Fundraising Success: A Whole-Organisation Responsibility

By Maddy Gazzard 

New research reveals why ‘being fundable’ requires more than just great fundraisers 

One of the most frustrating experiences as a fundraiser is not having the information you need in order to…fundraise.  

It sounds obvious, but too often, there is a limited understanding amongst charity teams of what funders are looking at – and for –when making funding decisions, and therefore too little attention paid to ensuring that fundraisers have what they need.  

The reality is that fundraising success cannot rest purely on the shoulders of fundraisers, no matter how skilled they are. This truth has been reinforced by ground breaking new research from ImpactEd Philanthropy's Be Fundable project, which digs deep into what funders actually need to see and understand about the charities they may support.  

The Gap Between Those Seeking and Giving Funds 

When I started my fundraising career, I quickly realised that it wasn’t all about writing applications; funders needed to see much more than that, but I wasn’t prepared for the requests that arrived. With limited knowledge and a fear of ‘what’s next?’, I was nervous about engaging with funders and hesitant to burden already busy colleagues with asks for help. The irony wasn't lost on me—there was very little "fun" in my fundraising. 

Years later, many fundraisers still face these same challenges. That's exactly what prompted the Be Fundable research: to provide robust, evidence-based answers to the critical question of what charities can put in place to maximise their chances of securing funding—and in doing so, empower their fundraisers to fundraise.  

The project aims to bridge the understanding gap between charities seeking funding and those with resources to give - because when that gap narrows, we can all make a greater difference in the world. 

What the Research Reveals 

As part of the Be Fundable project, we engaged with67 funders who took part in a survey and we also conducted follow-up interviews with 23 participants.  

The findings paint a fascinating picture of how funders approach their funding decisions – and whilst each funder may be unique, there is much common ground.  

Out of 20 different types of information we asked funders to rate the importance of when making funding decisions, a remarkable16 are rated as ‘quite’ or ‘very important’ by more than half of respondents. Even the lowest-scoring information type is still considered important by nearly one in five funders. 

This tells us something crucial: funders are looking at everything. 

When it comes to quality, the news is generally positive. Out of the 20 types of information, 15 are rated as ‘satisfactory’ or above by at least 90% of funders, with all 20 types meeting this threshold for more than three-quarters of respondents. 

But here's where it gets interesting—and where the opportunity lies. When we look at higher ratings, only eight types of information are rated ‘good’ or ‘excellent’ by more than half of funders. This significant drop-off suggests that whilst charities are meeting basic expectations, there's substantial room for improvement in truly impressing potential supporters – and in a competitive climate, this matters.  

Three Critical Pitfalls 

Beyond the numbers, funders highlighted three key areas where charities consistently fall short: 

1. The presentation of charity information – When it comes to fundraising, it's not enough to do good work. Clarity about what you do is incredibly important, as is consistency, ensuring that it is easy for funders to get to an up-to-date, true picture of the organisation. Funders may take the time to ask clarifying questions...or they might just move on.  

2. The demonstration of strong leadership – Similarly to the above, it’s not enough to do good work if an organisation cannot build trust that it is well-led. Funders need to see evidence of strong governance, strategic leadership and financial planning, and a real commitment to making a difference.  

3. Engagement with funders – Whilst time is precious, it is worth the effort to properly research and understand funders’ priorities; funders shared that too much time is currently wasted submitting requests which they are never going to fund.  

A Collective Commitment to Being Fundable 

The research reinforces what many of us fundraisers know: whilst fundraisers play a crucial role, they cannot single-handedly make an organisation fundable.  

For a charity to maximise its chances of securing philanthropic support sustainably, there needs to be a collective commitment from everyone—trustees who understand their governance responsibilities, leaders who can articulate strategy and finances, frontline teams who effectively support beneficiaries, and behind-the-scenes staff who ensure policies and procedures are in place. 

Only then do fundraisers really have what they need to maximise their potential.  

Moving Forward 

Through the Be Fundable research project and by understanding what funders value, we hope that charities can take practical steps to strengthen their fundraising readiness. We have developed a freely available audit tool to assist with this and are also seeking Expressions of Interest from charities to join a cohort of organisations that will contribute to building benchmarks for fundraising readiness, whilst gaining a deeper understanding of their own position and opportunities to strengthen it.  

This isn't about putting more pressure on charities. It's about recognising that fundraising is a real team effort.  

Because at the end of the day, ‘being fundable’ isn't just about raising money. It's about making an impact for the communities you serve, and that is a responsibility that everyone shares.  

 For the full findings, see: Be Fundable Bridging the Gap Between Charities and Funders

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