For some reason, the word fundraising strategy often strikes fear in to many a fundraiser. Could it be that in a world of ever stricter targets and more competition that distilling all those different targets into one document is just plain intimidating? Whatever the reason, it is time to throw the fear out of the window and instead realise the value of a quality grant fundraising strategy.
Despite popular wisdom, a good grant fundraising strategy does not need to be forty pages long, takes weeks to create and include every different possible permeatation. Instead, it should be just a few pages of summary information that can act as a convenient guide and roadmap for your grant fundraising over the coming year.
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Most non-profit organisations rely on numerous different types of funding from multiple sources. Effective planning and tracking of all income is crucial but especially so when it comes to grants as there are hard deadlines you will need to meet to be successful. If you can effecti vely plan ahead of time what you will need to do, what resources you need and who else will be involved you will be able to strategically manage the grant application far more effectively.
Non-profit organisations, just like any other business need to centrally plan their income and expenditure forecasts for the coming year and beyond. Your fundraising strategy will tie in with the organisation’s overall budget as well as its business plan which may expand on different or modified income streams in years to come as your organisation develops.
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Any grant fundraising strategy worth its salt will include:
- What kind and how much funding is required?
- Where will the funds come from?
- What activities will be undertaken?
- What resources will be required?
We have broken these sections down to produce a checklist of all the essential items you need to include in your strategy:
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What kind and how much funding is required?
- What projects do we expect to operate?
- How much do they cost?
- Are there any existing funds to support the project?
- How much funding do we require for each project?
- Are all of the projects essential or can some be prioritised?
- What happens when the funding ends?
Where will the funds come from?
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- Which funders could support our work?
- Might any of our projects appeal to any funders in particular?
- Do we know anyone or have any past experience with the grantmaker?
- Do we have a list of contingency organisations we can approach for funding?
What activities will be undertaken?
- What information do we need to gather for the application?
- Which staff or volunteers will be involved in the process?
- What are the key funding deadlines?
- When would we receive the funding if successful?
- How can we improve our profile with the funder pre-application?
What resources will be required?
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- How will we track all income and expenditure?
- Who will be responsible for financial management and reporting?
- How will we monitor and evaluate the success of our projects?
- Who will be the contact point for funding organisations?
- How can we reduce costs?
- Can we include volunteers to save on staff time?
What key information do you include in your grant fundraising checklist? Let us know in the comments section.
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