Fundraising: Getting the Evidence, Telling the Story

The analyst began with a scoping study of the group’s work programmes, past and present, to propose options for how the work should proceed.  Two strands of work were agreed: firstly, to draw together and analyse existing information held within the organisation about past projects that could be used as supporting evidence to arguments for funding the organisation’s different work programmes; and, secondly, to review, and propose a redesign to, the operational processes of the group’s small grants scheme, with the aim of giving these a much greater focus on impact. 

This required, in both cases, a systematic analysis of a large quantity of unstructured written material, followed by a consultative approach with the group’s staff and relevant trustees to agree new processes for the grants scheme.

A small international ‘umbrella’ charity for street children.

The new fundraising manager wanted to improve the arguments and evidence for why the group’s work should be funded.

• Construct logical and graphical descriptions for how the group achieves its impacts
• Provide systematic analysis, of extensive unstructured written material, about group’s past work and its actual and possible impacts
• Develop new logic-based impact-focussed processes for the grants scheme, and then test and refine via analysis using past grants applications and consultation

• The fundraising manager has been assisted in reformulating the fundamental arguments for the funding of the group’s work, increasing its chances of securing funding
• The organisation has improved evidence on what its has done and what it has funded others to do in the past and on what may have been achieved, plus clearer appreciation of where its evidence is limited and why, enabling it to improve the effectiveness of its future planning and fundraising
• The organisation has been enabled to improve the effectiveness of its grants scheme