How to create a fundraising plan for your charity in 2026

Raising money is critical for every charity, but having the right fundraising tips and a solid plan to put them into action is what leads to results.

A fundraising plan is a roadmap to success, breaking down your charity's fundraising goal into simple, actionable steps. With a clear fundraising strategy, you can achieve your goals and raise more funds within a specific timeline.

In this guide, we explain the importance of a fundraising plan and provide the steps to create one.

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In this article:

• What is a fundraising plan for a charity?

• Why do you need a fundraising plan?

• 11 steps to create a successful fundraising plan for your charity

• How to take your fundraising plan further

• Parting thoughts on your charity's fundraising strategy

• Frequently asked questions

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What is a fundraising plan for a charity?

A fundraising plan outlines your charity's approach to supporting its work. It organises your fundraising efforts over a given period, usually one year.

Think of your fundraising plan as a roadmap you can rely on. It moves with you as you build and adapt to the current landscape, economic conditions, and donor preferences. Thinking ahead gives you a sound strategy for making the greatest possible impact with your campaigns and donation efforts.

Your fundraising strategy should be aligned with your charity's mission, values, and vision.

Your fundraising timeline can break things down by day, week, month, and season, depending on what works for your team. The best type of fundraising calendar is one that everyone can read and update in real time.

Define a timeline and address specific questions, such as:

• What kind of fundraising campaign will you run?

• When is a good time to begin and conclude it?

• What will your team look like? How many volunteers and donors will you need?

• How much will you need to spend?

• How much income do you need to raise?

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Why do you need a fundraising plan?

Having a fundraising plan in place helps your charity in the following ways:

• Establishes clear direction: A fundraising plan has defined goals, strategies, key performance indicators (KPIs), and other essential details that help your organisation take concrete steps and make informed decisions.

• Assists in problem-solving: Whenever there is uncertainty about a fundraising campaign, your comprehensive plan can provide guidance. It gives your team a resource to turn to when unexpected circumstances push the campaign off track.

• Better organisation: A fundraising strategy clarifies the roles and responsibilities of staff, trustees, and senior volunteers, ensuring everyone is aligned. Each person understands their role and how their work relates to the overall goals, enhancing accountability.

• Improved time management: Map out deadlines and benchmarks throughout the year. With these insights, you can establish priorities and shape your daily operations around tasks that advance your goals. This helps your charity manage its time and resources efficiently.

Ultimately, well-defined fundraising planning will help charitable organisations raise more income, grow their supporter base, and achieve their goals.

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11 steps to create a successful fundraising plan for your charity

Each charity's annual fundraising plan will be unique, but most will incorporate these key steps.

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1. Define the goals of your fundraising strategy

The most important step in building your fundraising plan is to define specific and tangible goals that align with your charity's mission.

For example, if your mission is to build schools for girls, an achievable goal could be to raise enough funds for one school.

Not all goals are achieved through funding alone. Here are some types of goals to consider:

• Major donor stewardship: These are the largest gifts your charity receives. How many major gifts are you aiming to secure, and what amount would you like each to be?

• Donor retention: This is the number of recurring donors who contribute from year to year. What donor retention rate are you targeting this year?

• Donor acquisition: This is the number of new donors you bring on board over a period. How many new donors would you like to secure this year?

• Gift Aid uplift target: Gift Aid adds 25p to every £1 donated by a UK taxpayer at no extra cost to the donor. A £100,000 appeal from UK-taxpayer donors can raise £125,000 with a strong declaration-capture rate. Set a declaration-capture percentage as a KPI in your plan. The Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS) also lets your charity claim 25% on small cash and contactless donations of up to £30, without a declaration, up to £8,000 in eligible donations per tax year. (HMRC Gift Aid guidance)

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2. Conduct prospect research

Prospect research involves identifying donors with the capacity and willingness to donate, attend events, and support your fundraising work. Since around 80% of a charity's income tends to come from roughly 20% of its donors, conducting prospect research is essential to identifying your most committed supporters and meeting your fundraising goals.

