Fundraising Income and Costs Review
A structured, flexible consultancy programme covering up to 10 key areas of your fundraising income and costs — built around what matters most to you.
Most organisations are so busy with the day-to-day that nobody ever sits down and looks at the full picture. Donors quietly slipping away. Gift Aid going unclaimed. Systems and fees quietly eating into budgets. The opportunities are usually there — they just need finding.
The Fundraising Income and Costs Review is a structured programme of consultancy sessions designed to give you clarity and a clear plan for improvement — without long-term contracts or open-ended commitments.
The 10 Areas of the Review
The programme covers up to 10 key areas of your fundraising income and costs. You choose which areas are most relevant to you — sessions are flexible and can go deeper on a subject or cover multiple topics.
1. Understanding Your Financial Picture
A review of where you are right now — your income, expenditure, budgets and systems. We look honestly at whether your team has the time, the management commitment and the appetite to implement and sustain change. Skills can be learned and external help can be brought in for initial setup — but without commitment from the top, even the best plan won't get off the ground.
2. Reviewing All Your Income Streams
Looking at where your income actually comes from — not just where you think it does, but what the budget and accounts really show. We look at appeals, individual and regular giving, memberships, lotteries, grants, Gift Aid, VAT relief and corporate sponsorship. We also look at your supporters — do you have repeat donors, memberships or long-standing loyal supporters, or are you always chasing new ones?
3. Systems, Hardware and Software
Where is your donor data held — spreadsheets, a CRM, paper records? Is it secure and GDPR compliant? We review all platforms and systems you use to raise money, including fees and processing costs. We also look at your hardware — what equipment do you have, is it being utilised, do staff have the skills to use it, and are things in the cloud or locally stored?
4. Gift Aid and VAT
Are you registered for VAT — and is it beneficial given what you spend on VAT-able items? Are you eligible to claim Gift Aid? Charities can claim it, but sports groups and membership bodies generally cannot. If you are eligible, are you registered with HMRC and claiming everything you're entitled to?
5. Donor Retention
Do you actually talk to your donors? Do you thank them, update them, tell them what their money has achieved? We review how you currently communicate with supporters, whether you have a planned calendar of appeals and campaigns, and whether you have a strategy for keeping existing donors engaged — including through newsletters — rather than always starting from scratch with new ones.
6. Trusts and Grants
Have you ever applied for grants or trust funding — and if so, how successful have you been? We also explore philanthropic donors — individuals in your area or with a connection to your cause who may be open to supporting you directly. Do you keep funders updated on how their money has been used, and do you have a structured calendar of when to apply and to whom?
7. Corporate Partnerships and Volunteers
Reviewing existing relationships and identifying new opportunities — including corporate volunteering. We also look at your volunteers: are they genuinely beneficial to your organisation, or do they consume more management time than they contribute? Could you charge a fee for what volunteers offer instead?
8. Retail and Trading Income
Do you have any income from retail — new or secondhand, physical shops or online selling? We look at how profitable it genuinely is once all costs are factored in, whether there are other opportunities, and whether you are claiming retail Gift Aid on eligible sales.
9. Events and Campaigns
Events can be a great opportunity for the team to come together and celebrate your work — but sometimes they are hard work and not as profitable as they seem. We look at how your events are run, what the true financial and physical cost of each one is, and whether you have the right marketing tools and equipment to truly promote your work and what you want people to do.
10. Income-Related Costs Review
A closer look at the fees and costs directly related to generating your fundraising income — subscriptions, platform fees, processing charges and services. Are you getting value from each one, and are there smarter or simpler ways of doing things that could save both time and money?
Simple and Flexible — Long Enough to Achieve Something, Easy Enough to Fit In
Sessions are delivered online and last 1.5 hours each. You choose which areas to cover and in what order — there is no fixed curriculum. The programme is built entirely around what matters most to your organisation right now.
The process
- Book a free 30-minute introductory call to see if this is right for you
- If you want to proceed, book a 2-hour Discovery Session to identify your priorities and which programme suits you
- Choose your programme and the sessions most relevant to you
- Sessions delivered online, 1.5 hours each
- Leave each session knowing exactly what to do next
- Further sessions available at any time whenever you need them
What you get
- A clear understanding of where you actually stand financially
- Detailed insight into your fundraising income streams
- Identification of potential opportunities to generate more income
- An honest, experienced outside perspective
- No jargon — just clear, useful guidance
- No long-term contracts or open-ended commitments
Programmes
All programmes are flexible — you choose which of the 10 areas to cover and can revisit any area in more depth at any time.
| Programme | Price | Sessions | What's included |
|---|---|---|---|
| Discovery Session | £150 | 1 session (2 hours) | High-level assessment of your team, systems, financial information and processes. Identifies your starting point and whether the programmes are right for your organisation. |
| Mini Programme | £500 | 5 sessions × 1.5 hrs | Choose any 5 of the 10 subject areas most relevant to your organisation. |
| Full Programme | £950 | 10 sessions × 1.5 hrs | All 10 areas covered — saving £50 on the individual session rate. |