Audio Transcript Auto-generated
- 00:01 - 00:04
Hello and welcome to the second part of the training
- 00:04 - 00:08
improving approaches to income recorded for PCVS by Ali Lyons.
- 00:08 - 00:10
Just to wrap up the
- 00:10 - 00:12
first part there at the end,
- 00:12 - 00:14
my editing skills leave a little bit to be desired.
- 00:14 - 00:16
I was just saying about bringing in
- 00:16 - 00:19
um finance and fundraising to your organization.
- 00:19 - 00:23
There are a number of ways if you can't afford a permanent person.
- 00:23 - 00:23
Um,
- 00:23 - 00:27
you could get a freelancer on a short-term basis to help with this work.
- 00:27 - 00:30
You could get an agency to help on a more,
- 00:30 - 00:31
uh,
- 00:31 - 00:32
retained basis,
- 00:32 - 00:34
so they're providing that support to your organization.
- 00:34 - 00:37
Or you could look to volunteers to be able to help with it as well,
- 00:38 - 00:38
again,
- 00:38 - 00:39
on a short term basis.
- 00:40 - 00:42
If you are getting support with your finance,
- 00:42 - 00:46
I really recommend looking for someone with charity finance specific.
- 00:47 - 00:51
in their experience and understanding because there are different
- 00:51 - 00:52
um
- 00:52 - 00:53
requirements for us,
- 00:53 - 00:56
there's different legislation for us as charities
- 00:56 - 00:57
er to comply with,
- 00:57 - 00:59
so that is an important understanding.
- 01:00 - 01:02
So now we can talk about who will pay for that.
- 01:02 - 01:05
This is people's usual first part,
- 01:06 - 01:06
um,
- 01:06 - 01:10
and there are some key considerations in looking at each of these.
- 01:11 - 01:12
Types of funding.
- 01:15 - 01:16
So first,
- 01:16 - 01:17
public fundraising,
- 01:17 - 01:20
and by this we mean any sort of donation that comes
- 01:20 - 01:24
from individuals that might be through just individual one-off donations,
- 01:24 - 01:25
regular donations,
- 01:25 - 01:26
major donors,
- 01:26 - 01:27
legacies,
- 01:27 - 01:28
uh,
- 01:28 - 01:29
in memory giving.
- 01:29 - 01:31
There are some others that might be there,
- 01:31 - 01:32
events fundraising.
- 01:32 - 01:34
When people fundraise on your behalf.
- 01:35 - 01:38
And these donations come from your supporters,
- 01:38 - 01:39
your fans that love your work,
- 01:39 - 01:41
that are interested in your work.
- 01:41 - 01:43
And as small charities,
- 01:43 - 01:44
smaller charities,
- 01:44 - 01:46
you've got real potential and possibility with
- 01:46 - 01:50
your supporters because you're already so well connected
- 01:50 - 01:52
in your communities and with different people,
- 01:53 - 01:55
and people can see that direct value where they live.
- 01:56 - 02:00
So supporters are probably already connected or interested in your work.
- 02:00 - 02:02
So that might include um
- 02:02 - 02:03
your partners,
- 02:03 - 02:05
your volunteers,
- 02:05 - 02:07
uh professionals that refer to your services.
- 02:07 - 02:12
It might include family members and friends of those who use your services,
- 02:12 - 02:15
or it might be people who have been affected by whatever it is
- 02:15 - 02:19
your organization works on and want to support something at a local level.
- 02:19 - 02:22
So they're probably already there somewhere.
- 02:23 - 02:25
I really advocate for not excluding people who use
- 02:25 - 02:29
your services when you're considering donations and public fundraising.
- 02:30 - 02:31
Because for one,
- 02:31 - 02:33
it creates an unnecessary power dynamic between
- 02:33 - 02:36
the organization and the service user.
- 02:36 - 02:38
I am using inverted commas there,
- 02:38 - 02:39
um.
- 02:39 - 02:42
Which isn't necessary because they're benefiting from your work,
- 02:42 - 02:44
they're part of your work,
- 02:44 - 02:45
they value your work,
- 02:45 - 02:46
and
- 02:46 - 02:48
people sometimes just want to say thank you and
- 02:48 - 02:50
it's the way that they can say thank you,
- 02:50 - 02:51
it's what they're able to do.
- 02:52 - 02:54
So ideally do not exclude the people who
- 02:54 - 02:57
use your services from being your supporters.
- 02:57 - 03:01
Absolutely be mindful that you can't expect or ask
- 03:01 - 03:03
uh for payment if that isn't your model,
- 03:03 - 03:04
if your model is free services,
- 03:04 - 03:06
but do not exclude them.
- 03:06 - 03:10
The next thing to consider is that you need to communicate and ask.
- 03:10 - 03:11
So often
- 03:12 - 03:16
we are so cautious about asking for money for saying we accept donations,
- 03:16 - 03:17
please support us.
- 03:18 - 03:19
Or when we do get donations,
- 03:19 - 03:19
we think,
- 03:19 - 03:20
oh,
- 03:20 - 03:21
I don't know why they're doing that.
