Form cover
Page 1 of 2

Fundraising Strategy

How strong is your fundraising strategy practice? This short, evidence-based self-assessment scores your organisation against fundraising standards, shows where your biggest gaps are, and puts the most useful fixes first.
It takes about 10 minutes. Every question is optional, and the more you can share, especially real numbers and documents, the more accurate your result.

Are your fundraising objectives written in SMART form, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-scaled?

Are your fundraising objectives written in SMART form, specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-scaled?
A
B
C
D
E

Do your fundraising objectives explicitly set a target for the acceptable cost of fundraising, not just the income to be raised?

Do your fundraising objectives explicitly set a target for the acceptable cost of fundraising, not just the income to be raised?
A
B
C
D
E

When planning new or additional fundraising, does your NGO explicitly consider all four growth options above before committing to a direction?

When planning new or additional fundraising, does your NGO explicitly consider all four growth options above before committing to a direction?
A
B
C
D
E

Does your NGO segment its individual donor base using any structured basis beyond total gift amount?

Does your NGO segment its individual donor base using any structured basis beyond total gift amount?
A
B
C
D
E

Does your NGO use behavioural data (giving history, lapse risk, engagement level) to identify high-value donors and tailor its approach to them?

Does your NGO use behavioural data (giving history, lapse risk, engagement level) to identify high-value donors and tailor its approach to them?
A
B
C
D
E

Has your NGO made an explicit, documented choice about which donor segments to prioritise and which to deprioritise?

Has your NGO made an explicit, documented choice about which donor segments to prioritise and which to deprioritise?
A
B
C
D
E

Does your NGO have a documented positioning, what makes it distinctively different from similar organisations, as perceived by donors?

Does your NGO have a documented positioning, what makes it distinctively different from similar organisations, as perceived by donors?
A
B
C
D
E

Has your NGO articulated a brand personality that goes beyond the generic 'caring and honest' traits all charities are assumed to have, to something genuinely distinctive?

Has your NGO articulated a brand personality that goes beyond the generic 'caring and honest' traits all charities are assumed to have, to something genuinely distinctive?
A
B
C
D
E

Are all staff and volunteers who interact with donors familiar with the brand personality and do they act consistently with it?

Are all staff and volunteers who interact with donors familiar with the brand personality and do they act consistently with it?
A
B
C
D
E

How is your fundraising budget set?

How is your fundraising budget set?
A
B
C
D
E

Does your NGO break annual fundraising targets into monthly sub-targets and have a defined process to act when performance deviates?

Does your NGO break annual fundraising targets into monthly sub-targets and have a defined process to act when performance deviates?
A
B
C
D
E

Suggested uploads

These are optional. If you can share a few, we can check your answers against real evidence and give you a sharper, more useful result:

• Most recent fundraising plan with stated objectives
• Evidence that objectives were reviewed against actuals
• Fundraising plan section showing strategic direction or growth strategy
• Any documentation of options considered and rejected before committing to a strategy
• Documentation of segmentation scheme used for individual donors
• Evidence of different communications or strategies applied to different segments
• Targeting strategy section of fundraising plan
• Evidence of a separate approach or offer for at least two distinct donor segments
• Positioning statement or brand positioning section of communications/fundraising strategy
• Any perceptual map or donor research validating the positioning
• Brand guidelines or brand personality documentation
• Any donor/public perception research on brand distinctiveness
• Evidence of brand training for staff or volunteers
• Most recent fundraising budget with activity-level breakdown
• Any documentation of how the budget was derived
• Monthly fundraising performance dashboard or report template
• Any documentation of tolerance bands or escalation triggers

Upload any of these documents (optional). You can add several files.

A little context

Over the last 3 years, is your work in this area getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?

Over the last 3 years, is your work in this area getting better, staying the same, or getting worse?
A
B
C
D

Where do you keep the relevant records?

Where do you keep the relevant records?
A
B
C
D
E

Anything outside your control that recently affected this area? For example a crisis, a funder leaving, or a sector shock.

This is a demo of the tool. If you have any feedback on it, we would appreciate hearing it.