CAF Venturesome’s mission is to provide social enterprises and charities with the affordable repayable finance they need to sustain and grow their social impact. We do this through our three funds, the Development Fund - offering loans between £25k and £400k, at a rate of 6.5%, repayable between 3-6 years and our more specialist funds the SE-Assist Fund and our Community Land Trust fund.
As an impact-focused social investor we make sure we give social enterprises and charities practical advice and support with governance and financial systems; including access to the Reach Fund, a two year grant programme that helps charities and social enterprises raise investment. We help management and trustees to put in place robust financial measures that will not only ensure that they are able to re-pay their loan but, more importantly, generate income to grow their social impact.
This is why we are delighted to share the news with you that CAF have just launched a new Fundraising Guide.
CAF’s Fundraising Toolkit
We know from our research that November and December are the peak months for people donating money and many of you will be planning your campaigns for this period.To help you CAF have recently launched a Fundraising Toolkit.
Before joining CAF Venturesome, I spent 15 years as a fundraiser for two charities that generated income from their social enterprises but needed additional income from grants and donations. I wish that I had this Fundraising Toolkit when I was starting out and at times when faced with my Finance Director looking hopefully at me!
I encourage all charities to take a look at this, even if you have a social enterprise to generate income.
Getting started
Before launching your fundraising strategy it's important to ask yourself these questions.
Where you are now?
What fundraising have you done so far? What went well? What didn’t work? Who are your current supporters? Conduct a SWOT analysis.
Where do you need to get to?
What services do you want to deliver today and in the next few years? Ensure that your fundraising aligns with your strategy, rather than your strategy aligning with your fundraising.
How much can you afford to spend?
Remember, fundraising is an investment, be that time, money or both.
How long do you have to raise the money?
Do you have enough time to build relationships with major donors, which can take many years to come to fruition?
Are you set up to receive donations?
You may want to look into free to use online donation tools such as CAF Donate.
What rules and regulations do you need to be aware of?
Be mindful of which regulations apply to your planned fundraising activities and your marketing of them. Find out more about the Code of Fundraising Practice and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).
Remember to “Keep it Simple”! Donors need to understand quickly what the ask is - What, Why, How.
Once you have planned your strategy follow our guide and use all the information and resources available in our online Fundraising Toolkit.
I also encourage you to sign up for the Giving Tuesday campaign powered by CAF.
Good luck!