- 03:21 - 03:21
That's just nice of them,
- 03:21 - 03:23
but we can't expect any more.
- 03:23 - 03:24
That's not OK.
- 03:24 - 03:25
It's just not the case.
- 03:25 - 03:27
People give because they want to.
- 03:27 - 03:28
It means something to them.
- 03:29 - 03:31
It's about them as much as it is about you.
- 03:31 - 03:33
So make sure you're asking
- 03:33 - 03:34
and make sure you're communicating.
- 03:35 - 03:39
And then finally have a range of ways to give and make it as easy as possible.
- 03:40 - 03:43
Do not require a form to be downloaded and filled
- 03:43 - 03:46
in and signed or a check to be sent somewhere.
- 03:46 - 03:46
Yes,
- 03:46 - 03:48
there will be people who need that,
- 03:48 - 03:51
but also there are those who will do it very quickly.
- 03:51 - 03:52
They'll go to your website,
- 03:52 - 03:53
want to click on a button,
- 03:53 - 03:55
want to donate there and then,
- 03:55 - 03:57
and don't like to be taken away from the page.
- 03:58 - 03:59
And there are lots of platforms out there
- 04:00 - 04:01
that enable you to do that.
- 04:01 - 04:02
So do
- 04:02 - 04:07
um think carefully about the ways that people can give and support more broadly.
- 04:07 - 04:10
There is a worksheet that's gonna come round to to give you
- 04:10 - 04:13
some more tips on how to get started in public fundraising.
- 04:16 - 04:16
So next,
- 04:17 - 04:18
trusts and foundations.
- 04:18 - 04:23
There are about 85,000 trusts and foundations in England who give
- 04:24 - 04:25
money to charities,
- 04:25 - 04:27
usually in the form of grants,
- 04:27 - 04:28
but sometimes as donations.
- 04:29 - 04:33
And a trust and foundation is simply a registered charity that gives
- 04:33 - 04:38
grants to other charities and for good organizations to be able to deliver
- 04:39 - 04:39
um
- 04:39 - 04:40
their mission.
- 04:41 - 04:42
It is so broad,
- 04:42 - 04:44
it is not one size fits all.
- 04:44 - 04:48
It includes the top 100 with organizations like Esme Fairbairn,
- 04:48 - 04:49
Children in Need,
- 04:49 - 04:50
Comic Relief,
- 04:50 - 04:52
but it also includes really small,
- 04:53 - 04:55
very localized trusts and foundations
- 04:55 - 05:00
because they can be a way for wealthy people to manage their philanthropic giving.
- 05:00 - 05:03
They can come from someone's estate that's been left in trust.
- 05:03 - 05:06
After they died and it continues to give
- 05:06 - 05:07
money out,
- 05:07 - 05:12
they can be a corporate uh foundation to be able to give out money
- 05:12 - 05:15
to charity because it is tax effective at the end of the day,
- 05:15 - 05:17
but it is definitely not one size fits all,
- 05:17 - 05:19
and I'm going to share some bite size
- 05:19 - 05:20
learning which will explain the different types,
- 05:20 - 05:23
and I really recommend you get to know them,
- 05:23 - 05:24
um,
- 05:24 - 05:25
because it's an important part of targeting.
- 05:26 - 05:30
My next thought is do not default to project only
- 05:30 - 05:33
funding when asking for money from trusts and foundations.
- 05:34 - 05:35
Some ask for it,
- 05:35 - 05:36
some prefer it.
- 05:37 - 05:37
But
- 05:38 - 05:38
many,
- 05:38 - 05:40
8,500's a lot.
- 05:40 - 05:43
Many are happy to make contributions to your organization.
- 05:43 - 05:44
If you can talk
- 05:44 - 05:46
about your impact,
- 05:46 - 05:47
that is really positive.
- 05:47 - 05:48
That's what they want to know,
- 05:48 - 05:50
what impact is their money gonna have,
- 05:50 - 05:52
not what are you spending it on.
- 05:52 - 05:55
Don't always feel that need to justify every single penny.
- 05:56 - 05:58
Next goes back to knowing your funding need.
- 05:59 - 06:02
If you've got a really good idea of what you want funding,
- 06:02 - 06:04
you can then match it to the right funders,
- 06:04 - 06:05
to the work that they support,
- 06:05 - 06:08
to the types of approaches they support,
- 06:08 - 06:10
to the beneficiaries that they want to fund,
- 06:11 - 06:12
to the areas they want to fund.
- 06:13 - 06:16
The important thing with trusts and foundations is targeting,
- 06:16 - 06:18
so know what you want to fund
- 06:18 - 06:19
and then be able to match that.
- 06:21 - 06:24
Don't discount small amounts of money or smaller.
- 06:24 - 06:27
So I know some organizations that have said no to
- 06:29 - 06:30
grants under 10,000 pounds,
- 06:30 - 06:33
and I absolutely accept that
- 06:33 - 06:37
if it is a one-off grant and they want to be the only funder or they only
- 06:37 - 06:39
want to fund very specific things or they want
- 06:39 - 06:42
additional things and so it's not adding value,
- 06:42 - 06:45
it's costing you more than it is um
- 06:45 - 06:46
going to give you.
