Fundraising courses in London

Start by having a look back through previous threads in this bit of the board and / or do a search on fundraising. Pablo_Money and I made a list of useful sites for charities when Martin added Charities to this bit of the board. Arkonite_Babe and I had a discussion, and I know I've chipped in to various other questions!

I presume you've found the Institute of Fundraising: http://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/

London based but not free. They have a host of 'useful links', their phrase not mine, and if you pick 'Voluntary Sector Umbrella Organisations' you'll find websites for the Charities Aid Foundation and The Giving Campaign listed: I'd say they were both worth visiting. Under 'Funding And Fundraising' they have FunderFinder which offers brilliant FREE software if you are applying for grants from anyone. And sound advice.

If you're a bit more specific about what you mean by 'tackle its fundraising', you may get more advice. Ways of fundraising include - but aren't limited to!

• running events - from a jumble sale to a charity gala,
• applying for grants,
• encouraging supporters to give money regularly or as a 'one-off',
• getting gifts or services 'in kind'.

Which method(s) you need to use can vary depending on how much you need to raise, whether you need a lot for specific purposes or you want to ensure you can cover ongoing running costs, whether your 'cause' generates popular support etc.

All the best: it's a job well worth doing!

Thanks Savvy Sue. Up to now, the charity only did jumble sales, night quizz and sponsored walks. I would like to organise more fundraising events and apply for grants as well. I'll check previous posts and the above site. I think it would be good for me to go on a course as I want to do it seriously.

Good for you. I strongly believe that whether you are trying to raise a little or a lot it is worth being as 'professional' as possible about it: ie clear in your letters about what you want and why you want it etc. Be organised in your approach: keep copies of who you've written to so you don't pester the same people 3 times while missing others. Check before you write: don't bother writing to organisations who don't support work in London. Don't write a rambling 10 page letter to a grant making body if they have a 2 page application form you're to use - and even if they don't have a form and you're to apply by letter don't take 10 pages about it! Etc etc etc

It is possible to get a qualification in fundraising, but you may find this is geared more towards people in organisations trying to raise millions on a national or even international scall than small local charities looking for a few thousand, which is where most of us start, I suspect!

Whether you are trying to organise more events or applying for grants, try not to go it alone. The charity must have trustees, even if there are no paid staff, so make sure they know what you're trying to do and check whether there are any 'cultural' obstacles to anything you want to do. You don't want to alienate your current supporters: a jumble sale or a sponsored walk may be fine, whereas a huge raffle or a 'race night' may offend anyone who objects to gambling. And you DO need help with events: if you organise more, don't rely on the same people again and again or you will wear them out!

If you're organising more events, you also need to increase your support base, ie the people who come to those events, or you'll hit 'donor fatigue' - and not just in financial terms! The most dedicated supporter of your charity has a life beyond that support, and so do you, I hope! (If you don't, you'll run out of friends to invite to the super events you're organising.) So you need to think about publicity. Excellent site for that is http://www.mediatrust.org/ and I'd have a look at the Voluntary Matters bit of the site - some reasably priced videos available there covering fundraising!
One final tip: befriend your treasurer! Get yourself a budget for fundraising. Ask if you can have those videos. Ask if you could be allocated £x for posting x000 letters (I exaggerate here: you do them a few at a time!). If you're planning a BIG event, prepare a budget of what needs to be spent in advance and get agreement that the charity will pay, unless you are willing and able to personally bear all the costs up front. Keep all receipts you want to claim for: make sure it's clear what they're for and find out how you get your money back.

All this takes time, so tackle things gradually rather than aiming to double the charity's income overnight. ;D ;D ;D

And if you tell us what the charity does, you might even get helpful suggestions about 'themed' events, if that would be helpful.

All the best!

PS does the charity have a website? There are a few easy ways you can use your website to increase funds, but I'd have to get t'other half to contribute to that topic! Which may take a while ...

Thanks a lot for your answer Sue. You seem to know quite a lot, are you managing a charity? Is it OK if I pm you?

I don't manage a charity, I'm administrator for a small one, 7 staff, 60+ volunteers, income c. £100,000 pa. I don't do the bulk of the major fundraising, just a few bits and pieces, eg to get us some new computers. But I have been treasurer for an out of school club and did my fair share of the grant writing applications for that, and when the children were younger I did just about everything for a school PTA including running summer and christmas fairs and writing begging letters for raffle prizes. And I've done Gift Aid claims etc for another small charity. So on the small scale I have learnt quite a lot!

Yes, feel free to PM me and I will get back to you as soon as I can. Would have replied to your post on Saturday but the 'Notify of Replies' didn't work