Charity Fundraising Strategy Training Course

Duration 5 days 10 modules · 33 contact hours
Level Intermediate Certificate on completion
Who attends Fundraising Managers, NGO Directors and others
Fee from USD 1,100 KSh 95,000 for Kenyan organisations
Where 52 cities + online See dates by city
Next start 16 Nov 2026 Course code SD-NM-048

Before you join: Participants should have some experience of charity, NGO, development or humanitarian operations and a working familiarity with their organisation's programmes, funding sources or donor relationships.

Dates & prices

Two start dates a month in every city, and live online on weekdays or weekends. Fees are per participant; classroom fees include tuition, materials, lunch and refreshments, and the certificate.

Suggest a date or city

Showing the next six months. Later dates, other cities and private deliveries for your team are available on request.

Course overview

Charities and NGOs face pressure to secure reliable income while protecting mission integrity, donor trust and programme delivery. Many fundraising teams rely on isolated bids, annual events or individual relationships without a clear portfolio strategy, realistic income forecast or disciplined stewardship process. This course addresses the practical work of setting fundraising priorities, selecting viable income channels and building a managed pipeline from prospect identification through renewal.

Participants learn to analyse organisational readiness, define donor segments, build a persuasive case for support and select an appropriate mix of grants, major gifts, corporate partnerships, regular giving, campaigns and events. They develop measurable fundraising objectives, grant calendars, prospect pipelines, campaign plans, income budgets and performance dashboards. The course also covers restricted funding, gift acceptance, donor due diligence, data protection, safeguarding and board accountability.

Teaching combines short instructor briefings with charity, development and humanitarian cases, group analysis, proposal and budget reviews, fundraising simulations and structured application planning. Participants work with realistic scenarios such as funding a community health programme, securing corporate support for youth employment, and retaining regular donors after an emergency appeal. Each participant leaves with a reusable fundraising strategy pack, including templates for segmentation, case development, channel planning, pipeline management and reporting. The course is delivered over five days, 08:30-16:30, in classroom locations in 50+ cities or live online, and includes a certificate of completion.

The course suits professionals responsible for generating income, managing donor relationships, approving fundraising plans or contributing programme evidence to funding proposals. It is particularly useful where organisations need to move from reactive fundraising activity to a prioritised, costed and accountable income strategy.

What you will be able to do

  • Diagnose fundraising readiness using stakeholder, SWOT and PESTLE analysis
  • Segment donors and prospects using motivation, capacity, affinity and access criteria
  • Construct a case for support linked to evidence, outcomes and donor motivations
  • Design a balanced fundraising portfolio across grants, individuals, corporates and campaigns
  • Develop grant pipelines, proposal calendars and compliant application budgets
  • Prepare major-donor and corporate partnership plans with defined relationship actions
  • Model income, costs, cash flow and scenario risks within a fundraising budget
  • Establish fundraising governance, performance dashboards and 90-day action plans

Benefits of attending

For you

  • Produce a credible fundraising strategy for a current organisational priority
  • Improve conversations with donors, trustees, programme teams and senior management
  • Assess funding opportunities before committing scarce proposal development time
  • Present income forecasts and fundraising risks with greater financial discipline
  • Build a transferable portfolio of planning, stewardship and reporting templates

For your organisation

  • Creates a prioritised income portfolio aligned with mission and delivery capacity
  • Reduces wasted effort on unsuitable funders and poorly qualified opportunities
  • Improves grant readiness through clearer calendars, budgets and compliance controls
  • Strengthens donor retention through planned stewardship and relationship ownership
  • Gives boards clearer visibility of pipeline health, income risk and corrective actions

Course modules

10 modules over 5 days

Participants can assess fundraising readiness and define strategic priorities grounded in mission, evidence and external conditions.

  • Mission, mandate and beneficiary evidence translated into a fundable case
  • Problem tree analysis separates root causes, effects and service responses
  • Stakeholder mapping identifies beneficiaries, gatekeepers, funders and internal decision-makers
  • PESTLE assessment tests political, economic, social, technological, legal and environmental constraints
  • SWOT converts organisational evidence into strategic fundraising choices
  • Strategic assumptions documented with evidence sources, owners and review dates

Participants can identify priority donor groups and build an evidence-based prospecting approach.

