• Home
• Who we are
• What we do
• Client case studies
• Good Practice
• Links
• Contact us
• Text only

• Return to main page

return to client page

ALL CARROTS AND NO STICKS

A Case Study on Fundraising for
Abbeyfield Integrated Care Project
in Ilkley, Yorkshire

For Tarnside Consulting
by Hugh Walker,
Visiting Fellow in Marketing
at Bradford School of Management

Fundraising for Abbeyfield Integrated Care Project
in Ilkley, Yorkshire

Patrick Boggon, Principal of Tarnside Consulting, had been retained to fundraise for the Abbeyfield Ilkley Integrated Care Project. A year later he was taking stock. To the uninitiated not a lot had been achieved. There had been no marked inflow of funds apart from one welcome cheque from a major charity. The fundraising committee had worked like Trojans but the fruits of their labour still lay in the future. The viability of the whole project was being questioned. Yet three years on by March 2002 funds totalling £8.9mn had been raised at a cost of only £94k (a mere 1%) and buildings for the new project were going up in the centre of Ilkley.

The story begins in March 1997

Abbeyfield, a registered charity, is the largest single provider of housing with care for older people in the voluntary sector. It provides two types of housing: very sheltered housing for older people with low dependency, and residential care. But needs are changing. We are all living longer and with extreme old age sometimes comes dependency and frailty requiring additional care. Out of this need was born the concept of integrated care. Abbeyfield decided in 1997 on a national programme called the Integrated Care Project (ICP) which would lessen the need for people in Abbeyfield houses to move when they could no longer receive the care they needed. Domiciliary care, a day centre and respite care would be provided as well as assisted living apartments and residential care. Several Societies put forward ICP proposals, and eventually the short-listing came down to three: Ilkley, Ballachulish and Nottingham. For the project to be successful it required Abbeyfield to undertake the largest fundraising project in their forty-year history.

We are concerned here only with the Ilkley project. The total project cost was £8.852mn. Social housing grant, sales of existing property and other sources would account for £5.4mn. This left £3.4mn as the target for fundraising.

Out of the executive committee of the Ilkley society a smaller steering committee was formed. One of these was still actively engaged in running his own business; one was a recently retired MD of a large public company, another was the former partner of one of Yorkshire's leading estate agents and surveyors, the fourth, the committee's honorary treasurer, was a local accountant and the final member was a semi-retired solicitor.

Inevitably when an Everest like this has to be conquered, expenses are incurred first. There can be considerable expenditure before the first cheque arrives to be entered on the income side of the ledger. Abbeyfield had been given a magnificent head start. Through early negotiations with Abbeyfield UK and Abbeyfield Ilkley, the Dunhill Medical Trust pledged £500,000 in February 1998. However strong nerves were then needed by the committee when it took nearly a year of hard work before the next major grant was received. One of the perils in fundraising is having low expectations. A gift of £1,000 when there was hope of £100,000 may be received with cheers by the inexperienced. The consultant knows - and tries hard to indoctrinate the team - that the aim must be for the maximum return from the minimum number of sources. A person or a trust whose gift is on the meagre side is nonetheless 'immunised' to further giving. You cannot do an Oliver Twist with donors and ask for more! The Dunhill gift was doubly welcome. It primed the pumps and it proved to the committee that large injections of funds were possible.

In May 1998 Patrick Boggon had his first meeting with the committee at which his colleague, Andrew de Mille, was presenting the initial survey report. Patrick subsequently took over management of the project and it was soon after that meeting that he started to draft the Case Statement. In any project this is a key document. It sets down clearly why the project is needed, who will be responsible for it, how much it will cost and how the money is to be raised. All the questions a donor might ask must be answered, fully and truthfully. It serves another purpose too. Writing it brings in all members of the team. They acquire ownership of the project by feeding into the document. The ICP case statement went through innumerable drafts.