- 06:46 - 06:48
It's creating unacceptable costs.
- 06:48 - 06:49
However,
- 06:49 - 06:50
Some
- 06:50 - 06:53
trusts and foundations are much more like major donor fundraising,
- 06:53 - 06:54
so you can
- 06:55 - 07:00
accept a smaller gift or donation of sometimes it's even 500 pounds a year,
- 07:01 - 07:02
but that 500 pounds a year might be
- 07:02 - 07:06
guaranteed for the rest of your charity's existence.
- 07:06 - 07:10
So consider them as part of the um.
- 07:10 - 07:12
Pot of money that's going to pay for a service.
- 07:12 - 07:13
You don't need
- 07:14 - 07:16
one trust and foundation per service.
- 07:16 - 07:18
They can contribute.
- 07:18 - 07:20
So sometimes we call this match funding,
- 07:20 - 07:23
but if you were doing a campaign for individual giving or major donor,
- 07:23 - 07:25
you wouldn't really think of it in that way.
- 07:25 - 07:27
You'd just think it's all going into that pot.
- 07:28 - 07:31
So you can do the same with some trusts and foundations.
- 07:33 - 07:33
Next,
- 07:33 - 07:34
corporate partners.
- 07:35 - 07:37
Now corporate partners can be philanthropy,
- 07:37 - 07:40
so it can be fundraising or it can be earned income.
- 07:41 - 07:42
So philanthropy
- 07:43 - 07:45
is what we're probably more used to,
- 07:45 - 07:48
so staff fundraising for your charity,
- 07:48 - 07:48
er,
- 07:48 - 07:51
or putting on fundraisers or cut their people
- 07:51 - 07:53
asking their customers to fundraise for your charity,
- 07:53 - 07:54
uh,
- 07:54 - 07:57
just straight up donations can be in-kind support as well.
- 07:57 - 08:00
But it can also be earned income.
- 08:00 - 08:03
You can deliver something to businesses that aligns with
- 08:03 - 08:07
your charitable objectives and enables you to generate income.
- 08:07 - 08:08
We'll talk some more in a bit,
- 08:08 - 08:11
but this can include things like training
- 08:11 - 08:13
if it's helping achieve your charitable objectives.
- 08:14 - 08:18
It's really important to find businesses with connection and alignment.
- 08:19 - 08:23
It is the case for all fundraising that relationships are what is important,
- 08:23 - 08:27
and the closer you are with the business in terms of what you both stand for,
- 08:28 - 08:31
the more beneficial the relationship will be for both of you.
- 08:31 - 08:34
And you might find that a relationship that
- 08:34 - 08:37
starts out as fundraising becomes one of genuine partnership
- 08:38 - 08:38
around
- 08:39 - 08:39
delivery.
- 08:40 - 08:43
But do find those businesses with connection and alignment,
- 08:43 - 08:46
not just those that someone happens to know,
- 08:46 - 08:46
um,
- 08:47 - 08:48
it's got to be.
- 08:49 - 08:49
considered
- 08:50 - 08:50
more broadly.
- 08:51 - 08:53
Next is to make sure it works for you.
- 08:53 - 08:57
Corporate partnerships can be one of the most imbalanced forms of fundraising.
- 08:57 - 08:57
Um,
- 08:58 - 09:01
I have worked in organizations where the corporate
- 09:01 - 09:03
partners wanted us to come and watch people,
- 09:04 - 09:05
disabled people in day service,
- 09:05 - 09:09
or feel like they're contributing through painting a room endlessly,
- 09:09 - 09:11
and it didn't really work for the charity,
- 09:11 - 09:12
but it was another corporate partner,
- 09:13 - 09:14
so we ticked a box,
- 09:14 - 09:16
but it wasn't adding real value to the organization
- 09:16 - 09:19
and it was undermining the organization as well.
- 09:19 - 09:23
So having real open conversations with potential corporate
- 09:23 - 09:26
partners about what value looks like for your organization
- 09:26 - 09:28
and what value you're bringing to them.
- 09:29 - 09:32
And thinking about that value for them and not just what it costs you,
- 09:33 - 09:35
particularly in terms of earned income.
- 09:35 - 09:38
If a corporate was going to pay a lot of money
- 09:38 - 09:41
to a private company to deliver training and you're going to come in
- 09:41 - 09:46
and deliver it with all of your additional expertise and specialism and knowledge,
- 09:47 - 09:48
then how much can you
- 09:49 - 09:50
place a value on that?
- 09:50 - 09:53
Do not go just for the cheap option.
- 09:53 - 09:56
And if they challenge you on the cost,
- 09:56 - 09:58
then do remind them of the value that would
- 09:58 - 10:02
be er on a private individual delivering that service.
- 10:04 - 10:07
Challenge the narrative that charity needs to be cheap.
- 10:07 - 10:11
The investment in your organization enables you to have even more impact,
- 10:11 - 10:12
which is a win-win.
