Strategy Reviews and Development Audits

Whatever your fundraising ambitions, you need to have a strategy that details your goals, maps out your actions and provides a pathway to fundraising success.

There will come a time when your existing fundraising strategy (if you have one at all) will need to be reviewed - and there are many good reasons for doing this.

Simply put, a fundraising strategy maps what funds you’ll need to meet your goals. This includes identifying what actions you need to take to generate these funds and what resources you’ll also need along the way. It provides not just the basis for your ongoing fundraising activity, but also the platform for your board to decide how much investment will be required to make things happen.

A written fundraising strategy is a dynamic document. It isn’t produced so that it can sit on the shelf and gather dust. It will naturally evolve to reflect successes and failures, manage changes in external influences and meet new challenges.

The key elements of a fundraising strategy

Whilst every fundraising strategy is unique to the organisation it serves, they all share some common elements. These are:

1. Where are we now? Position audit
A review of the charity’s current fundraising activities over the last three years including a comprehensive SWOT analysis.

2. What are others doing? Key learnings research
A summary of the findings generated from research into comparator, benchmark and competitor charities.

3. Where do we want to be? Stakeholder research
An outline case for support for the charity and its wider fundraising operation would be prepared and tested with internal stakeholders. Focus groups to be held with internal teams.

4. Where is the money? Resources review
Validation of the case for support with selected prospects across the region and the UK, including gift evaluation and volunteer leadership identification.

5. Where are we going? Options appraisal
Develop the recommendations for the 3 to 5-year Charity Strategy including outline income and expenditure projections, key audiences and timeframes, risks, staff resource etc.

6. How do we get there? Fundraising strategy
Finalise and present the Fundraising Strategy to Trustees and SLT.

The key benefits

  • Guides you in generating additional income, when your business plan may be changing or there are new projects and programmes about to come on stream
  • Helps you identify whether any existing income streams can be reduced or even withdrawn altogether
  • Supports you at a time when leadership or management is going through a period of change
  • Helps you to identify which income streams are most beneficial to your charity and where you can diversify and streamline
  • Provides insight on tackling declining donor retention which may be because your strategy hasn’t been reviewed for some years

A complete strategy should recognise all three needs in the fundraising mix and deliver the best plan to raise funds, as and when appropriate, for each of them.

"We appointed Gifted to help us with some strategic planning and to understand how we might better serve and communicate with our supporters. The work Gifted has completed for us has given us real clarity and confidence for the way forward - we now have a direct plan for both the short and medium-long term, with realistic and achievable goals. We are sure that the deliverable recommendations in the report Gifted produced will have a huge benefit to us as we grow the charity over the coming years"
Amy Heritage, Director of Marketing and Communications, akt, national LGBTQ+ youth homelessness charity

"The Kennel Club Charitable Trust is an established charity of over 30 years, but we have never had a proactive fundraising operation. We engaged Gifted to undertake a Strategic Review, creating an action plan for how we progress. Since then, we’ve been implementing the Fundraising Strategy with Gifted’s help and have seen our charity thrive - we are so excited for what the future holds for us and our increased ability in fulfilling our vision of making a difference for dogs." 
The Reverend Bill King, Chairman of Trustees, The Kennel Club Charitable Trust

"Gaining a clear understanding of our Members’ opinions was essential to developing a fundraising strategy that could guide the future of the MCC Foundation. Gifted was able to bring a professional, independent eye to the state of play and enable us to take our next fundraising steps with confidence. We have been delighted with the progress that we have made already." 
Gerald Corbett, Former Chairman, MCC

Further information

Client assignments
  • Bradford Hospitals' Charity
  • De Montfort University
  • MCC Foundation
  • Middlesex CCC
  • The Goldsmiths' Company
  • The Kennel Club Charitable Trust
  • The Lord Leycester Hospital
  • The Skinners' Company
  • Wakefield Grammar School Foundation
Services list

Feasibility Studies
Campaign Management

Strategy Reviews and Development Audits
Periodic Consulting

Legacies
Communications

Strategy Reviews and Development Audits resources

Case Studies

The International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN) Red List

Bringing Partners together in a joint fundraising initiative.

