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Creating a Fundraising Strategy

This course will refresh and develop your understanding of the key components that make up a fundraising strategy.

This course will refresh and develop your understanding of the key components that make up a fundraising strategy that will help your organisation adapt and change to the current fast-moving and unpredictable funding landscape.

Together, we will explore a range of creative fundraising approaches and sources to spark ideas and help you to flesh out a workable income plan. We will explore inspiring and diverse case studies and touch on tools and tactics to help you get the long-term results that you need.

This course will be delivered virtually via Zoom in two 3-hour sessions, taking place on Monday 24 March 2025 from 10am-1pm and Tuesday 25 March 2025 from 10am-1pm. It is necessary to attend both sessions to complete the full training.

Who is this for?

This course is for anyone developing fundraising strategy in small to medium scale arts, cultural or heritage organisations. The training would be most suitable for those that have an existing fundraising strategy in place and are looking to refine and enhance this.

It is also suitable for those in the process of creating a new strategy, and will be a practical session for anyone who needs the space to look outwards and inwards to flesh out the details of their fundraising plan, problem solve and identify any gaps.

You will learn:

• How to establish financial need and set realistic targets
• How to select the best fundraising sources for your organisation
• How to plan the resources and time needed to deliver success
• How to create tailored materials and messaging to support your fundraising
• How to develop a collaborative and changeable action plan using up to date tools and techniques
• How to confidently write a robust fundraising strategy for your project or organisation

Price

This course is priced at £75+VAT in total for both sessions.

A concession rate of £50+VAT is available to Freelancers, Sector Partner Members, Charities and Arts Organisations with an annual turnover of £500,000 or less.

Our current Sector Partners are:

• Arts@Leeds
• Arts Marketing Association
• Association of British Orchestras
• The Audience Agency
• Contemporary Visual Art Network
• Family Arts Campaign
• Music Mark
• National Museum Directors Council
• One Dance UK
• UK Theatre

Trainer: Sarah Ruff

Sarah Ruff is the Head of development at Polka Theatre, leading a small but high performing fundraising team. She completed Polka’s £9m capital campaign during a volatile environment when the project experienced significant uplifts due to the pandemic.

Alongside securing several major gifts for Polka, she delivers an annual fundraising strategy to meet ambitious revenue targets.