- 10:15 - 10:16
Statutory
- 10:16 - 10:18
uh which we consider local government,
- 10:19 - 10:20
so Peterborough City Council,
- 10:20 - 10:21
the combined authority,
- 10:22 - 10:23
NHS,
- 10:23 - 10:24
um,
- 10:24 - 10:25
and central government,
- 10:25 - 10:26
the Home Office,
- 10:26 - 10:28
or DCLG or others.
- 10:29 - 10:33
This income can either be delivered to you as a grant or a contract,
- 10:33 - 10:38
and it is important to understand which one it is because it will
- 10:38 - 10:42
impact on what you ask for um or your ability to generate surplus.
- 10:43 - 10:47
So grants predominantly will be restricted and you'll be expected to
- 10:47 - 10:50
explain how you're using all the money that you're spending.
- 10:50 - 10:52
But contracts are not restricted
- 10:53 - 10:55
and you can build in surplus where you need.
- 10:55 - 10:59
So only restricted grants need all expenditures to be justified
- 10:59 - 11:02
and then potentially returned if you don't spend it all.
- 11:02 - 11:03
Whereas if you were a contract,
- 11:03 - 11:04
if you had an underspend,
- 11:04 - 11:07
you could put that back into the business or to the charity.
- 11:08 - 11:08
So,
- 11:08 - 11:09
again,
- 11:09 - 11:13
think about value to the um statutory partner,
- 11:13 - 11:14
not just cost to you,
- 11:14 - 11:15
that's for contracts.
- 11:15 - 11:20
So if again they'd pay a private company a lot more money for their shareholders,
- 11:20 - 11:23
what could you charge that meets that value that enables you.
- 11:23 - 11:25
To deliver more value,
- 11:25 - 11:26
um,
- 11:26 - 11:26
most,
- 11:26 - 11:27
uh,
- 11:27 - 11:27
procurement,
- 11:28 - 11:30
I think all procurement will ask you for what's the added value.
- 11:31 - 11:34
If you can gen genuinely talk about how them supporting you,
- 11:34 - 11:37
them working with you enables you to deliver more impact elsewhere.
- 11:37 - 11:39
That's real added value.
- 11:40 - 11:42
So you can have a profit margin and a contract.
- 11:42 - 11:42
I,
- 11:42 - 11:43
I say this far too often,
- 11:43 - 11:44
but I've seen it,
- 11:45 - 11:45
um,
- 11:45 - 11:46
where we don't,
- 11:46 - 11:46
we,
- 11:46 - 11:48
we are fearful of this
- 11:48 - 11:52
in a way that other providers to statutory partners are not.
- 11:52 - 11:55
And my final point on this one is to think
- 11:55 - 11:58
really carefully about whether this is right for your charity.
- 11:59 - 12:00
Or CIC.
- 12:00 - 12:05
And the reason I say this is that um certainly under the last government,
- 12:05 - 12:07
there were some ways of working
- 12:07 - 12:09
that were at odds with what we want to do
- 12:09 - 12:12
as charities and our ways of working as charities,
- 12:13 - 12:16
and I've talked before about when
- 12:16 - 12:20
Expected to work in ways that disempower rather than strength-based work,
- 12:21 - 12:24
or that we can only work with people for a very short amount
- 12:24 - 12:28
of time when we know they need more work and more support,
- 12:28 - 12:31
or we're expected to measure impact in a way that we think is damaging.
- 12:32 - 12:35
So really be mindful about whether it is right for your charity.
- 12:38 - 12:39
Next,
- 12:39 - 12:41
people who will pay for services,
- 12:41 - 12:43
so this is the earned income.
- 12:43 - 12:45
And there are two ways to think about this.
- 12:45 - 12:48
There's that when it's purpose aligned and then when it's not.
- 12:48 - 12:49
As charities,
- 12:50 - 12:51
everything we deliver
- 12:51 - 12:54
has to be aligned and delivering our charitable objectives.
- 12:56 - 12:57
So that's this first one here.
- 12:57 - 12:59
And we can think about our impact.
- 12:59 - 13:02
What impact do we have or want to have,
- 13:02 - 13:04
what's our purpose for existing,
- 13:04 - 13:06
and how can we earn money
- 13:07 - 13:09
and deliver that impact at the same time.
- 13:09 - 13:13
And an example might be delivering training to corporates.
- 13:13 - 13:15
If you are about um.
- 13:16 - 13:18
Helping people find employment,
- 13:18 - 13:22
you can deliver disability confident training or similar your own package of
- 13:22 - 13:27
support to corporates so that they can become a better employer.
- 13:27 - 13:29
You can provide mentoring and support through
- 13:29 - 13:32
that process that they might provide.
- 13:33 - 13:34
Or if you're a domestic abuse charity,
- 13:34 - 13:36
you might provide
- 13:36 - 13:38
training and raising awareness of domestic abuse,
- 13:38 - 13:40
which will make things better for
- 13:41 - 13:42
people.
- 13:42 - 13:45
Who experience domestic abuse being able to disclose in the workplace,
- 13:45 - 13:46
so on and so forth.
