The following information is taken from the Finance Hub http://www.financehub.org.uk/
This site contains a wealth of information and it is recommended that you visit it on a regular basis
What is a funding strategy?
A funding strategy is similar to a business plan. It should be developed by the whole organisation in line with your core aims and objectives. It should be written down and used as a working document that can be referred back to and amended.
As a guide it should include:
- your organisation’s aims - summarised in a short statement.
- your current objectives. This should include current and future plans to meet the aims, developing the organisation and new projects you intend to set up. All stakeholders, including staff, volunteers and trustees should be consulted periodically and certainly before making any significant changes.
- consider each objective and work out what resources you need. This should help identify a budget.
- assess the challenges and opportunities your organisation is likely to face - such as new Government policies or demographic changes. The document should assess how well equipped the organisation is to carry out its work and identify resources or skills needed to improve its ability to cope in the future.
Consider as broad a range of sources of income as possible in the first instance - donations, grants, contracts, selling goods or services and even loans might be suitable for different types of activity.
But sustainability also requires organisations to position themselves to access and successfully manage new types of income. For example trading may require marketing skills to promote products and understand customer needs while applying to trusts for grants can be time-consuming and requires research and writing skills.
You need to focus on an achievable balance – maximising your income sources but focusing your energy on the most productive routes. You need to be wary of spreading yourselves too thinly, or spending time and energy chasing less viable sources.
Before implementing major changes it is important to ensure all aspects of the organisation are running well – areas such as book keeping, employment practices, monitoring systems and governance may need strengthening before taking on significant new income streams.
What do I need to do?
Before developing a funding strategy it’s important to take stock of you current situation and assess if any changes are needed.
Look at three key areas:
- Governance. Have you got the right skills at management committee or board level or do you need to attract new people or develop existing member’s skills?
- finance. The bank balance will dictate the urgency of any changes or whether they can be introduced in phases. Change may mean you need to invest in particular areas of the organisation and find the resources to do this.
- staff and volunteers. Skill levels, motivation and aptitude need assessing as all those affected must be willing and able to participate.
Top tips
- identify your organisations’ current financial situation, in terms of income and expenditure and levels of dependency on each source of income
- check whether your current activities lend themselves to attracting other sources of income
- assess whether you can develop new activities which would bring in new sources of income
- make sure management, staff and volunteers have the skills and confidence to make any changes in activity a success
- consult with all interested parties before making any major changes.
- monitor, evaluate and review progress
Links to further information on developing a funding Strategy
South Yorkshire Funding Advice Bureau (SYFAB) provides advice and information in a wide range of information sheets including developing a funding strategy to help organisations become more confident and self-reliant in fundraising. Visit http://www.syfab.org.uk/
