The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) have developed ‘Fundraising Fundamentals‘, a free fundraising tool to help small charities and groups to develop a fundraising strategy.

It includes four sections:

Getting started

Including where you are now and where you would like to get too, and a very simple SWOT analysis to help you;

Know your donors

This covers knowing who to approach and to how to keep your fundraising closely linked to your vision, mission and purpose, aswell as tips on demonstrating impact.

Multi-channel fundraising

The most effective fundraising strategies are those that rely on more than one method or “channel” of fundraising. This section highlights online and offline methods for an integrated approach to fundraising.

Retaining donors

This section includes advice on how to keep existing donors and relationship building.

Support from RVA

Funders will also often want to see evidence of good governance, this will include having the right constituion for your group, how you look after your volunteers and service users, and having transparent financial procedures in place.

If you need any help in this area, contact our Advice Service.

Many more small community groups in Reading are now working towards Safe and Sound, a good governance award for Reading’s charities. Check out the above link or contact Herjeet on 0118 9372 273 for more information about how you might get started.