- 13:47 - 13:47
So,
- 13:47 - 13:51
are there ways you can deliver your impact and generate income?
- 13:51 - 13:55
And then the other side is if all your services currently free for use,
- 13:56 - 13:58
are there any people
- 13:58 - 14:02
who you can have impact on against your charitable objectives,
- 14:02 - 14:03
who will,
- 14:04 - 14:04
Um,
- 14:04 - 14:05
pay for that service.
- 14:06 - 14:10
So the example I would use is I used to work in alcohol misuse services.
- 14:10 - 14:14
There were free services funded by NHS and local authority,
- 14:15 - 14:19
but they were also paid for services that people could access
- 14:20 - 14:22
private independent counseling for their alcohol misuse,
- 14:23 - 14:25
so we're still working to reduce alcohol misuse,
- 14:25 - 14:28
but it didn't undermine our charitable objectives.
- 14:28 - 14:30
Be mindful about what
- 14:30 - 14:32
it means for you as an organization
- 14:33 - 14:35
and that everyone is comfortable with this.
- 14:35 - 14:38
There is nothing stopping you from charging for services if there is
- 14:38 - 14:41
a way to do it in line with your charitable objectives,
- 14:41 - 14:44
but be mindful about creating two-tier services
- 14:44 - 14:47
and think about what the impact might be and how you're going to manage that.
- 14:48 - 14:50
But some people prefer to pay,
- 14:50 - 14:51
and that's OK.
- 14:54 - 14:58
And then the other side of it is if it is not aligned to your purpose.
- 14:58 - 15:03
And you can um edit your governing document and your charitable objectives.
- 15:03 - 15:05
So if you're going to work in a new area,
- 15:05 - 15:10
you can potentially um adjust your governing document and charitable objectives.
- 15:10 - 15:12
If you were going to start to use your
- 15:12 - 15:15
assets differently and and rent out your assets,
- 15:15 - 15:18
but it was going to enable you to deliver your charitable objectives,
- 15:18 - 15:20
or you can slightly alter them
- 15:20 - 15:21
uh to make that possible.
- 15:22 - 15:24
So have a think about that first,
- 15:24 - 15:27
but there might be other things that you would do that are simply not anything to
- 15:27 - 15:30
do with your charitable objectives because it's different
- 15:30 - 15:32
people that you're working with or an entirely different
- 15:32 - 15:36
um approach that still uses your skills and understanding,
- 15:36 - 15:38
but it's just not aligned.
- 15:38 - 15:39
So if you can't
- 15:39 - 15:42
uh make it work within your charitable objectives,
- 15:42 - 15:44
you can create a trading arm.
- 15:44 - 15:45
Um,
- 15:45 - 15:47
and there are organizations in the city that do this.
- 15:48 - 15:48
Um,
- 15:48 - 15:51
it is something to look at and think carefully about because you
- 15:51 - 15:54
want to make sure it's feasible and viable and will generate income
- 15:55 - 15:56
before you invest too much time in it.
- 15:57 - 15:58
But it's definitely a possibility.
- 16:01 - 16:02
So,
- 16:02 - 16:05
we've talked some more there about the different types of income.
- 16:06 - 16:08
We've talked about how you might identify which ones you want.
- 16:09 - 16:12
But the most important thing is to start with where you are.
- 16:14 - 16:15
I'm delivering this at the end of the training.
- 16:17 - 16:17
But
- 16:18 - 16:19
first things first,
- 16:19 - 16:21
why do you even want to diversify?
- 16:23 - 16:25
It can be for any of the reasons on the screen there,
- 16:25 - 16:28
and I'm gonna work all the way through to see what
- 16:28 - 16:30
you might want to consider and what impact that might have
- 16:31 - 16:33
on what you do next.
- 16:34 - 16:36
If you need to cover your running costs,
- 16:36 - 16:38
your organizational running costs,
- 16:38 - 16:41
and you know you're just not being able to do that at the moment,
- 16:41 - 16:44
start by thinking about what is causing the shortfall.
- 16:45 - 16:47
Is it how you're pricing your services?
- 16:47 - 16:49
Are you actually including all the direct costs?
- 16:50 - 16:53
So if your CEO is actually helping to deliver that service,
- 16:54 - 16:55
are you putting their time in,
- 16:55 - 16:59
or is that lumped in with the organizational running costs?
- 16:59 - 17:01
Have you included monitoring and marketing,
- 17:02 - 17:05
if that's a core part of being able to deliver that service directly?
- 17:06 - 17:08
Make sure you're putting as many costs as possible,
- 17:08 - 17:10
not in running costs,
- 17:10 - 17:13
but as direct costs for services that you can
- 17:13 - 17:16
then regain if if trusts and foundations are your main way of funding.
- 17:18 - 17:20
Then think about if you're implementing full cost recovery,
- 17:20 - 17:23
if you're talking about trusts and foundations and grants.
- 17:23 - 17:24
Um,
- 17:24 - 17:25
and if you are,
- 17:25 - 17:27
are you taking a standard percentage fee?
- 17:27 - 17:30
When was the last time you actually um.
