Best Practice
Statement of Best Practice
Operational Standards
We are committed to providing a high quality service and only take on client work when the following criteria are satisfied:
• We have the required skills and relevant experience
• A consultant has the time required to carry out the task to the highest level of quality
• We believe there is a high chance of success
Equal Opportunities: We work with a broad range of organisations in a wide variety of fields. We are also happy to take on hard-to-fund causes, which is reflected in our client list. A particular area of interest is to support organisations working with disadvantaged groups, such as homeless people, disabled and older people.
Confidentiality: We respect client confidentiality and have a standard clause in all contracts, which guarantees this. In this regard, if we believe there may be a conflict of interest by taking on a particular piece of work, we will ensure that both our existing and potential clients are aware of the situation and are happy for us to do so. If such a piece of work is taken on, we will also put in place internal barriers to prevent and breach of confidentiality (for example, by ensure the contracts are delivered by different members of our team).
Practical and measurable value: In fundraising, the effect of our interventions is always practical and measurable. This ranges from the simple matter of counting how much money has been raised, to assessing how many new contacts have been made or how much media exposure has been achieved. For other assignments, the practical value may be in the form of a report or written strategy. Where a piece of work is likely to have a long term impact (such as a legacy campaign), we will still seek to measure its shorter term impacts, as appropriate.
Up to date advice: In order to deliver current advice, we undertake regular training courses (such as those run by the Institute of Fundraising ) and attend relevant seminars (such as Charity Fair and Chase Charities Exhibition). We subscribe to numerous publications, in order to keep on top of new developments (e.g. Professional Fundraising, Third Sector, Charity Times). We also subscribe to a range of research bulletins (e.g. External Funding Bulletin, Grants Online and the DSC's online trusts database). One Director is a Director of the Association of Fundraising Consultants, while the other is Vice Chair of the Institute of Fundraising 's Midlands Region. Both of these involvements enable them to keep in touch with new developments in the field.
Contract Capability
Personnel and Expertise: Between them, our two Directors and team of Consultants have a broad spread of fundraising experience, covering a wide range of causes and fundraising techniques. Their average length of relevant experience is around 16 years, mainly in senior fundraising posts.
We have both a considerable breadth and depth of experience to offer our clients. However, where we do not feel we have the relevant skills or experience, we do not take on assignments.
Resources: We have invested in information systems and research sources, in order to be able to deliver our service to clients. As well as the publicly available reference texts and electronic information, we have developed our own, in-house archives of funders, which are available to clients as part of our service and for no additional charge.
Delivery Process
The delivery of all work is discussed with clients before a contract is signed. At the start of the intervention, a more detailed discussion is held to agree how the work will be conducted. Draft plans are then submitted for client approval. Subsequently, the delivery of work is monitored against the agreed plan.
Review Arrangements
Once a piece of work has started, we maintain regular contact with clients by telephone, post, e-mail and, where required, via review meetings. We also discuss projects among our Directors and Consultants, in order to draw on the full pool of knowledge and experience available to us. Work is monitored against agreed outputs and time-scales, while maintaining a degree of flexibility to take account of unforeseen eventualities.
Delivery and Output Evaluation
The future of our work - and our livelihoods - depend on getting positive results for clients. Without this, we would not survive in today's highly competitive consultancy market. As a result, our key focus is on successful interventions.
Both during and after any intervention, we seek client feedback in a number of ways. As described above, we maintain regular client contact during an intervention. At the end of it, we provide clients with a feedback form and also seek to remain in contact after the work has finished. We do this in order to know what has been effective (and what has not worked so well) and to gain a full evaluation of the impact of our work, which may take some months or even years to establish fully (e.g. where we have helped a client to set up a new fundraising programme).
Continuous Improvement
We are committed to continuous improvement, in order to remain effective and competitive. This is demonstrated by our regular training, described above, and by our heavy involvement in Institute of Fundraising and AFC activities nationally and regionally.
We also expose our work to peer review (internally) and seek feedback from clients on what has not worked so well, as well as what has been effective.
