A fundraising strategy for a small charity: the national picture

NCVO's figures cover UK voluntary organisations, which it calls "general charities": they leave out places of worship, independent schools and housing associations, so they differ from the register counts above. The Almanac groups a charity's money by the kind of payer behind it. In its terms, "the public" covers donations, legacies (gifts left in wills), fees people pay for your services and sales in charity shops; "government" covers grants and contracts from councils, national government and international public bodies; the "voluntary sector" means trusts, foundations and other charities.

Under £100,000. In 2021/22 these charities "received the largest proportion of their income (37%) from the government, up from 15% in 2020/21", NCVO reports; the public fell "to 25%, from 54% in 2020/21", and investment "accounted for 27%" (NCVO Almanac, income sources). Trusts and other charities gave about 10 per cent (NCVO Almanac 2024, data tables, table C3).

£100,000 to £1 million. From the same data tables, in 2021/22 these charities took 56 per cent from the public, 16 per cent from government, 14 per cent from investments, 11 per cent from trusts, foundations and other charities, 2 per cent from companies and 1 per cent from the National Lottery.

In our view, 2 lessons follow. First, the mix swings from year to year at the smallest end, so a single year's split is a weak guide; look at 3. Second, the public is the largest payer for medium charities, through fees and shops as well as gifts, so "the public" on your page should say which of those you mean.

Set your own last-year split beside these figures. In our view, sitting far from your band's average is no fault in itself, as long as you know the reason.

Over 14,000 UK grantmakers gave grants worth £24 billion in 2024-25, according to UKGrantmaking, an annual review of UK grants led by 360Giving, a charity that publishes UK grants data, with other funder bodies (UKGrantmaking). Its analysis of recipients adds: "The most common grant recipient size is charities with an annual income between £100k and £1m" (UKGrantmaking, grant recipients).

Most grants are modest. The median published grant (the middle one, when all are lined up by size) rose to £19,635 in 2024-25, a rise UKGrantmaking links to the National Lottery Community Fund raising the top award of its Awards for All programme to £20,000 in late 2023; "around one third of the grants made were for £10,000 or less" (same page).

In our view, a strategy that leans on grants needs several applications a year, each fitted to its funder, with the date each decision is due. Our guide on how to research a funder explains where to check each one. NCVO also points charities under £1 million to a grant database run by a private company, free only to charities below £30,000 of yearly income (NCVO).

The Charity Commission's guide to trustees' fundraising duties, CC20, says "It is important that, as trustees, you plan your charity's approach", and asks boards to think about "what impact your charity wants to achieve", "what funds your charity needs from fundraising to deliver this impact, taking into account its other income, funds or assets", and "what resources your charity has to fundraise, including people". Then it adds: "It can be a simple document if your fundraising is on a small scale." (Charity Commission, CC20, updated 3 February 2026)

3 more points from CC20 apply at every size:

• The board stays responsible. Trustees may hand the work to a staff member or volunteer, with "clear written terms of reference" (a note of what the person may decide and how they report), but "you remain accountable for your charity's fundraising".
• Fundraising belongs on the agenda. CC20 says plainly: "Discuss fundraising at your trustee meetings."

• The Code applies to you. "You should also register with the Fundraising Regulator and follow the Code of Fundraising Practice."

If no trustee knows fundraising, CC20 suggests "appointing a new trustee with fundraising skills". These are the rules for England and Wales; charities in Scotland and Northern Ireland are registered separately (GOV.UK), with the Office of the Scottish Charity Regulator (OSCR) and the Charity Commission for Northern Ireland as their regulators.

With no fundraiser on staff, in our view the chief executive or 1 named trustee drafts the plan and the board agrees it. Running it can then be handed, under those written terms, to a staff member, a volunteer or paid help on contract; bid writers, consultants and agencies compares the paid options. Whoever does the work, the board still answers for it.

Reserves are the money a charity holds that it is free to spend: not tied to a project by a funder and not locked in buildings or equipment it uses. In the Almanac's data for 2021/22 (table E4), 34 per cent of charities under £100,000 and 19 per cent of those between £100,000 and £1 million had no reserves at all. Across the sector, leaving out grant-making foundations, reserves covered about 6.9 months of spending in 2021/22 (table E7); that average spans every size, so it is a reference point, not a target.

The Commission sets no target that fits everyone: its reserves guide, CC19, leaves each board to fix a level from its own circumstances and explain it in a written policy (Charity Commission, CC19). It adds: "The Commission recommends that charities develop their reserves policy and their planning at the same time" (CC19 in full, updated 16 September 2026). The policy should be reviewed "at least annually".

So decide the 2 together: how many months of spending your reserves should cover, and what your fundraising must bring in to keep them there. To see how charities like yours compare, read how to benchmark your charity.

CC20 lists what a fundraising plan could include: the methods you will use and any you won't, your values, your budget, other resources, what you want to raise, how you will monitor it, how money is banked securely and how you will manage risks. In our view, the figures above add 3 more headings for a charity your size: today's income, your largest payer, and a review date.

1. Purpose: the difference the money will make next year, in 1 sentence.
2. The sum to raise: what the plan must bring in next year, agreed with the budget.
3. Income today: last year's split between the public, government, trusts, companies and investments, and your largest single payer.
4. Dependency: the share from your largest payer, when it next decides, and what you do if it stops.

1. New income: the sources for next year and what you expect from each.
2. Methods you will not use, and the values behind that choice.
3. Resources: who owns each line, their hours, and the fundraising budget.
4. Risks and rules: restricted funds (money given for 1 purpose only), donors' personal data, Gift Aid declarations, banking money securely, the Code.

1. Monitoring: what the board sees at each meeting to know the plan is on track.
2. Review date: with the next budget, or sooner if a large payer changes.

Help to write it exists, though not all of it is free. NCVO's fundraising strategy guide offers "a practical structure to help you set goals, review your environment, plan activity and monitor progress" (NCVO), though the page says NCVO membership is needed to use it.