- 17:30 - 17:31
Assessed that.
- 17:32 - 17:37
Have you put more and more costs in there but not actually looked at how much is um
- 17:37 - 17:40
whether you need to change the percentage fee?
- 17:40 - 17:41
If your costs have gone up exponentially,
- 17:42 - 17:42
is it,
- 17:42 - 17:43
is it right?
- 17:43 - 17:44
Do you need to change your fee?
- 17:44 - 17:45
Also,
- 17:45 - 17:47
if you're not able to get it all the time,
- 17:47 - 17:49
what impact is that having?
- 17:49 - 17:52
Or if you've seen a significant decrease in
- 17:52 - 17:55
your services and your um overall delivery,
- 17:56 - 17:58
then you might be receiving less income overall,
- 17:58 - 18:01
which is going to impact on your percentage fee.
- 18:01 - 18:03
But your running costs probably haven't gone down.
- 18:03 - 18:06
It's one of the risks of having a standard percentage fee.
- 18:06 - 18:10
And then think about whether your organizational structure is right.
- 18:10 - 18:12
Do you have all the things you need?
- 18:13 - 18:15
Would having a fundraiser enable you to do this?
- 18:15 - 18:18
Is it that you're you're stretching people too thin and
- 18:18 - 18:21
they can't do this they can't generate enough income?
- 18:21 - 18:23
Or is it that you've got people in place that are
- 18:23 - 18:26
no longer required and you need to think differently about it?
- 18:27 - 18:29
Make sure your organizational structure is right.
- 18:29 - 18:30
And of course,
- 18:30 - 18:32
when looking at your running costs,
- 18:32 - 18:33
go back to basics,
- 18:33 - 18:35
look at your cost model.
- 18:35 - 18:37
How are you costing your services?
- 18:37 - 18:39
I've talked about full cost recovery here,
- 18:39 - 18:40
but there's other ways of doing it.
- 18:42 - 18:44
If you want to replace an income stream,
- 18:44 - 18:45
first of all,
- 18:45 - 18:46
how long until it ends?
- 18:46 - 18:50
So this could be a grant or a contract that you know is ending and not being renewed.
- 18:51 - 18:53
You want at least 12 months to give yourself
- 18:53 - 18:55
a real fighting chance of replacing that income,
- 18:56 - 18:58
particularly if you're doing it through trusts and foundations.
- 18:58 - 18:59
Probably longer,
- 18:59 - 19:01
definitely longer if you're doing it through other means.
- 19:01 - 19:02
It can take up to
- 19:02 - 19:05
3 years to generate other income streams that
- 19:05 - 19:07
are sustainable at a really good level.
- 19:07 - 19:11
But so think about how long it is until it ends and how much you actually need.
- 19:12 - 19:14
Sometimes when we've had a large grant,
- 19:14 - 19:15
particularly or a contract,
- 19:16 - 19:19
we create the costs to match the value available.
- 19:19 - 19:20
And that's understandable,
- 19:20 - 19:23
but we can create whole delivery models that
- 19:23 - 19:26
are based in the money that we could get,
- 19:26 - 19:27
which is
- 19:27 - 19:28
positive.
- 19:28 - 19:28
Um,
- 19:29 - 19:30
but once that's ended,
- 19:30 - 19:32
what do you actually need now?
- 19:32 - 19:35
Do you really need to replace that money like for like?
- 19:35 - 19:37
What's the impact on your running costs again?
- 19:38 - 19:41
And is this an opportunity to review strategy and delivery?
- 19:41 - 19:44
This is a really good stop-start moment.
- 19:44 - 19:45
If something,
- 19:45 - 19:48
particularly a significant income stream is coming to an end,
- 19:48 - 19:49
is it time to step back and go,
- 19:49 - 19:50
OK,
- 19:50 - 19:51
what have we learned?
- 19:51 - 19:53
What would we do differently moving forward?
- 19:53 - 19:55
What do we want to retain,
- 19:55 - 19:56
what do we want to evolve,
- 19:56 - 19:58
and what do we want to let go of?
- 19:58 - 20:00
That's a really important part of being
- 20:00 - 20:02
able to sustain ourselves as an organization.
- 20:03 - 20:04
And finally,
- 20:04 - 20:04
consider
- 20:05 - 20:08
why the funding is ending and what it is telling you.
- 20:08 - 20:12
Is it that there's been a change in funding priority for whoever it was?
- 20:12 - 20:16
Is it that it's no longer a relevant way of working or favored way of working?
- 20:17 - 20:19
It might be that simply the funder just doesn't
- 20:19 - 20:21
want to fund again because they've changed their strategy,
- 20:22 - 20:23
but it's still important.
- 20:23 - 20:26
But really do reflect on what it's telling you.
- 20:28 - 20:29
Next,
- 20:29 - 20:30
if we want to increase capacity,
- 20:30 - 20:34
think about how you've identified the need and is there a particular demographic.
- 20:34 - 20:39
So that might influence who would fund this work or what's sitting behind the need.