View Case Study

akt, National LGBTQ+ Youth Homelessness Charity

Finding a bespoke solution for your charity.

View Case Study

The MCC Foundation

How a Fundraising Strategy Review can transform your organisation.

View Case Study

Guides

How To Appoint A Fundraising Consultancy

View Guide

The National Lottery Heritage Fund

View Guide

Insights Videos

Finding A Way Through Your Next Fundraising Challenge

Advice For Health And Welfare

Advice For Sports And Recreation

Advice For Churches And Cathedrals

Newsletters

Update - Autumn/Winter 2024

Read about the latest Gifted updates from Autumn/Winter 2024.

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Update - Spring/Summer 2024

Read about the latest Gifted updates from Spring/Summer 2024.

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Update - Autumn/Winter 2023

Read about the latest Gifted updates from Autumn/Winter 2023.

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Update - Spring/Summer 2023

Read about the latest Gifted updates from Spring/Summer 2023.

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Update - Autumn/Winter 2022

Read about the latest Gifted updates from Autumn/Winter 2022.

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Update - Spring/Summer 2022

Read about the latest Gifted updates from Summer/Spring 2022.

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Update - Autumn/Winter 2021

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Update - Spring/Summer 2021

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Update - Autumn/Winter 2020

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Update - Spring/Summer 2020

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Update - Autumn/Winter 2019

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Update - Spring/Summer 2019

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Update - Autumn/Winter 2018

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Update - Spring/Summer 2018

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Update - Autumn/Winter 2017

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Update - Spring/Summer 2017

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Update - Autumn/Winter 2016

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Podcasts

Gifted Talks Fundraising Podcast 3: Legacies - the extraordinary lifetime gift

In this episode, we discuss how to create a Legacy Giving programme:

  • Today, 78% of UK wealth is held by 'baby boomers', with £5b forecast to be given away by 2050.
  • Short-termism in fundraising planning, by putting off a proactive legacy campaign, will cost your charity many future major gifts.
  • "These are the most unforgettable people you may never have met"

Please send your questions or suggestions for future discussion topics to: [email protected]

Gifted Talks Fundraising Podcast 2: Planning your next Christmas/Winter Campaign

Gifted Directors Amy Stevens, Chris Goldie and Andrew Day share their extensive fundraising experience, reflecting on current challenges and emerging opportunities across the Third Sector. These candid "kitchen table" conversations offer practical insights and helpful tips on a range of fundraising topics.

In this episode, we discuss how to turn the season of 'good cheer' into fundraising success:

  • Being clear about the objectives for your Christmas Campaign.
  • When is the best time to engage your prospects?
  • Are Christmas Cards worth the effort?
  • Keeping the engagement personal, and meaningful.

Please send your questions or suggestions for future discussion topics to: [email protected]

Gifted Talks Fundraising Podcast 1: School Bursaries - fundraising that changes lives

Gifted Directors Amy Stevens, Chris Goldie and Andrew Day share their extensive fundraising experience, reflecting on current challenges and emerging opportunities across the Third Sector. These candid "kitchen table" conversations offer practical insights and helpful tips on a range of fundraising topics.

In this episode, we discuss how the bursaries at independent schools:

  • Have a powerful fundraising case.
  • Are grounded in a long history of educational philanthropy.
  • Not only transform the prospects for specific children, but strengthen the overall school culture.

Please send your questions or suggestions for future discussion topics to: [email protected]

Service Videos

Strategy Reviews and Development Audits

Surveys

The Fundraising Landscape - Survey Results

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Webinar Videos

Is your database working hard enough?

Trust Foundation Report Insights

How Strong Is Your ESG Policy

How Can Churches Come Back Stronger?

NHS Fundraising: Where Do We Go From Here?

Winter Webinar One: Recovery And Reslience

What can we learn from outside our sector?

Find out more

To arrange a no-obligation discussion of your fundraising needs, contact [email protected]

Why review your Fundraising Strategy?