2.4 Key points from Section 2

In this section, you have covered the following:

  • The difference between restricted and unrestricted funding, the benefits of the latter as the most flexible income for voluntary organisations, and how to treat it differently in a budget.
  • The four categories of income for voluntary organisations that sit on a spectrum from ‘asking’ to ‘earning’: gifts, grants, contracts and trading, and the types of activity that underpin them. You have considered how important it is for voluntary organisations not to become too reliant on just one source of income but to achieve the right funding mix to achieve their purpose. You have also explored the difference between raising money ‘on-mission’ and ‘off-mission’ and why charities need to take extra care with ‘off-mission’ fundraising.
  • Raising more money, in the short term, requires voluntary organisations to build on what they already do and develop their relationships with donors, funders or customers. This means getting to know them better, working out their motivations, needs and wants, and emphasising the parts of the voluntary organisation’s work that best fit with those.
  • The Charity Commission website is a rich source of information for finding out about a voluntary organisation's finances.

A fundraising case example

2.5  Section 2 quiz