- 20:40 - 20:42
If it's a change in um a system somewhere
- 20:42 - 20:45
else or a process somewhere else that's seen an increase
- 20:46 - 20:47
in demand for your services,
- 20:47 - 20:48
then,
- 20:48 - 20:49
then let's identify
- 20:49 - 20:52
who is gonna benefit from you doing this work,
- 20:52 - 20:53
who might want to fund it.
- 20:54 - 20:55
And then ask,
- 20:55 - 20:58
is simply increasing capacity the best approach?
- 20:58 - 21:02
Do you need to look at alternative delivery models to manage demand better,
- 21:02 - 21:05
so having a different triage process or being able to
- 21:05 - 21:08
deliver um different tiers of service for different needs?
- 21:09 - 21:12
And have you fully modeled delivery and costs?
- 21:12 - 21:12
So again,
- 21:12 - 21:15
have you looked at what the impact of increasing capacity
- 21:15 - 21:18
is and whether the um this is the best approach?
- 21:18 - 21:20
Do you need some changed roles?
- 21:20 - 21:22
Do you understand all of the costs?
- 21:25 - 21:25
Next,
- 21:25 - 21:27
developing new services,
- 21:27 - 21:28
and this is a great opportunity,
- 21:28 - 21:28
right?
- 21:29 - 21:31
So how do you know that it's needed or wanted?
- 21:31 - 21:33
What research have you done to say,
- 21:33 - 21:34
do you know what this service is,
- 21:34 - 21:36
is something that we want to deliver now,
- 21:37 - 21:37
because again,
- 21:37 - 21:39
it might influence who will fund it,
- 21:39 - 21:40
who is interested in it.
- 21:41 - 21:43
And hopefully you will have tested it.
- 21:43 - 21:44
You will have looked um
- 21:45 - 21:48
at how you can trial different parts of this and then scale it up.
- 21:49 - 21:52
And the benefit of that is it gives you um evidence,
- 21:52 - 21:52
it gives you impact,
- 21:53 - 21:55
it gives you a great case for support.
- 21:58 - 22:00
So they are the reasons to diversify,
- 22:00 - 22:04
but starting with where you are to decide what steps you need
- 22:04 - 22:07
to take to be able to make a better approach to funding.
- 22:08 - 22:08
Um,
- 22:08 - 22:09
this,
- 22:09 - 22:13
these 6 pits here are adapted for the sustainable sun tool from NCVO,
- 22:13 - 22:14
and I will share the,
- 22:14 - 22:14
um,
- 22:14 - 22:16
a copy of this with you.
- 22:16 - 22:18
So thinking about your financial management,
- 22:18 - 22:20
do you have financial strategy?
- 22:20 - 22:22
Do you have good understanding of your costs?
- 22:22 - 22:24
Do you have good cost models?
- 22:25 - 22:26
The funding model based on need,
- 22:26 - 22:30
do you know what you want to deliver and do you know what you need to fundraise for?
- 22:31 - 22:33
How are things with your current funders,
- 22:33 - 22:34
who currently funds you?
- 22:35 - 22:36
Where do you sit externally,
- 22:37 - 22:38
who are your relationships with,
- 22:38 - 22:40
and what's your marketing like?
- 22:40 - 22:41
Do people know you exist?
- 22:41 - 22:44
Do you have a good connection with your audiences?
- 22:45 - 22:46
Do they know the impact you have?
- 22:49 - 22:51
So these 3 are really important.
- 22:52 - 22:55
Particularly who currently funds you.
- 22:55 - 22:58
All fundraising and funding is relational.
- 22:58 - 23:01
It is much easier to generate income from people who know
- 23:01 - 23:05
you and already support you and have a connection with you.
- 23:05 - 23:07
So start there and see where things go.
- 23:09 - 23:12
The external positioning and marketing is really important
- 23:13 - 23:15
because it might tell you what,
- 23:15 - 23:16
who you might work with.
- 23:16 - 23:19
It might tell you that actually you are not the best
- 23:19 - 23:22
person to be delivering this or you're going to struggle to achieve
- 23:23 - 23:26
funding for something in particular because someone else is delivering it.
- 23:26 - 23:27
So how can you work together
- 23:28 - 23:30
or how are you different from them,
- 23:30 - 23:31
because
- 23:31 - 23:31
people,
- 23:32 - 23:34
we shouldn't limit people's choices for support,
- 23:34 - 23:35
um,
- 23:35 - 23:37
but we need to be realistic about what's possible.
- 23:37 - 23:39
All fundraising is relationships.
- 23:40 - 23:41
Build your fun,
- 23:41 - 23:42
build your relationships.
- 23:42 - 23:43
Um,
- 23:43 - 23:46
you don't necessarily want to start from a funding perspective when building them,
- 23:46 - 23:48
but do think about
- 23:49 - 23:52
who you know and how your relationships are and what that means.
- 23:52 - 23:53
And then finally,
- 23:54 - 23:57
make sure you are communicating your impact really positively,
- 23:57 - 23:58
that you understand it.
- 23:59 - 24:02
Your impact is how you deliver your charitable purpose,
- 24:02 - 24:03
it's your reason for existing.