Scan your supporter database to find donors who rank high on the following:

• Instances of involvement as a volunteer or trustee.

• Ample financial resources, such as shareholdings, property ownership, and business or trustee interests (both publicly searchable via Companies House and the Charity Commission register).

• A personal connection to your cause that motivates them to support you, or strong existing relationships with your trustees or current donors.

These indicators show that your prospect is committed to giving their time and money to causes they care about. Your donor relationships can help you identify which fundraising initiative will make the greatest impact.

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3. Decide on the fundraising campaigns to run

Your fundraising plan should define the core campaigns you intend to run throughout the year, along with the relevant details for each. Consider the following:

• Plan the type of campaign: From peer-to-peer fundraising and sponsored events to silent auctions, community fetes, quiz nights, and Christmas appeals, there are many fundraising ideas for charities to pursue. UK campaign types include donate appeals; sponsored events (London Marathon places, Great Run series, and other peer-to-peer challenges); community fetes and quiz nights; small society lotteries (raffles); silent and live auctions at gala dinners; and Christmas appeals including the Big Give Christmas Challenge match-funding window.

• Raffles and the law: Raffles sold to the public are legally lotteries under the Gambling Act 2005. Most charity raffles must register as small society lotteries with your local council: £40 initial registration (£20 annual renewal); a single-draw cap of £20,000 in ticket sales; an annual aggregate cap of £250,000; at least 20% of proceeds must go to your cause; and a maximum single prize of £25,000. Raffles drawn entirely at an event (incidental non-commercial lotteries) need no registration at all. Note: Gift Aid does not apply to raffle ticket purchases or event ticket sales. (Gambling Commission small society lottery guidance)

• Set a budget: Consider your previous campaign expenses to guide how much to allocate for the coming year. Account for administrative, marketing, fundraising, and programme costs.

• Follow a timeline: Set dates for each campaign. Space your events carefully so they do not run back-to-back or leave long gaps between them.

• Create a fundraising calendar: Visualise how your plan plays out across the year. Include fundraising activities, staff responsibilities, deadlines, and estimated income and expenditure per phase.

UK fundraising calendar anchor dates to build around:

• Spring appeal (Easter and new tax year from 6 April)

• Summer fetes and challenge events

• Macmillan Coffee Morning (last Friday of September)

• Autumn appeal

• Remembrance Sunday appeals (early November, for relevant charities)

• Giving Tuesday (Tuesday after US Thanksgiving)

• Big Give Christmas Challenge (early December, a one-week match-funding window)

• Christmas appeal

• Year-end Direct Debit sign-up push (December to January)

This fundraising calendar can guide your day-to-day operations and keep your team focused on campaign goals. Share it across your charity to keep everyone aligned.

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4. Create a gift range chart

When developing your fundraising strategy, create a gift range chart to identify the donations you need to achieve your fundraising goals.

A gift range chart describes the number and size of gifts your charity needs to meet its target. Decide on the number of prospects and successful asks you need to focus on.

Here is how to create a gift range chart:

• Break down your gift sizes. Define different tiers of gifts and the number of donations you need within each tier. The largest single gift should make up 10 to 20% of your overall goal.

• Add three to five prospective donors per gift tier.

• Fill in your chart downward based on what you know about your donors and their giving capacity.

The table below shows a gift range chart for a hypothetical £100,000 fundraising campaign. Where donations are Gift Aid eligible, applying the 25% uplift will increase your cash-in-hand at every tier.

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5. Delegate tasks to your team

Assemble a team and delegate responsibilities across your charity to achieve your fundraising goal.

When assembling your fundraising team, play to each person's strengths to make the most of your limited time and resources. Assign roles that match their skills and expertise. For example, put your social media lead on digital marketing and let your finance trustee oversee the budget.

Get your board of trustees involved and have them share their knowledge with the team. By dividing tasks strategically, you will work more efficiently and achieve your fundraising goals faster.

Here are some roles you may want to delegate:

• An event coordinator to oversee your fundraising activities and ensure everything runs smoothly.

