At Beacon we work with, and for, hundreds of small and medium-sized patient organisations each year.
Many of these groups are led by individuals or staff teams where everyone is wearing multiple hats. Head of HR, IT, Finance and Fundraising? Apparently so!
Here, Emma, Beacon’s Fundraising Manager, talks about the challenges and opportunities of raising funds in the rare disease space.
As a fundraiser for most of my career, I’ve often been asked – ‘what are some easy wins?’ Or, ‘could we create something like the ice bucket challenge?’.
I’m here to tell you, sadly, that there are no easy wins in fundraising, and hitting on a viral campaign that happens to raise thousands, is like winning the lottery.
Fundraising is challenging and it takes a certain sense of relentlessness and proactivity, over a prolonged period, to be successful. It is important to recognise that it is especially difficult when there is no dedicated staff resource.
Having said all that, in my experience there are things that small organisations, or those with no fundraising experience, can do to maximise their return on investment. It’s my view that it’s all about examining your skill set and resources, making the most of your network, and getting organised.
Choosing the right fundraising stream
There’s loads of different ways to fundraise: trusts, community, corporate grants and sponsorships, individual giving and more. Although each funder is unique, there is a fairly standard way of fundraising in that area, and timeframe in which you’d expect to see a return on your investment.
My advice would be, don’t spread yourself too thinly, choose one or two funding streams that fit your skills, resources and timeframes and concentrate on those.
Network maps
Trying to convince a large funder or national company to support a rare disease charity with no prior relationship is extremely difficult.
The first thing I do whenever I join a charity is network map the people involved, as they are likely already aware of you and your cause. The Trustee’s mate Ben who owns the local pub, the staff member that plays on a women’s football team, or your friend that has a printing business, are far more likely to mobilise on your behalf if given the right opportunity!
Create foundational documents
Fundraising is all about maximising your return on investment – this includes your time. You might not be at a stage where you are business planning each year, but likely you will have a list of things you’d love to achieve over a 12 month period.
Creating a foundational document, like a project plan, that works for funders is a great way to streamline your fundraising efforts.
Here’s how we do it at Beacon:
- What’s the societal problem you’re trying to solve?
- What’s your solution/project?
- Why are you/your organisation best placed to tackle this problem?
- Action plan: who, what, when, how.
- Timeline.
- Budget.
- How will success be measured: KPI’s.
Use as many stats as you can. Collate your community feedback and weave it into the narrative. Make it look professional.
This document will serve as an internal organising tool, and you can use the wording or a print out when meeting potential corporate supporters.
Give a short version to community fundraisers so they know how to talk about why they’re fundraising for you, use it as a base plate to shoot off 50 trust and foundation applications. In my experience, it’s a great use of your time.
The Beacon team ran a popular webinar in 2024 on The Fundamentals of Fundraising without a Fundraiser.
Our plan is to expand this to a workshop, so keep an eye out for that in the coming months. Our Resources Hub also has some excellent materials to help kick start your fundraising too!
Thank you for taking the time to read this blog. Don’t forget to sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear about all things Beacon, including our latest training events.
If you missed our last fundraising webinar you can catch-up on the Resources Hub!
