The ability to manage money and resources well is a key aspect of successful and sustainable fundraising. For small groups raising modest funds, this can be relatively straightforward yet still involves being able to budget, estimate the cost of work accurately and to keep formal accounts. For larger organisations it can be more complex and involve managing cashflows, taxation and employing people.

Underestimating costs is a real danger. It could undermine an application or leave an organisation without enough money to carry out the project. It is essential therefore to implement Full Cost Recovery principles – which require adding up all direct costs, plus a proportion of overheads to ensure that all expenses associated with the project are identified.

It’s important to maintain records of all the funders approached with dates and the outcomes so that you are able to keep track of when you can go back to them, and can acknowledge any previous contact with them.

Equal opportunities should run throughout the fundraising process and many funders will ask for evidence that the project is open to all members of the community – young, old, ethnic minority groups, and people with disabilities and so on.