British Exploring Society

Major Donor Kickstart – Silver

The Brief:

We were going through a transitional time as an organisation, looking to become a more relevant youth development charity. To do this we needed reduce our reliance on trust fundraising by enthusing past expedition participants and new donors to become significant givers to help us expand. We had an old list of prospects, but had not taken steps towards engaging them due to being a small team with limited time. We didn’t have a clear funding message for donors, with costed projects or aspirations. This was holding us back with communicating with potential donors.

Action Taken:

Money Tree Fundraising analysed historic givers and reviewed our potential networks. They were able to identify three key audiences and provide guidance on how to approach each.
They worked with us to develop a case for support, which acted as the framework for donor communication, in line with our new brand. The key messages from the case were highlighted and practiced in two training sessions with staff and our Development Board.

Difference Made:

It would not have been possible to pull together all the elements required for a sustainable major donor programme without external support. It has focused the team, clarified our funding need and given us real belief that this is an area that can help the organisation grow.

Results:

With Money Tree Fundraising’s help we managed to prioritise and approach key major donor prospects, before developing a more confident ask and a tailored cultivation plan. The Development Board are also now more actively engaged in fundraising. This subsequently engaged four major donor prospects, leading to one major gift to date, while two remain good prospects. These gifts have given us a platform to grow the organisation and work with many more young people in the future.