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.
  
  

Consult

All those who will be affected by your work need to be consulted periodically and certainly before implementing any significant changes to the way you operate and raise funds. This may include service users, customers, staff, volunteers, existing funders and the wider community. You need the whole organisation and its existing supporters to be on board and pulling in the same direction.

Monitor and evaluate

Once a strategy is in place you need to think about how you are going to assess how well things are going. Identifying tangible results or outcomes that can be measured and knowing how you will monitor and evaluate your strategy is crucial. Effective monitoring means success can be demonstrated – offering a powerful incentive to funders to sustain their support.