How to Create a Fundraising Plan

One of the most common mistakes we see in fundraising is charities jumping straight into activity mode. (“We need an event”,  “Let’s send an appeal next week” or  “We should apply for more grants”)

Before long, your charity is incredibly busy…but not always moving in a clear direction. Good fundraising planning starts with being clear about what you’re actually trying to achieve.

That’s where the GOST framework comes in.

GOST stands for:

• Goals

• Objectives

• Strategy

• Tactics

It might seem like a simple planning structure but it can completely change the way you approach fundraising.

Start with the bigger picture

When planning fundraising, we need to think at four different levels:

• The overarching goal for our fundraising efforts;

• The objectives we need to achieve to reach that goal;

• The strategy we’ll follow to meet those objectives;

• The tactics we’ll use within that strategy.

Each part plays a different role. While some of the terms can sound interchangeable at first, they each represent a distinct stage in the planning process.

Goals: your fundraising ‘north star’

Your goal is the overarching aspiration for your fundraising. It is the direction of travel. The thing you are ultimately trying to build towards. Goals are usually long-term and ambitious.

When I think about fundraising goals, I often ask: “If everything goes to plan, what will our fundraising look like in the future?”

Importantly, goals do not explain how you’ll get there. That comes a bit later.

In fundraising, goals are often connected to the wider mission and financial sustainability of the organisation. This could include increasing voluntary income in line with the future vision or raising enough money to build and sustain a new youth centre.

These are all strong goals because they articulate a future aspiration. But they are also intentionally broad. That’s why the next stage matters.

Objectives: defining what success looks like

Where goals set the direction, objectives define success. Objectives are the measurable outcomes your fundraising plan is trying to achieve.

The best objectives are SMART:

• Specific: clear and unambiguous;

• Measurable: progress can be tracked;

• Attainable: realistic within your context; 

• Relevant: aligned with the overall goal; 

• Time-bound: linked to a deadline or timeframe.

Some fundraising objectives might include increasing income from individual giving by 35% over the next three years, raising £2.3 million in capital funding by 2027, reducing donor attrition by the end of the financial year or growing regular giving so it accounts for 50% of income by 2030.

In other words, objectives take the aspiration of a goal and turn it into something tangible.

They also help charities stay realistic. It’s perfectly normal to have multiple objectives but charities should be careful not to overload themselves. A plan that looks impressive on paper can quickly become overwhelming if it doesn’t match the time, capacity and resources available.

Sometimes progress towards a big fundraising goal happens in smaller stages and that’s okay!

Strategy: choosing where to focus

A strategy is the reasoned approach you’ll take to achieve your objectives. A good fundraising strategy is evidence-based. It’s shaped by your organisation’s context, strengths, limitations and opportunities. Often, this means carrying out some form of SWOT analysis to understand:

• Strengths;

• Weaknesses;

• Opportunities;

• Threats.

A strong strategy helps you decide where your energy and resources should go (and, just as importantly, where they shouldn’t).

For example, imagine your objective is “For 50% of our income to come from regular giving by 2030”.

Your strategy might be: "To focus our fundraising efforts on individual givers. When recruiting donors, our emphasis will be to encourage regular donations first. Existing ad-hoc supporters will be encouraged to uplift their support by setting-up a regular donation".

Notice what the strategy does? It creates focus.

It signals that while the charity may still apply for grants or run events, those activities are not the strategic priority. The primary investment of time and resources will go into growing regular giving.

That clarity matters enormously. Without it, organisations often end up spreading themselves too thinly across every possible income stream.

Tactics: the fundraising activities themselves

Only once your goals, objectives and strategy are clear should you move onto tactics. Tactics are the practical fundraising activities you deliver. Things like sending direct mail appeals, running a golf day or applying to trusts and foundations. In other words it is a visible fundraising activity.

The important thing is that your tactics flow from your strategy - not the other way around.

Because when charities start with tactics, they often become very busy without ever building momentum towards a larger goal. The result is frustration and inconsistent fundraising performance.

A quick recap

When planning your fundraising:

• Start with a clear long-term goal;

• Break that goal into SMART objectives;

• Develop a strategy that explains your chosen approach;

• Then choose tactics that align with that strategy.

Fundraising works best when activity is rooted in purpose. Otherwise, it’s very easy to become a busy fool.