Gifted
Making fundraising consultancy work for you
Whether you’re a new charity starting out, or an established organisation embarking on a major fundraising programme, it’s important to choose the right kind of professional support.
Once you’ve completed a Feasibility Study or Strategic Review, you ought to have some clear recommendations about the resources you’re going to need to deliver your fundraising strategy. This usually involves thinking through a number of key questions, such as ‘what skill set will be required?’, ‘how much should you budget?’ and ‘what should you expect the fundraiser to deliver?’
Reaping the benefits
Flexibility | For us, a ‘consultancy day’ doesn’t translate to 9am to 5pm. It means working out of hours and at weekends; it means answering emails and phone calls when required and not during an allocated time slot; it also means being on hand to be the best partner we can be to our clients. What’s more, agreements can be amended or terminated at short notice if project plans change or a relationship isn’t working. Gifted offers a 30-day notice period on all its contracts, giving clients the option to terminate at any time, for any reason and offering financial flexibility.
Specialist support | As fundraising consultants, we have broad ranging but well-honed skill sets. Having worked across a wide range of organisations in the Third Sector, we can bring knowledge and learnings from different specialisms and experiences to help guide and shape future projects. We also offer a specific service to help you benefit from our expertise in planning and submitting major applications to grant makers like the National Lottery Heritage Fund. Sometimes, the right solution is to seek professional consultancy support in recruiting an in-house fundraiser. A good consultant will guide you through the interview process, before providing training or mentoring for the new team member. Alternatively, you might want to retain your professional support, choosing ongoing periodic consultancy that will help you to meet a particular fundraising challenge. More and more, we are seeing clients invest in this sort of service, demonstrating a preference for sticking with a trusted partnership that’s already in place. It’s an approach that guarantees targeted support when you need it most and helps you to avoid the risk of proceeding, too quickly, with an in-house appointment.
Additional capacity | Sometimes, periodic consulting is required to provide an extra pair of hands to support the in-house fundraising team with an exceptional challenge. Not only are we able to pick up many of the specialist fundraising tasks that you’d expect, but we also offer a tailored, step-by-step partnership that complements existing strengths and injects clarity or momentum into a project. It’s a pleasure to work alongside fellow professionals employed directly by our clients so that, together, we can achieve the fundraising vision.
For more information take a look at our periodic consultancy video explainer or contact [email protected]