- 24:04 - 24:05
Make sure you own
- 24:05 - 24:06
your impact,
- 24:06 - 24:08
make sure you are constantly thinking about it,
- 24:09 - 24:10
not for funders,
- 24:10 - 24:13
but for the people that you exist for and for your organization,
- 24:13 - 24:16
so that you can celebrate it and continually improve it.
- 24:16 - 24:17
And then the added benefit
- 24:17 - 24:20
is it um makes you much more fundable because
- 24:20 - 24:22
people know why they would want to fund you.
- 24:24 - 24:24
So again,
- 24:24 - 24:26
just find that common ground between your fans,
- 24:27 - 24:29
people whose lives you make easier and those who have money,
- 24:30 - 24:31
starting with where you are.
- 24:34 - 24:37
A quick note on making decisions about what to go for,
- 24:37 - 24:39
when to pursue a funding opportunity.
- 24:39 - 24:42
And I'm going to share a template on um,
- 24:42 - 24:44
particularly for grants and bids,
- 24:44 - 24:46
er how to make better decisions,
- 24:46 - 24:47
so it's a questionnaire you can use.
- 24:50 - 24:50
So,
- 24:51 - 24:53
understand your costs and whether
- 24:53 - 24:57
they can be covered in any different uh funding stream
- 24:57 - 24:59
that's possible uh available to you or that you're considering.
- 24:59 - 25:00
If there's a particular bid or grant,
- 25:00 - 25:02
really understand your costs,
- 25:02 - 25:03
know if this is gonna work.
- 25:04 - 25:04
2,
- 25:04 - 25:06
place value on what you do,
- 25:06 - 25:08
don't go for bare minimum all the time.
- 25:08 - 25:10
Make sure you're achieving value.
- 25:11 - 25:13
Focus on reducing risk to your organization,
- 25:13 - 25:14
both in the short term,
- 25:15 - 25:17
so you don't want to create risk through um
- 25:17 - 25:18
taking on
- 25:19 - 25:20
massive projects,
- 25:20 - 25:23
but sometimes you do need to focus on the longer
- 25:23 - 25:25
term to reduce risk and start the work now.
- 25:25 - 25:28
So how are you reducing the risk for 3 years' time?
- 25:28 - 25:31
How are you looking to replace your incomes and involve your income?
- 25:32 - 25:32
3,
- 25:33 - 25:33
make sure there's alignment.
- 25:34 - 25:35
I talk about it a lot,
- 25:35 - 25:37
but is there alignment between what you do,
- 25:37 - 25:38
what you stand for,
- 25:38 - 25:39
and that funder?
- 25:39 - 25:41
That's where you want to find it.
- 25:41 - 25:43
If it feels too misaligned,
- 25:43 - 25:44
don't do it.
- 25:44 - 25:45
And 3,
- 25:45 - 25:48
get the right support to help you make those decisions.
- 25:50 - 25:51
So next steps.
- 25:53 - 25:56
You can attend an in-person practical application session,
- 25:57 - 25:58
application being how to do this,
- 25:59 - 25:59
uh,
- 25:59 - 26:01
rather than particular grant funders.
- 26:01 - 26:01
Um,
- 26:02 - 26:02
on Monday,
- 26:02 - 26:03
the 9th of December,
- 26:03 - 26:04
we're holding two sessions,
- 26:05 - 26:08
one in the morning and one in the afternoon at PCBS at Alia.
- 26:09 - 26:11
Please do email Jill to book onto them.
- 26:12 - 26:13
We'll have a workbook to work through.
- 26:14 - 26:16
I'll be able to provide some in-person
- 26:16 - 26:19
support and advice for your individual organization,
- 26:19 - 26:20
and hopefully you'll be able to
- 26:21 - 26:22
uh talk to others there as well.
- 26:25 - 26:28
I am a charity freelancer and I can help um
- 26:28 - 26:30
with the following things with income review and planning,
- 26:31 - 26:32
strategic review and planning,
- 26:32 - 26:33
theory of change and impact,
- 26:34 - 26:36
and mentoring for leaders and fundraisers.
- 26:36 - 26:36
Um,
- 26:36 - 26:40
if you'd like to talk to me about the services I can provide on a freelance basis,
- 26:40 - 26:42
then do get in touch.
- 26:43 - 26:46
And if you have other needs around finance,
- 26:46 - 26:47
around marketing,
- 26:47 - 26:47
around,
- 26:48 - 26:48
um,
- 26:48 - 26:48
anything,
- 26:48 - 26:51
or you'd like to know what other people are out there doing the things I do,
- 26:51 - 26:54
I highly recommend getting in touch with the Fair Collective.
- 26:55 - 26:59
They're a network of over 100 independent freelancers who have
- 27:00 - 27:00
experiences,
- 27:00 - 27:01
um,
- 27:01 - 27:03
direct experience in the small charity sector,
- 27:04 - 27:04
particularly,
- 27:04 - 27:10
and are all really committed to making things better for small charities.
- 27:11 - 27:11
Thank
- 27:11 - 27:12
you very much.