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Identifying need and appealing to donors

Last month, our fundraising article was an introduction to developing your fundraising strategy. A fundraising strategy is a living document that sets out your organisation’s approach to fundraising for the coming years, identifying clear and realistic goals, and mapping a pathway to achieving them.

They align your organisation’s mission and charity objects with your business objectives and is essential to financial sustainability to keep your organisation on track with its fundraising goals. A long term, strategic approach will help you deliver the most efficient and effective fundraising programme.

This month, we are going to help you develop that strategy even further by identifying your need as an organisation and collecting evidence to use when it comes to your grant applications.

Why do you need evidence?

When it comes to your grant applications, evidence is crucial. It illustrates the problem you’re tackling with real life examples, it strengthens your argument and compels the reader to accept your point.

Evidence in the form of facts and statistics are required for any successful grant application. When writing it, it is important to back up what you’re saying with hard evidence and be specific. Define the problem in words that the funder understands and in a way that makes them want to do something about it. As you are probably aware, there is a lot of competition for grants and a high demand for limited resources.

Evidence will prove:

Your project will make a difference in the community.
You have not just guessed what the community needs.
You are talking to people involved.
Your project is the best way to address the need.
You know no one else is meeting this need (in the way you are).
You understand your community.

Evidence also importantly reassures the funder that they will not waste their money by giving it to your organisation.

What is the need/how do you know?

How did your project/organisation start? Who decided that it needs to happen? Why did they think the project/organisation was needed?

Your organisation works with beneficiaries and in your community. You are the best people to identify the gap in provision and demonstrate the need.

Use statistics and not vague assertions from your own research but also research the national need from academic and reputable sources.

Where do you get statistics from?

There are a few sources for the statistics you can use to help identify and articulate your need:

Community feedback – ask the questions at fairs and events – use surveys and questionnaires, focus groups, meetings and interviews.
Statistics – you can get statistics from the Surrey Index, for example, for statistics on the local area or the community profile (i.e. areas of deprivation, age of the population, health of the community).
Specialist research – such as borough, county, academic or government reports/surveys.
Other existing services or lack of services – what’s going on in your area?

Some useful websites you can use:

The Office for National Statistics.
The Surrey Index – This provides a way of understanding social, environmental, economic and health outcomes in Surrey at a local level. It is also a way of comparing different areas in Surrey. The purpose of the index is to highlight areas of Surrey that perfrom well or poorly against various outcomes.
Findahood – Allows you to compare UK stats with local statistics.
Data.gov – Provides local information and is postcode driven.
Surreyi – For facts, information, specialist reports, summary analysis and headline statistics covering Surrey.
Healthy Surrey – Supported by the Health and Wellbeing Board, this website can provide Public Health information.
Public Health England – Provides information on services, policy papers and consulations, guidance and regulation and research and statistics.
Google Scholar – Allows you to reliably search across many disciplines and sources.
Online Survey Tools – Surveys can be vital in helping charities measure and improve their performance.
National charities – These charities will have national statistics of need. Take a look at their annual reports which often contain ‘State of the Nation’ figures.
Networking events – To make connections with other organisations who could help provide valuable information.
Read about and follow similar organisations online – Try to find and learn from a similar organisation/project to yours.

Why is your project important?

Consider the following:

Why is the project important?

Stress why you’re project is needed now and what will happen if nothing is done.

Is the problem your focusing on increasing?

Are there trends that might make the problem worse in the future if your project is not undertaken? Here, you can use statistics to back up any asserting you make about the future. If you have a waiting list, for example, is it growing month on month?

Have you done similar work already?

Can you demonstrate that your project builds on work you have already carried out? Can you find a successful similar project elsewhere? Could you share their findings and project and are you doing a smaller version of the same thing?

Get evidence of your competence:

Collect case studies from your beneficiaries and tell the funders who you are and who you help. Get letters of support from service users, professionals working with your organisation, MPs, local councillors or other important decision-makers or organisations that make referrals to your organisation. Support from public sector agencies/staff often have a stronger influence on funders, such as a CCG, social workers or the police, for example.

Point, Evidence, Explain

A good way of answering some of these questions when it comes to establishing and demonstrating your need in the community is to use the P.E.E method.

Point

Evidence

Explain

Using this method when completing your application can help you keep focused on your point. Any statement or point you make should then be followed with evidence such as facts or stats. Then, once you have provided that evidence, you can explain how it’s relevant and why you’ve included it. This can help you in your bid for funding.

Have you found this helpful?

If you have found these articles helpful, we regularly run a training session on Grants and Trusts Fundraising Applications. Our next session takes place in July where we cover your fundraising plan, identifying your need as an organisation and much more! You can book your place on that session here.

You can also sign up to our monthly fundraising newsletter. This newsletter contains fundraising news, information, resources, event details and the latest funds for you to explore. To sign up to any of our newsletters, you can click here.

Finally, you can request one-to-one support and we’d be more than happy to help. Simply give us a call on 01932 571122.