Fundraising is fundamental to a new charity’s success. Fundraising always requires constant focus and should be viewed strategically with clear objectives set. This process can be especially difficult for charities just starting out and needing to build a fundraising base.

However, with the right advice and support, a great deal can be done to find the seed corn funding needed to establish a charity. A good example of this is our work with the charity ‘Innovation for Agriculture’.

Innovation for Agriculture (IfA)

IfA is a consortium of sixteen English Agricultural Societies, established in December 2013. Its purpose is to share the latest and best scientific and technical research with farmers in the UK through a variety of methods and to work with leaders in farming to model best practices, sharing this knowledge and providing a mentoring service. Through its work, IfA is making a significant contribution to the agricultural sector and therefore to the British population in general.

The challenge of funding

IfA knew the business model it wanted to achieve. Each technical area would, in due course, generate funding through commercial income from clients who wanted to utilise the expertise and innovation that IfA would develop. This income would assist IfA to decrease its reliance on charitable funding. However, initially charitable funding would be needed to establish the technical areas, and potentially, ongoing charitable funding may also be required for various projects.

A key step for charities before they can ask for financial support is to offer a clear case to justify the funding. This comes down to a clear purpose and to credibility.

We supported IfA in defining their reasons for funding and then provided ongoing fundraising support, which included advising on grant applications to grant-making bodies and appeals to individual donors.

Achieving funding ambitions

Through our initial advice and support aimed at generating charitable donations, IfA was able to secure the initial seed money. This increased IfA’s credibility from the start and the funds were quickly used for the delivery of key objectives.

We worked with IfA from their foundation in 2013 until 2019. During our time working with IfA we helped them to raise £2.3 million, starting from nothing with a brand-new organisation. This has led to IfA developing its vision of becoming an independent, sustainable organisation.

This transition, for a charity to be able to establish funds and realize its objectives, is one of the core goals of Stefan Lipa Consultancy. We considered it a success when our work with IfA ended late last year.

As consultants, one of our tasks is to put ourselves out of a job. We didn't want to run IfA’s fundraising externally on a permanent basis. We wanted them to learn how to take over and do it for themselves within their own means. That's our most important contribution.

The right support at the right time

Seeing a charity succeed in order to help others is incredibly rewarding, but when starting out, a charity’s desire to do too much, too quickly is very powerful. Our experience has shown us that when a charity is being established, it must learn to "walk before it can run".

We focus on encouraging our clients to take each necessary step to lay the strong foundations needed to ensure its long-term sustainability. In addition to our work of supporting and advising clients on large scale fundraising, we provide a comprehensive range of services, including campaign audits, setting up in-house fundraising departments, strategic planning, as well as staff and volunteer recruitment. This allows our end-to-end service and support to make a significant difference in the impact your charity will have.

5 tips to starting a charity

Our experience with IfA confirmed these five useful guidelines for anyone setting up a new charity:

• Consider your charity’s legal structure e.g. registered charity / registered company / CIC etc
• Write a management plan, including a fundraising plan
• Recruit good people with complementary skills to your board / campaign group
• Get professional advice
• Don’t run before you can walk.

You will have a lot on your plate in the early days but if you get the right structures, procedures and people in place at the start, it will pay dividends in the long run.

Stefan Lipa Consultancy

Stefan Lipa Consultancy helps charities to achieve their fundraising goals. We work in areas including heritage, religion, education, youth, culture, museums, the theatre, music, health and community services. We offer bespoke, impartial and honest advice with consultancy and management services for capital campaigns and revenue fundraising.

We work on projects with targets from £100k to millions of pounds, mainly in Hampshire, the Midlands and the South of England, providing accurate, impartial and frank assessments, every step of the way.

Free initial consultation

Contact Stefan Lipa Consultancy or ring us on 01264 860003 to arrange a meeting to discuss how we can match the services we offer with your particular circumstances. This meeting is completely free of charge, with no obligation on either side.

06.03.2020

For more information, call us on 01264 860003 or send an email.