  • Donor pyramid analysis distinguishes prospects, first-time donors, repeat donors and advocates
  • Segment personas combine motivation, capacity, affinity, access and communication preferences
  • Prospect research screens philanthropic fit, giving history, networks and eligibility
  • Relationship mapping records introducers, trustees, programme staff and influence pathways
  • Consent records and data minimisation shape lawful supporter management
  • Stewardship journeys define contact cadence, content, recognition and renewal triggers

Participants can develop a clear, evidence-led case for support for different donor audiences.

  • Theory of Change links inputs, activities, outcomes and intended impact
  • Case for support frames urgency, credibility, solution, cost and donor role
  • Beneficiary stories use informed consent, dignity and safeguarding controls
  • Outcome evidence combines monitoring data, external research and programme learning
  • Message architecture adapts core proof points for distinct donor segments
  • Gift propositions match funding amounts to tangible programme outputs

Participants can select and prioritise income channels based on fit, cost, risk and capacity.

  • Channel portfolio compares unrestricted income, restricted grants, events and digital appeals
  • Earned-income opportunities assessed against mission fit, risk and investment requirements
  • Campaign objectives set using SMART measures, baselines, targets and deadlines
  • Acquisition funnels track reach, response, conversion, retention and lifetime value
  • Major-gift pipelines assign qualification stages, next actions and relationship owners
  • Corporate partnerships distinguish sponsorship, cause marketing, payroll giving and grants

Participants can manage a grant pipeline from funder selection through compliant submission planning.

  • Funder landscapes prioritised by thematic fit, geography, award size and timing
  • Eligibility screening prevents unsuitable applications and wasted proposal capacity
  • Grant calendars align concept notes, due diligence, approvals and submission dates
  • Logical frameworks connect activities, outputs, outcomes, indicators and assumptions
  • Proposal budgets reconcile donor rules, unit costs, overheads and co-funding
  • Compliance matrices assign evidence, approvals, annexes and submission responsibilities

Participants can plan donor acquisition and retention campaigns using measurable conversion and retention methods.

  • Direct-response appeals apply audience insight, offer, urgency and response mechanisms
  • Digital donation journeys reduce friction across landing pages, forms and payment steps
  • Regular-giving programmes manage recruitment, welcome series, upgrades and attrition
  • Email metrics distinguish delivery, opens, clicks, conversion and unsubscribe signals
  • Telephone and face-to-face solicitation scripts protect informed donor choice
  • Testing plans use A/B hypotheses, sample definitions and decision thresholds

Participants can plan and manage major-donor and corporate relationships through structured cultivation and stewardship.

  • Qualification criteria assess capacity, authority, need, timing and relationship strength
  • Major-donor plans record objectives, contact strategy, solicitation and stewardship
  • Gift tables model prospect numbers, average gifts, conversion rates and income
  • Corporate account plans identify shared value, decision-makers, assets and risks
  • Partnership proposals specify benefits, activation commitments, reporting and brand approvals
  • Trustee networks governed through clear roles, introductions and conflict declarations

Participants can prepare realistic fundraising budgets, cash forecasts and investment cases.

  • Income budgets separate committed, probable and pipeline revenue by source
  • Cost-to-raise analysis includes staff time, media, agency fees and events
  • Contribution analysis distinguishes gross income, direct costs and net contribution
  • Scenario models test delayed grants, campaign underperformance and donor attrition
  • Cash-flow forecasts align pledge schedules, restricted funds and programme expenditure
  • Investment cases compare expected return, payback period and delivery capacity

Participants can apply governance controls that protect donors, beneficiaries, reputation and charitable purpose.

  • Fundraising policies define delegated authority, acceptance criteria and restricted-gift controls
  • Due diligence assesses donor reputation, sanctions exposure and mission alignment
  • Gift acceptance decisions document ethical concerns, mitigation and approval routes
  • Data protection controls cover consent, retention, access rights and breach response
  • Safeguarding protocols govern beneficiary images, stories, visits and communications
  • RACI matrices clarify board, executive, fundraising and finance accountabilities

Participants can monitor fundraising performance and convert findings into prioritised improvement actions.

