grand handover template.
A free application review so you can check you’re on the right lines before sending out your applications.
A certificate of completion when you’ve finished the course.
Plus lifetime access to all the resources and any future updates, so anytime I add new resources, templates or videos, you’ll get those too at no extra charge.
For life. So you can always come back and review the course materials at a later date if you need a refresher.
No. Whilst there may be some quicker grant programmes available as a result of the Coronavirus pandemic, most trust fundraising takes time, usually a minimum of 3-6 months. This course is about giving you the tools and resources to build your organisation's income in the longer term.
The course will teach the foundations of writing successful applications to trusts and foundations so is suitable for all types or organisations, but please bear in mind that you will need to be an established organisation (registered charity or CIC) in order to apply for most grants.
Whilst I will be teaching the foundations of trust fundraising which would be applicable to any type of organisation, we will be using practical examples from the UK so you are likely to get the most out of the course if you are UK based.
Yes, that's the beauty of online courses.
I don't see this as a beginners or intermediate course - it's about how you feel about your fundraising and what results you're seeing. If you're not getting the results you want, this course is for you.
The teaching videos are just over 5 hours in total for all six modules. To implement what you've learnt will take additional time - for example, after you've watched the Module 4 Finding prospects to apply to it could then take you several hours to go and do your research and put this information into the template provided. How much time you want to spend implementing the learning depends to a certain extent on your level of experience, but a good guide is around 2-3 hours of implementation time per module. I'd really encourage you to set aside this time as you are going through the course - learning something is great, but taking action will get you the results :)
I’m very happy to answer any questions you might have about Raising the Bar and whether it’s right for you.
“Today has been a good day. We have received two more successful awards! Raising the Bar helped so much to focus on the important aspects and organisation of tracking what I do. Along with Alicia’s personal input which has made my applications so much stronger.”
- Lesley Redfern-Phillips, Gorfenna Community