Raising funds for your organisation - A presentation from Dr Besiro Sirage

Emdad Rahman: As a participant on the Tower Hamlets Community Leadership Programme, I had the very good fortune of being present at a lecture given by Dr Besiro Sirage (MBA, MA, PGCE, PGD, BA).

Dr Sirage addressed participants on the age old subject of raising funds to support your organisation.

Fundraising is a complex and fast – changing profession. There are also various techniques, challenges and opportunities that confront voluntary and community sector (VCS) organisations everywhere.

The lecture focussed on basic foundations of effective fundraising and effective fundraising and effectively communicating elements of intentions and/or project proposals to funders.

Dr Sirage discussed the principles of fundraising:

• Who are you?
• What is the need you intend to meet?
• What is the solution you offer?
• Why should you do it?
• How much do you need?
• What future do you have?

The Academic feels that it is far easier to raise money for something specific than to appeal for administrative costs or general funds: “Funders prefer to feel that their money is going in order to fund something they are genuinely interested in.”

This is whether it’s a training programme to enhance the employability of local over 25 Bangladeshi women, or buying play equipment for disabled children to enjoy and use.

Thinking of work in project terms and designing projects that will attract support is the basis of successful fundraising and to cost a project, one needs to include all the direct and indirect costs that can reasonably be attributable to the running of the project; an appropriate percentage of the management salaries, the cost of occupying  the building, usage of the telephone, photocopying etc. Some funders will refuse to fund these core costs, so they will have to be incorporated within the overall project plans.

Analysis of the environment is critical and there are various ways in which the fundraising environment can be explored:

• SWOT Analysis – involves trying to identify the organisations strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats.
• PEST Analysis – To explore external factors in greater detail under the headings Political, Economical, Social, and Technological.

The fundraising strategy should involve identification of the organisations aims through strategic planning and the formulation of a working business plan. Objective setting is crucial in deciding what needs to be achieved over a certain timescale. Activity analysis, scheduling, resourcing, setting targets and standards and setting up monitoring procedures are crucial factors within this process.

A project must have rationale behind it and the organisation must be able to explain factors like:

• Why are you targeting who you are targeting?
• Why you have decided on what you will do?
• Why you will provide services in a particular place?
• Why you have decided on particular times?

For these very reasons Goal Setting is a good way of keeping a project on track and ensuring that you achieve the results you require. However, goals don’t happen, they need to be developed and are often based around your values, beliefs, desires and sense of purpose.

Up to date information on fundraising is available at www.thirdsector.co.uk.