The backbone to any appeal is developing the networks around a project so that a friendly introduction can be obtained to a key decision-maker at a potential funder. This is done by carrying out a great many network interviews with potential donors or people that might be able to help make an introduction to a potential donor. Each of these meetings needs to be carefully choreographed and accurately noted. The results are then woven together with a great deal of desk research until you are confident that you have exactly the right approach and the right person to take that approach forward.

One of the early network interviews led to a significant result. A lady well known to the committee who lived in Ilkley was a trustee of a friend's charitable trust. This normally gave only to causes connected with addiction. After protracted discussions and correspondence though, it was discovered that their trust deed allowed them to give to older people. In due course they contributed £150,000.

Patrick identified through desk research that many Abbeyfield societies had considerable reserves. Following a meeting with the Yorkshire regional chairman, and the appointment of a member of the Ilkley committee as Chairman of the ailing Harrogate Society it became apparent that £400,000 from the Abbeyfield Harrogate Society could be used for the Ilkley project.

In February 1999 there was a meeting with a very wealthy man from whom much was expected. Patrick had briefed the team carefully in preparation for this. The time available for the meeting should, he told them, be divided into three parts. The first third: tell him what we want - and why. The second third: listen to him tell us why he wants to help. The third part: listen to him tell us what help he can give, what introductions he can make. It didn't happen that way. The committee forgot the advice - and talked themselves out of a gift. The final word from the prospect: "I'll think about it."

A local man who acted as the secretary of his own family's trust contributed £30,000 - the second largest grant his charity had ever made. But his advice to the committee was contrary to Patrick's: get in touch by letter with as many charities as you can, it takes time to get to the front of the queue with each. In his strategic plan Patrick had stressed the three rules: face to face, peer to peer, donor to prospect. People give to people - hence the importance of networking. Do not, he had told the team, make any approach to anyone unless you have a personal introduction at the same level as the prospect. Someone who has already given is the best fundraiser. Don't write letters - arrange a meeting. Broadly this advice was followed with the result that at the end of the appeal there were still many trusts to which an appeal had never been made, many opportunities still to be exploited. This strategic reserve proves invaluable in mopping up the last few percentage points of the target at a time when the team is running out of steam. It is here that the going is usually hardest.

The committee got in touch with a titled landowner who lived in the area and whose help, if he chose to give it, would be invaluable. An initial meeting was cordial but reserved. When another member of the aristocracy and captain of industry who was one of Abbeyfield UK's Patrons, invited him to a London dinner he declined, making it clear that he was not interested in the national appeal. As time went on, though, he became more and more committed to the Ilkley appeal. He wrote to trusts where he knew the trustees. He hosted a dinner which directly and indirectly accounted for over £300,000. Over time he made several donations from his family charitable trust. Later he offered his home for a tea party for wealthy older people living in the Dales. His name opened many doors which had previously been closed. Unquestionably his wholehearted participation lent credibility to the whole fundraising effort. Moreover, it gave the committee a strength of purpose and belief in itself which had not previously been there. In the same way the Patron of Abbeyfield UK's wholehearted involvement was crucial to the success of the national networking.

The text books on fundraising tell the reader that it is vital to create a formal appeal structure with a powerful charismatic leader. The team will weld together and develop its own momentum. This is no doubt the ideal. At Abbeyfield Ilkley no leader emerged. Abbeyfield could not wait for the ideal candidate to emerge and to assume the mantle of leader. They needed to complete the appeal as a matter of urgency. Progress was made using a 'virtual' team which only ever met once. Their achievement was therefore all the greater. People who were in a position to help gave of their best. They were centrally coordinated by the consultant and the member of the executive committee in charge of fundraising. By using this strategy progress was maintained while careful control was kept on all the approaches.

