Defining your fundraising strategy

Defining an overall fundraising strategy and agreeing specific goals for the coming year will help determine the type and scale of fundraising initiatives you run.

Goal

Your team should be clear about the purpose of your charity and your goals and priorities for the coming year. If this is to fund a specific item, what is the cost? Or your objectives might be to raise awareness of your group or cause, or increase your annual income by 5%. With a goal in mind, start planning how to achieve it.

Supporters

Any fundraising strategy should aim to engage existing supporters, while also seeking ways to reach new ones. Not only will this secure the long-term health of your organisation, it also widens the pool of people you can call on for support.

Activity

With your goal and audience in mind, you can begin the fun bit - deciding what fundraising activities you're going to run! Use this website, and The Essential Guide To Fundraising for inspiration. Examine which initiatives have worked well for you in the past and why - if your quiz night raised £1,000, but £800 of this was profit from the bar, you won't want to run it again on a BYO basis! Explore the skills and expertise you have at your disposal, i.e. if a member of your committee is in a band, a music festival might be feasible. Aim for a mix of fundraisers, from quick wins, to higher-profile events that appeal to a range of people. Take a look at our Planning Schedule feature.

What/who

Once you have a list of potential events, you can whittle this down by determining what equipment you need and how many volunteers you have.

Marketing

Communicate your calendar of events (and likely ticket prices and costs) as far ahead as possible so that supporters can plan their personal schedules and budgets accordingly. Make supporters aware of your goal(s) and the effect their contribution will have.

And once your strategy has been defined, let the fundraising begin... Good luck!

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