How multi-academy trusts are meeting the fundraising challenge

Our work with multi-academy trusts (MATs) focuses on providing fundraising advice in a sector with its own set of challenges. Here we highlight the opportunity to put development right at the heart of your MAT community and reap the benefits of change-making philanthropic investment.

Philanthropy should be a powerhouse for MATs

Back in 2019 Kenilworth Multi-academy Trust (KMAT) shared a compelling fundraising vision for a superb new school and sixth form centre. Seven years later, this small Warwickshire MAT has plenty to celebrate. The £50 million plus Kenilworth School is ranked Outstanding in every area by Ofsted and after a successful capital campaign contributing over £2 million to the new build project, philanthropy has been embedded into the community.

“Kenilworth pupils have reaped the rewards of trail-blazing major giving in this pocket of the state sector,” says Gifted’s Director, Andrew Day. “As a trust of just two schools, its leaders’ fundraising ambitions were remarkable and the impact of what they achieved has stayed with them. Trustees now want change-making philanthropic investment to drive significant enhancements at the other school in the MAT, Westwood Academy in Coventry, widening opportunity for pupils and securing investment in their strategic plan.”

The Trust’s success was grounded in relationship building; engaging with parents, developing strong links with local grant makers and winning the support of neighbouring corporates by effectively network mapping the landscape.

MATs need to strengthen their development functions

According to the Kreston UK Academies Benchmark Report 2026 which surveys almost 250 trusts, annual deficit figures have been steadily falling since 2022. Whilst this is good news, the report also warns that these stats should be read with care. Tight cost control and unanticipated in-year funding seem to be the main reasons for deficit reductions rather than any easing of the underlying pressures on budgets. What’s more, confidence across the sector remains weak, with almost all trust types now forecasting reserves to fall sharply over the next two years.

The single biggest driver of pressure is staff cost. 90% of trusts cite the cost of teaching and support staff as one of their biggest financial concerns, up from 81% the year before. Teacher pay awards have also consistently run ahead of the level trusts were funded to absorb. Whilst larger trusts remain more resilient than smaller ones, for many the margins for error remain incredibly tight.

Against this backdrop, it makes sense for MATs to strengthen their development functions and look to engage committed giving at every level. Traditionally, this has been the domain of the independent school sector, but state schools are also seeing the potential of voluntary income to not only catalyse capital projects, but fund vital annual programmes and life-changing student support funds as well.

“Our work with Shaw Education Trust in Staffordshire is a brilliant example of where a community of 32 academy schools, many of them with extraordinary SEND provision, stand to benefit from investment in new facilities and pioneering teaching and learning aimed at championing the student voice,” continues Andrew. “They can see that bringing development into the heart of the MAT is a way of building community, optimising resources and delivering a wealth of benefits for the families they serve.”

So, rather than splitting your fundraising efforts, it makes sense to co-ordinate your development function and have a central team work collaboratively with the schools you support. This approach is likely to be more appealing to individual givers, grant makers and corporates but also offers greater opportunities for sharing resources and opening access to new facilities.

Setting up your development office

The 2025 IDPE Schools’ Fundraising and Engagement Benchmarking Report reveals a strengthening pattern of philanthropic support in both independent and state schools, whenever there is investment in development. Equally, the return on that investment is higher when the approach is sustained rather than viewed as a quick income fix.

For a multi-academy trust, the implication is that meaningful philanthropic income is achievable but relies on early and continued commitment to recruiting staff and maintaining visible leadership.

“This has been a designated area of focus in our work with King Edward VI Academy Trust,” says Andrew. “From involving supporters in qualitative research, to surveying the wider parent community and delivering fundraising leadership training, our goal has been to help create a bespoke development function that suits the Trust’s mix of independent and state schools, their heritage and geographical context.”

Alongside consultancy support to help establish the right development function for your MAT, there’s also training available from large providers. Organisations like the CIOF and IDPE recognise the specific fundraising and engagement challenges state schools face and are keen to see that MATs don’t miss out on what the Charities Aid Foundation highlights is the higher performing giving area in the UK, Education.

Join our November Webinar

If you’re keen to learn more about the best way to approach fundraising as a MAT or academy school, you can sign up to our free webinar this November. Phillip Rothwell, Director of Development and Alumni Engagement at King Edward VI Foundation will also be sharing his perspective on this fast-changing area and taking questions about the development challenges Trusts are currently facing. Please go to our website for further information and to register your interest.

Our top five fundraising takeaways for MATs

If you want to grow your development potential and generate the kind of fundraising income that makes a tangible difference to the quality of education you offer, here are our top five takeaways:

1. Grow your fundraising on strong relationships and repeat commitment, namely major donors, legacies, repeat funder relationships and regular giving. For a multi-academy trust this points firmly toward a development model built on cultivated relationships and larger gifts rather than mass, small-gift appeals.
2. Major giving is the clearest growth segment in UK fundraising. High-net-worth individuals gave an estimated £11.3 billion to good causes in 2024, growing at an average of 18% a year since 2020 (Beacon Collaborative and NPC, May 2025). For a trust with a natural constituency of alumni, parents and local business leaders, a major gift fundraising programme is worthy of structured, long-term investment.
3. Trusts and foundations are likely to be a core channel for a multi-academy trust, particularly for capital projects and targeted programmes, but this is also the most competitive discipline in the sector. Gifted Philanthropy’s own 2024 Trusts and Foundations Insights Survey, drawing on 155 fundraisers, found that 70% reported a shrinking pool of relevant prospects, 82% ranked rising competition among their biggest challenges, and 78% agreed that more funders no longer accept unsolicited applications. The strategic implication is consistent: depth of relationship with a smaller number of well-matched funders outperforms submitting a high volume of applications.
4. Corporate support is realistic for a trust with strong local and alumni networks, though it is the thinnest-evidenced area of the UK fundraising landscape. In practice, UK corporate support tends to be partnership-based and event-linked rather than the source of large unrestricted gifts and is most productive where there is a genuine local or sector connection, such as employers, suppliers and alumni-founded businesses. Given rising governance scrutiny, a clear, harm-based gift-acceptance policy is a sensible foundation for this activity (Rogare and CIOF, 2024), and also an area on which Gifted Philanthropy has published practitioner guidance.
5. Make sure your development function is properly set up to support the schools across your MAT community. Consider investing in a strategic review to create a Development Action Plan, exploring fundraising training for staff and trustees and undertaking a dedicated network mapping exercise across your geographical reach.