An immense source of strength for Abbeyfield at Ilkley was the partnership that they had with Abbeyfield UK and their fundraising department. When approaching major funders, careful co-ordination is essential; sometimes the funder is interested in the local nature of a project, other times it is the national innovative nature of the development which is the key factor. On these occasions Abbeyfield UK co-ordinated the approach for all three of the integrated care projects. This approach secured several major gifts which were essential to the success of the whole appeal; the resulting grant being shared between the three integrated care projects. Being able to use both a national and regional perspective was, without doubt, a key element in the success of Abbeyfield Ilkley's appeal.

It was not all plain sailing though. A request for lottery funding was an example of experience bought the hard way. Against the consultant's advice it was decided to seek £250,000 rather than £100,000 for a day care centre. Hours were spent in completing the elaborate paperwork required. In the end the request was turned down. This, they said, was a government responsibility. The vast majority of grants from this source are in the £100,000 range. Above that figure grants are few in number and very closely scrutinised. With the wisdom of hindsight a more modest application might have been the more prudent course.

A major building contractor had offered to carry out the work at cost. In the event this opportunity was lost due to a misunderstanding. This setback underlines the importance of ensuring good communication.

One interesting feature of the appeal was the part played by gifts of shares. From April 2000, individuals and companies receive tax relief for gifts of listed shares and securities to charity when calculating their income for tax purposes. The tax relief applies when shares are either given or sold at less than market value. Patrick was able to exploit this innovation in the appeal and a number of valuable gifts of shares were made.

Early on the committee subscribed generously to the appeal. They realised that it is not much good asking others for money if you have not given yourself. The principle 'donor talks to prospect' is a valid one!

By January 2001 the time had come to launch the community appeal which would provide additional funds as well give a feeling of ownership to the people of Ilkley. Up to this point publicity had not been sought. Too early media coverage runs the risk of a potential donor giving at a much lower level than might otherwise have been the case, thus reducing the size of individual gifts and taking away the feeling among donors of belonging to a mysterious, exclusive club. Three new members of the team were recruited for their local knowledge, public relations skills and understanding of the working of local government. Alan Titchmarsh, the television gardening celebrity, agreed to front the appeal. The team drew up a plan to target the wealthiest people in the town with a personalised mailing, consisting of a letter, leaflet, gift aid form and details of share-giving. It was timed to reach people on a Saturday morning shortly before the spring general election. Considerable local publicity before and after the mailing ensured that the project was in the front of the public mind.

A 50% response rate from the top 350 provided £40,000 - 70% of the funds received. It should be noted that this high response rate was, to a large degree, due to prior contact with a large proportion of these individuals in the previous three years. A further 6000 addresses yielded an additional £17,000. An appeal to the 500 businesses in the town produced a disappointing £150 which was put down to the lack of face-to-face contact. The consultant's contribution to the overall success of the community appeal lay in planning, writing, providing design service and administrative support. The labour intensive nature of any local appeal, though, comes down to the hard work of personalising letters on many kitchen tables!

As of mid-April 2002 some £100,000 remains to be raised. As frequently happens with appeals, there is a tendency to think the goal has been reached a little sooner than is actually the case. Exhaustion sets in. It is the difficult task of the consultant to keep the team together and focused, and to continue to shake the branches of the money tree. This is where the strategy of keeping some prospective trusts in reserve, of not contacting them all at the early stage, proves so useful. Failures at this stage are not disastrous. Failures at the outset might have been.

top

What lessons have been learned?

The consultant earns his corn in a number of ways:

