T & F Fundraising

In 2025, perhaps more than ever, fundraising is a precarious landscape to navigate for charities of all sizes. Whilst the needs of communities across the UK is ever increasing, from food banks to youth programmes to employment opportunities for young people and refugees, we are seeing how important the third sector is for supporting the development of a positive society.

Unfortunately, we are navigating precarious times, and this is confirmed by the latest ‘Status of UK Fundraising’ report by Blackbaud, which opens with this line:

“The importance of effective fundraising cannot be overstated as we navigate an era marked by economic uncertainty, social change, and severe political events.”

Key to achieving success, particularly for medium to small sized organisations, is to maintain a diversified portfolio of funders, ones which you can build strong and mutually beneficial relationships that extend beyond one-time gifts from major donors, events-linked corporate partnerships or monthly supporters.

Trusts and Foundations (T&Fs) are an invaluable source of income generation, not only because the grants can make a real difference by supporting the capacity of organisations to reach specific programmatic targets or by funding back office roles that are crucial but that tend to be overlooked by corporate partners or major donors.

A key benefit of building a healthy T&F pipeline and supporter base is that the support of these funders often go beyond money. T&Fs are often legacy organisations that have been supporting organisations and beneficiaries for decades, and in that time, have amassed a wealth of knowledge, connections, and know-how, that can be real game changers for organisations in the field. Indeed, the real value of funder relationships often exceeds the monetary support, because they can open up the doors to connections and resources that enable small and medium-sized organisations to reach the next level.

However, applying for Trust and Foundation funding can be daunting, because application processes can be specific and vague at the same time, meaning organisations that are clear about the work they do but less clear about how to “sell” their work in word counts, often overlook T&Fs as a realistic source of income. Plus, these funders often ask for a series of documents, organisational and project budgets, as well as far reaching questions that forces organisations to identify their USP (Unique Selling Point).

If that sounds like a lot of sales talk, that because T&F fundraising is essentially selling your services to prospective ‘buyers’. These ‘buyers’ are funders who often have detailed targets about what they want their money to achieve. They have an ideological standpoint, subjective preferences, and it is the charities job to prove that their work aligns with this.

Of course all charity work is equal, but funders cannot give their money out equally.

This is where I can help.

I established Fundraising with Adrian to help small and medium organisations build the capacity and know-how to unlock the potential of T&F funding and enable them to make that next leap.

I do this by providing T&F training through lunch and learns, but also from writing and submitting compelling and high quality grant applications. I also offer support with the crucial stages before and after applying: funder prospecting and grant-reporting.

If you are interested in hearing more about my services and help your organisations reach the next stage by unlocking the transformative power of Trust and Foundation funding, then reach out to me!