Be Fundable Bridging the Gap Between Charities and Funders

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Be Fundable

Be Fundable Bridging the Gap Between Charities and Funders New research reveals why being "fundable" requires more than just great fundraisers

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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.

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Key findings

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.

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.

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.

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.

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