What is a funding strategy?
As the name suggests, a funding strategy is a strategy or roadmap to raise funds and resources for your entity within a given period. It is a document that outlines how you will raise money and resources to achieve your mission. It, therefore, must be aligned with your strategic and business plans.
Why have a funding strategy?
A funding strategy helps you find comprehensive and more sustainable ways to fund your projects. It also allows you to save time and resources, plan and set your priorities and know who has to do what and when. Furthermore, it shows potential funders that your organization has carefully thought through the entire process of securing ongoing(sustainable) funding for the work it plans to deliver in the long term.
What should you include in the funding strategy?
Your entity should write down the funding strategy should be written down, so you have a document to refer to —state where you are today regarding fundraising and where you want to go within a given period. Then, finally, state how you will get there.
It should also clearly state what your fundraising needs are. You should consider your budget and work with the budget in mind. How much funds do you need to raise to carry out your activities according to the budget?
What are your current funding sources, and what works well and what does not? What should you do to make things get better?
How to get there?
You need to state the fundraising methods you will use. It is crucial to consider the diversification of funding sources for sustainability. It can be grants, donations from several sources, crowdfunding etc.
Who will do what?
Decide who is responsible for fundraising and your entity’s most appropriate fundraising structure. For example, it could be the Trustees/management team, volunteers or key staff. Have a work plan and a timeline so you can always follow up and review progress.
Communicate about and share your strategy. Let the employees know and understand the strategy. Please make sure the roles are clear to them because this will avoid future misunderstandings and improve your funding strategy’s success.
Budget
It is essential to assign a budget for fundraising. Raising funds costs money; however, the money spent has a high return on investment. You may need to hire a consultant to help you fundraise if you need more time, skills and resources for this. A funding database is also a good source of information for prospecting and finding new funding opportunities, and it is worth subscribing to one.
Monitoring and Evaluation
Your funding strategy should be a working document that can be reviewed and updated periodically. It is an essential document for your entity because it enables you to easily monitor your fundraising efforts and how successful you have been. It also helps you keep track of your fundraising and determine which type of funding is most effective.
When you evaluate your strategy, you can find better ways of fundraising and improve on areas that need improvement.
Further Help
For more information on developing a funding strategy and finding funds for your project, GEM Business Consult offers help and guidance in all aspects of funding/fundraising. They can; help you develop your project, a funding strategy, research funding opportunities, and write and give advice on any funding applications you wish to submit. For further information, contact a funding consultant at www.gembusinessconsult.com or email: info@gembusinessconsult.com.