  • Fundraising dashboards report income, pipeline value, conversion, retention and cost ratios
  • Monthly variance reviews explain performance against budget, forecast and corrective actions
  • Portfolio reviews rebalance channel investment using evidence, risk and capacity
  • Board reports distinguish leading indicators, results, risks and decisions required
  • Quarterly learning cycles turn campaign evidence into tested strategic adjustments
  • 90-day action plans sequence priorities, owners, milestones and review meetings

Exercises and examples are adapted to each cohort's sectors and roles.

What you take back to work

  1. Fundraising strategy template
  2. Donor segmentation and prospect scoring model
  3. Case for support framework
  4. Grant pipeline and submission calendar
  5. Fundraising income budget and scenario model
  6. Fundraising dashboard and 90-day action plan

Who should attend

  • Fundraising Managers — responsible for setting income priorities and managing fundraising teams
  • NGO Directors — accountable for sustainable funding, donor relationships and board reporting
  • Business Development Managers — preparing funding pipelines for development and humanitarian programmes
  • Grant Managers — coordinating proposal calendars, donor compliance and grant budgets
  • Corporate Partnership Managers — building structured partnerships with companies and foundations
  • Programme Managers — supplying evidence, budgets and outcome data for funding propositions

Skills and tools covered

Fundraising portfolio designDonor segmentationGrant pipeline managementMajor gift planningIncome forecastingFundraising governance

Tools and standards

Theory of Change, SMART objectives, RACI matrix, Donor pyramid

How the course runs

Training methodology

The course uses short instructor briefings to introduce frameworks, followed by case work based on charity, development and humanitarian funding situations. Participants analyse donor portfolios, assess funding opportunities, review cases for support, prepare pipeline decisions and interpret income scenarios. Group exercises test choices around restricted funding, ethical gifts, partnership proposals and campaign performance. Simulations develop donor and internal stakeholder conversations. Structured application planning helps participants translate course methods into priorities for their own organisation.

Requirements and prerequisites

Participants should have some experience of charity, NGO, development or humanitarian operations and a working familiarity with their organisation's programmes, funding sources or donor relationships. Experience of writing proposals, managing donors, planning campaigns or preparing budgets is useful but not essential. Participants should be able to interpret basic income and cost figures. The course does not require prior formal fundraising qualifications, advanced financial modelling skills, marketing specialisation or experience managing a large fundraising team.

A typical training day

08:30 – 10:30First session
10:30 – 10:45Refreshment break
10:45 – 12:30Second session
12:30 – 13:30Lunch and networking
13:30 – 15:00Third session
15:00 – 15:15Refreshment break
15:15 – 16:30Workshop and daily review

Live online deliveries follow the same structure in East Africa Time, with shorter screen blocks and longer breaks.

What the fee includes

  • Instruction by a practitioner facilitator
  • Full course workbook and materials
  • Exercise files, templates and case studies
  • Refreshments and lunch on classroom deliveries
  • Certificate of completion
  • Post-course application plan

Frequently asked questions

Participants should have some exposure to NGO, charity, development or humanitarian work and familiarity with their organisation's programmes or funding activities. Formal fundraising qualifications are not required.

Participants should bring information on a current programme, funding target or income challenge where possible. Existing donor lists, budgets and strategy documents are useful, but attendance does not depend on having them.

The course is designed for fundraising managers, NGO leaders, grant managers, business development staff, corporate partnership managers and programme managers. It suits professionals who contribute to income planning or donor-facing work.

Grant writing courses focus mainly on preparing applications, while marketing courses focus on communications and audience engagement. This course addresses the wider management task of selecting income channels, building pipelines, budgeting activity, governing risks and tracking performance.

Participants can use the templates to assess their current portfolio, qualify prospects, plan campaigns, improve grant calendars and report income risks. The 90-day action plan provides a practical starting point for implementation.

The five days provide about 32.5 contact hours, normally from 08:30 to 16:30 each day. Time is divided between ten taught modules, case analysis, group exercises, simulations and application planning.

Questions about this course?

Ask about dates, fees, group bookings or running it for your team. Our training team replies by email.

Ask on WhatsApp info@skillsetdevelopment.com

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