Hi
I've recently started to manage/adminstrate/fundraise for a new charity - this is obviously something of challenge!
I'm working on my own with four trustees, three of whom are new to the sector, as am I, so there is a massive learning curve.
The charity essentially supports grassroots community development projects in the third world, I have no real fundraising budget, no data and am finding pertinent support hard to find in the North East - it tend to be to be very basic ( I have spent a few hours recently being told by charity support agencies what I already know).
I have access to trustfunding.org but seem to have exhausted trust and foundations for now, I'm hoping I'll see some grants in the forthcoming months. I am trying to pull together a few fundraising events etc. both for the coporate sector, ex-project volunteers ( who receive a newsletter and are invited to become regular givers) and for anyone we can let know! I am making very slow progress partly due to lack of resources but also because of being hugely dependent on our key support company (who pay my salary and core costs)and provide volunteers for our projects and who currently bring most of our project and funding applications to our attention from their work overseas - the problem being these aren't coming in quickly or in a timely-fashion - to give me the opprtunity to fund for these specific appeals in something like a realistic time-scale.
I have a target of 50K to reach by June so we can start to make more of a difference and to justify the current support of the charity's core costs . I have raised just over £2k and have another £5k in anticpated funds. We don't have a strategy as yet, partly because I don't know what we're planning for as i have no funding applications or projects (despite applying pressure) and partly because I'm simply too uncomfortable to spend any more time on perceived 'admin' type functions, which many close supporters don't value especially as I have just spent the first two months setting up the charity, P&P and new website up etc. I am trying to get the trustees and close supporters to use their contact etc.
I am starting to feel very de-motivated/ terrified! - I am looking at corporate giving in it's various forms but am starting to wonder if I'm totally missing the obvious when it comes to fundraising and that we might be working with unrealistic expectations.
Can any one offer some pearls of wisdom. Should I be looking at raising 'general' funds, which I think will be even more difficult to do.
Any advice would be very welcome.
Thanks
Susan