• A marketing and promotions coordinator to promote your campaigns across multiple channels.

• A donor relationship coordinator to contact major donors and other supporters, building long-term relationships.

• A volunteer coordinator to manage your volunteers, whether they are helping at events or in the office.

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6. Spread the word

Once you have defined your campaigns and key elements, spread the word with a multichannel marketing approach. Using several channels allows you to reach more supporters and attract more donors to your fundraising work.

Some popular channels to grow visibility around your campaigns:

• Social media: Social media posts can significantly boost your promotional efforts for any campaign. Choose one or two platforms that your supporters actively use to reach a donor audience more likely to engage.

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• Create a unique hashtag for your charity and supporters to discuss your latest event.

• Craft compelling content for your campaign and share it across your social media pages.

• Partner with influencers whose following aligns with your ideal donor base to advocate for your cause.

• Email marketing: Promote events and direct subscribers to register. Create drip campaigns to build interest for those who have signed up and encourage those who have not. Set reminders to update your supporters about upcoming events. Include a link to your donation page alongside registration to increase giving.

UK data and email compliance note: Direct electronic marketing to individuals is governed by the Privacy and Electronic Communications Regulations (PECR). Record a lawful basis for every donor email, typically consent for cold contact or legitimate interest for existing supporters. The Code of Fundraising Practice (effective 1 November 2025) sets the sector-wide standard, and the Fundraising Preference Service lets donors opt out of contact from named charities. Address this in your plan before launching any email campaign.

• Press release: A well-written press release generates media coverage and awareness for your campaign. Create a concise release covering the key details and distribute it to relevant news outlets and media sources. This adds credibility to your charity, announces your campaign to a broader audience, and drives more interest in your event.

• Direct mail: If you are running an appeal or event for your local community, direct mail is an effective way to spread the word. Letters and postcards stand out and offer a personalised form of communication.

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7. Make the donation process easy

Once your fundraising strategy is in place, it is time to raise funds. Make the donation process simple, convenient, and quick. You do not want donors to abandon the journey because the method is confusing.

Card payments dominate online giving in the UK, but Direct Debit powers regular giving, accounting for around 31% of UK charity donations and making it the largest single payment method for ongoing support. When choosing a fundraising platform, confirm it supports both card payments and Direct Debit sign-up.

With a fundraising platform, you can easily collect online donations. Create mobile-responsive online donation forms, an online shop, or crowdfunding for charities campaigns to raise funds for your charity.

While most platforms charge a transaction or processing fee, Zeffy's 100% free online fundraising platform offers a simple way to collect donations with no fees whatsoever.

Additional tips to make donating easier:

• Keep your donation form short by requesting only the necessary information.

• Capture the Gift Aid declaration at the point of donation: the donor's full name, home address, and confirmation that they have paid enough UK Income Tax or Capital Gains Tax to cover the claim. Keep records for at least six years. Higher-rate and additional-rate taxpayers can claim the difference via Self Assessment. (HMRC Gift Aid guidance)

• Include links to your giving pages in your social media channels and email campaigns to make it easy for donors to contribute.

• For in-person events such as fetes, silent auctions, or quiz nights, simplify the process with QR codes or tap-to-pay options at the venue. Cash is declining fast at community events; tap-to-pay from a phone removes the barrier for supporters who no longer carry it.

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8. Show appreciation for your donors

A fundraising plan should not only focus on raising money. It should also cover how to show appreciation to donors and engage with them regularly.

Setting up a donor stewardship process in your plan will help you nurture long-term relationships with donors after they give to your charity. By stewarding your donors, you show them that your charity values their support and contributions.

• Right after you receive a donation, send an acknowledgement email with a thank-you note and a Gift Aid confirmation, where applicable. The donor's declaration is on file; your charity will reclaim 25p per £1 from HMRC. Higher-rate donors can claim the difference via Self Assessment, which is a useful note to include if they ask.

• Give donors a mention on your social media, in your newsletters, on your website, or at a future fundraising event.

• Use the donor information in your database to personalise the message.

