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Most charities have a fundraising strategy, or at least recognise the need for one. And for those that do, a lot of time and effort goes into creating it, pulling together different income streams, priorities and plans for the future. However, in our experience, the real challenge often isn’t writing the strategy. It’s about making sure it’s actually used and based on how fundraising happens in practice.

When it comes to building a fundraising strategy, it’s vital to involve the right people, make sure it’s grounded in reality, and build something that has support across the organisation. With the right foundations in place, a fundraising strategy has the potential to be much more than a well-written document.

The Importance of a Fundraising Strategy

A fundraising strategy matters because it brings shape and direction to charity fundraising. It helps you step back from individual activities and look at the bigger picture: where income is coming from now, where there may be over-reliance or missed opportunity, and how different income streams can work together to support long-term goals.

​It also helps create clarity. Rather than chasing every opportunity, a strong strategy provides a framework for deciding where to focus time, energy, and investment. That might mean balancing trusts and foundations with individual giving, thinking more deliberately about major donors, or being realistic about what your team can sustain. This is particularly important as fundraising becomes more competitive and less predictable.

The Challenges of Implementing a Fundraising Strategy

Many of the fundraising strategies we see when we work with charities are thoughtful, well-structured and grounded in good intentions. However, the challenge is in translating that thinking into something that works in practice.

Strategies are often too broad, trying to cover every income stream or opportunity without clearly prioritising where time and effort should be focused. Without that clarity, it’s easy for teams to become stretched, moving from activity to activity without a strong sense of direction.

There can also be a disconnect between strategy and day-to-day delivery. If your plan isn’t grounded in the reality of capacity, resources, and existing relationships, it can quickly feel unachievable. Over time, it risks becoming something that sits alongside the work rather than actively shaping it.

Ownership is another common challenge. Fundraising rarely sits with one person alone, and without shared understanding and buy-in across the organisation, including leadership and trustees, it can be difficult for a strategy to gain real traction.

Key Elements of an Effective Fundraising Strategy

The difference between a fundraising strategy that looks good on paper and one that works in practice often comes down to how it is created in the first place, and how it is used once it is in place. A strong fundraising strategy is not just well written, it is designed to be practical, usable and grounded in reality.

In practice, all fundraising strategies, regardless of size or sector, need a few key elements to be effective:

• Clear Priorities: A strategy should set out what matters most, not try to do everything. Being clear about where to focus and what not to prioritise is essential.
• Realistic Goals: Plans need to reflect the organisation’s capacity, existing relationships and resources. A strategy that looks good on paper but isn’t achievable in practice will quickly lose momentum.
• Shared Ownership: Fundraising works best when it’s understood and supported across the organisation. Involving the right people early on helps build buy-in and makes it easier to deliver in practice.
• Practical Focus: A strategy should guide decisions, shape activity and be referenced regularly, not sit separately from the work itself.
• Regular Reviews: Fundraising is not static. Strategies need to evolve as circumstances change, rather than being fixed documents that are revisited once a year.

Ultimately, it’s these core elements that make the biggest difference. Once they are in place, you can start to build a strategy that reflects your income mix, your organisational priorities, and where the greatest opportunities for growth lie, whether that’s strengthening individual giving, developing major donor relationships, or expanding work with trusts and foundations.

Putting Your  Fundraising Strategy Into Practice

A fundraising strategy that works isn’t defined by how comprehensive it is, but by how useful it is in practice.

The most effective strategies are those that bring clarity, help teams make confident decisions, and provide a consistent sense of direction over time. They don’t try to do everything, but instead focus on what matters most and create a framework that supports how fundraising happens day to day.

At Orchard Fundraising, we regularly support charities in developing and refining fundraising strategies that are grounded, realistic, and usable in practice.

If you’re looking at your own approach and would find it helpful to talk it through, we’re always happy to have an informal conversation.