1. He drafts the case statement which is a vital document enshrining the logic of the appeal. It enables the team to contribute, thereby giving them ownership of the project. It provides an unassailable case for the need for the project - and the need for funds.
2. Almost invariably in any fundraising project money flows out before it starts to flow in. Members of the team must be prepared for this - and keep their nerve!
3. He builds the team and maintains its morale. In any team there will be those who contribute mightily to success and those who scarcely justify their membership of the committee. Clearly the latter should be few in number. A fully effective team will get the job done more quickly and more cheerfully. Mistakes as well as successes must be learned from. The two critical phases in morale occur at the beginning and the end of the project.
4. The importance of working to a strategy cannot be over-stressed. Once a plan has been drawn up and agreed it must be adhered to. Plan your work and work your plan.
5. Networking is at the heart of good fundraising. Spend time making use of the contacts of those close to the project or who become involved in it to reach a trust or a wealthy individual. Do not make an approach until you are virtually sure of success. Probability of result must replace possibility.
6. In a critical meeting with a key trustee or wealthy individual let all remember the axiom 'two ears - one mouth'. Do twice as much listening as speaking. Let the prospect talk themselves into commitment to the cause. Failure to observe this will result in the dreaded words "I'll think about it".
7. Have high expectations based on valid research. Remember that a meagre gift immunises the giver. Maximum returns from minimum sources.
8. Keep in touch with donors. Let them know how the fundraising campaign is progressing. Good communication favourably affects goodwill - and vice versa.
9. A community appeal is a vital ingredient in the total strategy. Its place, though, is at the end when the target is in sight and there is only a modest shortfall. Launch it too early and there is nowhere to go. The failure will be very public.
10. Don't overlook the importance of the 'virtual' committee which may never meet as a team but gets all the work done.
11. It is impossible to over-emphasise the importance of partnership in the relationship with the client.
12. The only inducements to give are at best intangible ones but they must be identified and used to good effect. As someone was heard to remark "In this business it's all carrots and no sticks".

top

THE CLIENT’S PERSPECTIVE

By John Hardy, the member of
Abbeyfield Ilkley’s Executive Committee in charge of fundraising.

There's no doubt that when we embarked on our fundraising venture, I and the committee were innocents abroad. Eight million pounds: say it quickly. I asked my chairman "how on earth do we go about raising that"? and he replied "write a lot of letters, I suppose". I thought, yes - that can be the only way. Quite soon, however, word came that our charity's headquarters were urging the use of professional fundraisers. There were gloomy comments from colleagues that it would cost a fortune, and that all they would do would be to give us a plan of attack and leave all the work to us.

Well, I soon learned the error of these views. Letter-writing didn't feature at all, until the very end of the campaign - when we launched our public appeal. I quickly learned that there are skills involved in fundraising, the like of which few of us can have experienced in our working lives. In some ways it can be likened to very sophisticated salesmanship, because it frequently involves allowing one's prospect to make the running and to talk him/herself into wanting to help - in whatever way.

Clearly, the professional knows his way around, and his contribution as a result cannot be over-estimated. His background research points the way to trusts and individuals which otherwise one would have never reached. His experience dictates when and how approaches should be made, and which trusts to treat with priority, and which to leave to the final 'sweeping up'.

Three lessons, above all, were to be learned by this rookie fundraiser. These involve the techniques employed in meeting people, and the importance of an immense amount of preparatory work before approaching a charitable trust.

The hardest graft is, perhaps, the vast number of interviews which are involved in the networking process, not designed for asking an individual for money (lesson number one) but at first to ask for suggestions as to how we might go about finding the funds. Secondly, it very soon became apparent that the seemingly long silences which occurred during some of the interviews had not to be filled by me - desperate though I was to say something to save my own embarrassment! The silences were deliberately designed to encourage the other person to come forward, unprompted by us.

Thirdly, Patrick urged upon us that we should not approach any trust until, one way or another, we were able to find a personal contact to one of the trustees. This sounded to be a well-nigh impossible task, but dogged networking during many months opened up some, to me, surprising avenues of approach, and I can say that, where such contacts were made before applying to a trust, we have unfailingly met with success.

Lastly, it has become clear that the professional's role also embraces instilling enthusiasm into and, when necessary cracking the whip over, the heads of his clients - a very important function, because fundraising fatigue inevitably sets in at not infrequent intervals.

(May 2002)

top

Case Studies

• Abbeyfield Esk Moors
• Finchale College
• Girlguiding UK