What works in trust fundraising - part 2
Surprising things from 7 years and 11 client projects
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Today’s article
…is part 2 of a run down of everything Caroline has figured out about Trust Fundraising after 7 years as a freelancer and 11 client delivery projects.
Hope you enjoy it.
What works in trust fundraising part 2
Further reflections from 7 years and 11 client projects
by Caroline Danks
Across 20 years of fundraising, 7 as a freelancer, I’ve come across some success tactics which work repeatedly.
Last week, I shared the most common, least surprising of these.
Today, I wanted to share some slightly less obvious trends I’ve seen during my work with 11 clients over 7 years.
Let’s get into it!
1. Like a spaniel with a ball
Two charities I worked with, against my advice, applied to funders where the work was not the best fit.
This was driven by certain individuals and their rabid hunger for more funding. They were absolutely unrelenting in their desire to raise huge amounts of money (arguably their job).
And they had success!
In both cases, they did in fact raise more from funders which at first glance were not obvious supporters.
Don’t immediately discount those who on the surface don’t look like great prospects.
Do some additional research, find and angle or an approach that makes you a better fit for the funder.
For example, if the trust is funded by company profits, try a corporate partnership pitch rather than a traditional trust application.
If the trust is interested in a very niche subject and you can ask for a specific part of your work that fits the niche, go ahead and ask for that thing (even if it means having to ask for a smaller gift).
Open-mindedness and adaptability are helpful in being able to see a wider pool of opportunities than if you stick too rigidly to a single belief about what your charity does and who it serves.
Beware scope creep!
I’ve since learned that one of these charities struggled to incorporate one of these leftfield projects into their operation.
Colleagues have since recognised that the costs of setting up and delivering the work weren’t sufficiently covered by the grant they received.
They wished with hindsight that they hadn’t made the application.
Sometimes it’s better to raise less money with a reduced admin / reporting burden, than it is to get the maximum possible.
2. Misunderstanding of the commonly asked question ‘What is the need for the project’
Many charities misunderstand this question.
Rather than explain the problem they’re trying to solve or the injustice that their people are facing, they tend to launch into a description of why their activities are important.
Too often, I’ve seen template applications and draft cases for support where a charity’s activities and offerings end up in the section entitled ‘what is the need?’
“There is a need for us to do creative group work to help people become more confident”.
“There is a need to provide food parcels for people on low incomes.”
Keep this section laser focused on the problem. It feels weird to do this at first. Overly negative perhaps?
But you mustn’t be afraid to say it how it is.
Because even if it’s bloody awful, it’s the truth and the truth is powerful.
You’ll have the chance to talk about the positive solution later on in the proposal.
Save the descriptions of groupwork and food parcels and instead say:
“The confidence that people lack is inevitable due to the multiple hardships and difficulties they’ve experienced. Growing up in poverty makes it very hard to succeed at school. As a result, choices and options become limited once you reach adulthood, especially when you have very little money.”
“Despite working long hours, the cost of living is so high that people are having to choose between heating their homes and feeding themselves and their families.”
Be bold, honest and do justice to the reality of the situations your people face.
If you’re struggling to understand the wording in application forms, you’re not alone.
Also, community member Clare has shared an explainer document on Outputs, Outcomes and Impact – reply to this email and I’ll send it over (thanks Clare!)
3. Quality not quantity
Despite all of us knowing it’s not cool, I still come across well-established fundraising teams who are spraying and praying on occasion.
This has surprised me.
Trust Fundraising is competitive, but I’ve had success for all of my clients by closely tying their work with the priorities / criteria of the funders to whom I’m applying (and I appreciate this perspective jars slightly against my first point about not-great-fit funders).
Of course, trust fundraising is a numbers game. You have to make a certain number of approaches to be confident of securing a sufficient number of gifts, but ‘mailings’ should never come into it.
If doing a bonus half hour of research and making a quick phone call means you’re sending 2 applications per day instead of 4, that’s likely going to be enough.
Arguably more than if you were chucking out applications left, right and centre?
Imagine a full-time trust fundraiser focused on mainly small trusts:
· 8 applications a week on average
· 32 applications a month
· 352 a year
1 in 10 success rate = 35 gifts each year
If the average value is £3,000, that’s £105,000
Of course there are variables, but I’d argue that if your programme is more than a couple of years old and you’re doing the bonus research / phone calls, then your success rate is likely to be close to 1 in 6.
This would mean 57 gifts instead of 35 and over £170,000 raised.
Do come at me if you take issue with these figures – I’m happy to be challenged.
This doesn’t mean you can’t re-use and re-purpose proposals – of course not. But you should always make the time to tailor applications and to ensure that every trust you’re applying to knows exactly why you’re writing to them:
“We’re applying to you today, because like us, you have a track record in supporting people living with cancer.”
4. High reserves are not necessarily a problem
One of the clients I’ve worked with had more reserves than most would consider adequate.
They turned over around £100,000 each year and a couple of years prior, received a legacy for £1.2 million.
Woah!
This is an extreme example, and you can read the whole story here.
In summary though, having large reserves is not a problem if you can explain why.
There will be trusts for whom a decent level of reserves indicates security, credibility and confidence.
We can and should argue the moral position of this another time.
In summary, I’ve created these findings into a checklist.
Let’s go (I’d make a graphic but I’m short on time a terrible at Canva so sorry about that…)
Principles for great trust fundraising
· Do you research, then do it again
· Always have a solid and up to date case for support
· Take time to gather the tools you need – it will save you effort in the long run.
· Focus on small, local trusts if you’re a charity with a specific geographical remit
· Work with existing supporters first
· Involve your trustees
· Find a balance between being open to unobvious opportunities but not creating more work for yourself than you need to
· If the word ‘mailing’ should appear in your trusts programme, set it on fire immediately. Apply only to those who are a good fit.
· Bespoke applications EVERY time - add an extra half hour of research, a phone call and some tailored wording to each approach.
· Explain your reserves. If you can’t, and they’re high, expect a lower success rate.
Bonus content
Because you’re paying to be here, we’re giving you the bonus content.
Oh yes.
There were a couple of other factors that influenced client successes. The ideas above are the most common and therefore repeatable.
However, these two things were also worth a mention:
Evidencing the impact of the work – academic study of your work and the difference it makes is something funders seem to respond to.
Meeting prescient, highly publicised needs – think Post Office scandal, there are multiple injustices in our society, but those which are uppermost in people’s minds tend to get the attention. Specifically, we’ve had a lot of success for clients working across areas of food / fuel poverty.
Do let us know what you thought!
We’d love to hear your reflections.