• Include their name and reference their specific gift amount. Also choose their preferred channel of communication, whether digital or post.

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9. Follow up and keep in touch

Recurring donors tend to give significantly more per year than first-time donors, so it is worth investing time and care in your relationships with regular supporters. Retaining existing donors is also far more cost-effective than acquiring new ones. Make sure you let your supporters know how their donations have made a difference.

Other steps you can take:

• Offer exclusive memberships to motivate donors to stay involved with all your fundraising activities.

• Use donor segments to prioritise those who give more. Offer perks such as free parking at events, branded merchandise, or exclusive communications.

• Share accurate figures and real examples showing how donations are being used and the impact they are creating.

• Set guidelines for how often you will reach out. For recurring donors, a monthly newsletter covering your projects and upcoming events works well.

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10. Track specific fundraising metrics

For every fundraising campaign, choose specific KPIs to track progress towards your charity's fundraising goal. For example, if one of your goals is to acquire 200 new donors, evaluate your numbers throughout the campaign to assess progress.

Effective metrics to track include:

• New donors acquired

• Donor retention rate

• Average gift size

• Event attendance rate

• Donor lifetime value

Use these metrics to create a clear, transparent report on your annual fundraising plan, giving your supporters and board of trustees a deeper understanding of your current position and the results your fundraising efforts have achieved.

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11. Choose the right fundraising platform

Choosing the right fundraising platform is crucial for streamlining your efforts and maximising impact.

Many small UK charities currently stitch together several tools: Ticket Tailor for the fete, JustGiving for the appeal, Crowdfunder for the campaign, and Beacon or Donorfy for the CRM. That fragmented stack costs time and money. Zeffy consolidates it all in one free platform, with Gift Aid handling and UK regulatory fit (the Fundraising Regulator Code of Practice, small society lottery rules, and UK GDPR).

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With Zeffy, you can manage your supporter database and run an online shop for your charity, all without any transaction or processing fees. Every pound donated goes directly to your cause.

Zeffy's features include:

• Event ticketing for fetes, gala dinners, and quiz nights

• Automated reminders and follow-ups for your fundraising events

• Supporter database and donation management

• Gift Aid declaration capture at the point of donation

• Peer-to-peer campaign functionality for sponsored events

• Donation pages for appeals and capital campaigns

By choosing Zeffy, you can save time, reduce costs, and focus on what matters most: making a difference in your community.

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How to take your fundraising plan further

For those feeling more ambitious, here are a few ways to raise even more. It comes down to building relationships with a focus on the future, so you can work smarter.

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Keep a running list of fresh fundraising ideas

Even the best ideas can become overdone or outdated over time, so it is worth keeping a running list to tap into. It never hurts to maintain an inspiration list even if you have already mapped out campaigns for the entire year ahead.

Keep a fundraising ideas list that the whole team can contribute to whenever creativity strikes. Fresh perspectives keep your plan creative, flexible, and adaptable to whatever comes your way.

Consider creating subcategories: cost-effective ideas, campaigns that donors respond well to, and fundraisers you would run if additional funding became available.

A quick list to explore:

• 101+ fundraising ideas for charities

• 30+ fundraising ideas for schools

• 24 autumn fundraising ideas for charities

• 24 creative peer-to-peer fundraising ideas

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Build a community of major donors

Major gifts can result from any fundraising plan, but intentionally structuring your strategy around donors who give more can help you raise even more. Generous donors create a strong and reliable foundation for your charity's financial health.

In some cases, a few major donations can raise more than an entire campaign of smaller gifts. Consider where your plan calls for significant funding and how building relationships with major donors can help you devote time to more personalised activities.

The relationship-building element is central here. Major donors are typically deeply invested in an organisation's mission and show loyalty repeatedly when they feel valued.

Tips to build major donor relationships that support your fundraising strategy:

• Personalise your outreach: Tailor communications to each donor's interests and values to show genuine appreciation.

• Keep them informed: Provide personalised reports, project updates, and success stories to keep donors up to date on the impact of their support.

