Fundraising from small businesses is an untapped market – according to the FSB (National Federation of Self-employed and Small Businesses), there are 5.5 million small businesses in the UK (with 0 to 49 employees), making up 99.2% of all business. But where should you start? Here are our top 4 tips:

1. Find local small businesses that might support your cause. Look on your local high street, look at yours and your trustees’ local connections and contact your local business guild. Think carefully about the type of business that might support your organisation. ResourceHub has some tips for how to find local businesses that may want to support their local community.  Or contact your local business guild if you have one.
2. Think about how they can help your cause. Support doesn’t have to be monetary; it could be helping you promote an event or a service you offer (for example, estate agents use their boards to promote school fairs). It could be supporting a campaign you are running. Charity Digital has some great examples in their article ‘Fundraising from small businesses’.
3. If you are in need of donations, think about how a small business might best support you. This could be through donations for raffles or it could be asking them to match donations that an employee raises through fundraising or sponsorship. You might even consider asking local businesses if they would pledge support through The Big Give, where their donation has the potential to be doubled. (There’ll be more on using The Big Give to fundraise next month, so look out for that!)
4. Lastly, think about what’s in it for them. It’s important that the business gets something from their relationship with you. Say thank you for their support on social media. Include their logo. Share with them the difference that their support has made.