The Key Principles of Effective Fundraising: Reflections from a Fellow

Article written by Maria Moorwood, Head of Development at Modern Art Oxford and 2024 Fundraising Fellow.

I was recently asked what my most meaningful fundraising triumph was. Instinctively, I turned to the big wins and major capital grants (often accompanied by a celebratory jig). However, I also recalled school cake sales, and an autumn afternoon collecting a mountain of leaves, which friends catapulted themselves into for the fee of a jelly sweet, filling up a massive jar, which was raffled with proceeds for charity. So why are these smaller wins just as meaningful? For me, it’s the sense of shared purpose, of a community coming together to support a common cause; for the anticipated impact and legacy.

Whether big or small there are in the end some universal truths that underline success – a clear cause, outcome and beneficiaries. It turns out that most of us are in fact fundraisers seeking to galvanise support, whether that be for a school, a grass-roots community initiative, a church or a national charity, and it is often just a question of scale.

However, in a fiercely competitive environment where increased funds from Trusts and Foundations still don’t go far enough, and more people are tightening their purse strings (for the first time the proportion of people donating to charity has fallen to only 50%), these margins of differentiation make a huge difference.

Over the last eight months, as a part of the Fellowship programme, I have had the chance to hone my thinking and, in the process, have been reminded of certain key principles that I think are crucial for us all to focus on in these challenging times.

• Training – Most fundraisers arrive at their post via a circuitous route, with experience as the greatest teacher and little to no formal training. Yet taking the time to ground instinct in theory and a history of practice can be truly empowering and can really sharpen your approach.
• Research – Though difficult to take the time, research can better serve your purposes in the long term, allowing you to articulate your ambition in a manner that is responsive but also anticipates the opportunities and challenges ahead.

• Ask – If we are all fundraisers (for school, for church, for our communities) then we all also know what it is to be asked. I was reminded of this in a recent Legacy Giving workshop led by Michelle Wright, CEO of Cause4 where she pointed out that 33% of people who put charities in their wills did so because they were asked. So it is important that we are clear, accountable, do our research, AND ask the question, whether that be of an individual, a business, or a Foundation – ‘No’ is neither an insult nor a criticism but just another way forwards.

• Network – As another Fellow wrote not long ago, the value of networks is immeasurable. Having a group of peers to swap notes with has been one of the most enriching aspects of the Fellowship Programme, but it has also encouraged me to reach out to counterparts in other organisations and, apart from anything else, realise that sometimes my question is also their question. It helps to know that you are not alone in navigating the challenges, and bringing together different perspectives makes for greater impact, which means less wasted time when we are constantly asked to do more with less.

• Plan – To use the phrase that haunts and motivates in equal measure, ‘have a strategy’. Having a plan helps not only you but also your colleagues, within and beyond your team. It is of course the roadmap to realise your goals but importantly it allows you to play to your strengths and enables others to do the same. And, ironically, it makes you bolder and more adaptive.

• Evaluate – I hesitate to put this last as everything I know says this conversation should always come first. What and how you evaluate can strengthen the delivery and impact of your project and ensure that it stays relevant and mission oriented. I haven’t quite cracked the evaluation puzzle yet, but it is certainly at the top of my research list and will be the focus of my forthcoming team ‘away’ day.

This list is not exhaustive, but it hopefully offers some insights and speaks to the fundraisers in us all, helping others to navigate fundraising in this complex world.  

Have you refocused the way you fundraise in these challenging times? Share your thoughts with us @artsfundraising.