• Offer exclusive access: Arrange behind-the-scenes visits, events, or one-to-one meetings with leadership to deepen their connection with your mission.

• Show your gratitude clearly: Thank donors regularly with handwritten notes, personalised gifts, or public recognition to make them feel valued and appreciated.

• Get them involved: Invite donors to provide input or serve on advisory groups to make them feel like genuine partners in your mission's success.

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Engage corporate sponsors

Engaging corporate sponsors is a great way to build a steady stream of support, both financially and in terms of time and resources. Corporate partnerships can create consistency in funding, which supports longer-term projects.

Beyond financial support, businesses can offer more to charities they have built relationships with:

• Gifts in kind: Goods, services, or products that reduce operational costs in technology, office supplies, or event space.

• Expertise and skills: Marketing strategy, legal, IT, or fundraising expertise to help your charity improve its operations without significant cost.

• Employee volunteers: Staff who volunteer at your events or projects, reducing expenses and helping you achieve more with each campaign.

• Brand awareness: Promoting your cause through company platforms, websites, social media, or newsletters, boosting your charity's visibility.

• Access to networks: Introductions to the company's clients, partners, and stakeholders, potentially leading to new donors and partnerships.

• Payroll Giving: HMRC administers the Payroll Giving scheme, which allows employees to donate directly from their pre-tax salary. Encouraging corporate partners to promote Payroll Giving to their staff can generate a reliable monthly income stream for your charity. The Charity Tax Group is an independent technical reference for corporate giving questions.

Choosing the right corporate partner matters. Partnering with a reputable organisation strengthens your credibility, which will expand your reach and fundraising potential.

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Place a special focus on year-end giving

The final months of the year have the greatest potential to push you over the finish line of your goals. Several UK giving moments cluster in this window, and planning for them well in advance pays off.

Key UK year-end and seasonal moments to build into your plan:

• Big Give Christmas Challenge: The UK's largest online match-funded giving campaign, running for one week in early December. Secure a Champion match-funder to double donations during the window.

• Giving Tuesday: A global day of giving the Tuesday after US Thanksgiving; well established with UK donors and supporters.

• Christmas appeal: The most visible campaign of the year for many charities. Plan content, communications, and donation pages well in advance.

• December to January Direct Debit push: Many donors review their finances at year-end. A well-timed regular-giving ask can bring in recurring supporters who will give month after month.

Some campaigns require longer planning cycles, so think ahead about how you will attract and retain donors as the year closes. A strong year-end campaign is about tapping into the spirit of giving back by highlighting your charity's story and offering clear ways for new supporters to get involved.

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Support efforts with UK grants and funders

As you build your fundraising plan, you may identify financial restrictions or projects on hold because of cost. UK grants can provide the push needed to launch those initiatives, and some can also cover operational costs that benefit your whole programme.

Key UK funders to explore:

• National Lottery Community Fund: The largest UK grant funder for community and voluntary sector projects.

• Arts Council England / Creative Scotland / Arts Council of Wales: Funding for arts, culture, and creative organisations.

• National Lottery Heritage Fund: Grants for heritage and conservation projects.

• UK Community Foundations network: Local grant-making bodies connected to communities across the UK.

• Local authority small grants: Many councils offer small grants for community and voluntary groups.

• Google Ad Grants for charities: Free Google Ads credit for eligible charities, validated in the UK via TechSoup UK.

• Charity Excellence: A free UK charity community of over 50,000 members that signposts funding opportunities, tools, and support specifically for small charities.

NCVO is the UK's leading voluntary sector body and a strong starting point for finding funders and sector guidance. The Chartered Institute of Fundraising is the professional body for UK fundraisers and offers training, resources, and a professional network.

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Parting thoughts on your charity's fundraising strategy

While planning your fundraising process may take time and effort upfront, a plan provides the structure needed to stay on track and achieve more throughout the year.

Remember, your fundraising strategy can be flexible. Update your plan as you see fit, adapting to unexpected challenges or new opportunities. Document your strategy so that everyone on the team can access and contribute to it.

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Frequently asked questions

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