Funders want to fund organisations which are well managed, solvent, have appropriate policies in place, and can adequately demonstrate impact – and a big part of fundraising is ensuring your organisation can clearly demonstrate this.

Beyond a well written proposal, this also means having good policies and systems in place, documents up to date, and all the necessary information at hand. Below is a check list – but don’t worry if you haven’t got everything in place yet. Development is a process, and, depending on your organisation size and project, you can often start fundraising with just a few things in place! Absolute essentials are in bold below, and you can download a colour coded check list at the end of this article.

1)Financial Management

• UK Bank Account in the correct name with two or more unrelated signatories
• Most recent set of accounts (signed & audited if relevant)
• Bank statement from the last 3 months
• Yearly Budget / Forecast 1 – 3 years
• Reserves Policy (Charities)
• Key Financials: income, expenditure, reserves (free and restricted)
  

2) Governance

• At least 3 unrelated Directors / Trustees / Committee Members
• Governing Document (Constitution or Articles of Association)
• Charity Commission and/or Companies House numbers
  

3) Policies & Compliance

• Safeguarding Policy (reviewed annually)
• Health & Safety Policy (reviewed annually)
• Public Liability Insurance
• Equal Opportunities Policy (reviewed annually)
• DBS checks (if relevant, renewed every 3 years)
• Privacy Policy
• Data Retention Schedule
  

4) Impact

• Beneficiaries numbers
• Outputs & Outcomes Framework
• Aggregated demographic data
• Case Studies
• Theory of Change