Successful

Fundraising at
Museums 2022
Judy Niner | Development Partners
 Introduction

This fundraising guide is intended to help small and The fundraising climate
medium-sized museums to fundraise as successfully
as possible. This guide is being updated in autumn 2022, with the
impact of the Covid 19 pandemic still being felt and
It is aimed at anyone working in a museum, whether households and businesses facing extreme inflation,
staff or volunteer, since there is a role for everyone in particularly in energy and food prices. Fundraising is
the fundraising process. It will be particularly relevant competitive enough in good times, but current economic
to those who have specific responsibility for fundraising challenges may make it even more difficult to achieve
strategy and implementation, and for management hoped-for results. The temptation may be to do nothing
staff/volunteers and trustees. and wait until times improve. That would be a grave
mistake. Now is the time to be investing in relationships,
What do we mean by fundraising? ensuring your systems and processes for fundraising
are in place, and communicating confidence in your
For the purpose of this guide, we are defining museum’s future path.
fundraising as the creation of philanthropic revenue
or capital investment. We are not therefore including There are very few ‘quick wins’ these days. To be
activities that are better defined as income-generation, successful at fundraising, you need to take a longer
generally the sale of goods or services (including view and ‘engineer your luck’. Preparation is vital,
admissions). Some activities, such as membership, blur and taking the time to nurture relationships essential.
the lines of this definition but are included because of This guide will help you prepare your organisation
the role they can play in the cultivation of supporters. so that you are in a strong position to find and grasp
funding opportunities as they arise.
Restricted v unrestricted funding
Despite the pandemic, according to Arts Council
There is a vital difference between how funds are England’s Private Investment in Culture Survey
received by a charity. Some funds – those for which Report, the volume of private investment income
the purpose is a specified activity, item or project – in culture remained stable between 2018-21.
are known as ‘restricted’. This means they can only, Individual giving and memberships increased
and must, be spent on the activity/item/project which by 6% over the period, whilst grants from trusts
the donor/grantmaker agreed to fund. Most funds from and foundations declined by 5% and corporate
public sources, trusts and foundations and individuals donations and memberships by 7%. The biggest
who respond to particular campaigns will be restricted. decline (18%) was seen in corporate memberships.
Click here to see the full report.
Unrestricted funds can be used in any way appropriate
to the purpose and objectives of the organisation. There is still money to be found for well governed,
Unrestricted income tends to come from activities resourceful organisations with robust plans and
such as donation boxes, membership, regular giving projects, who build strong, respectful relationships
and legacies. and ask for funds at the right time and in the right way.
Getting fit
to fundraise
A fundraising organisation needs to create the best
possible conditions in which to attract and retain
donors and grantmakers. It needs to inspire confidence
and engender commitment. Being ‘fundraising fit’
is essential.
 What do you
need to fundraise?

Effective leadership and governance structures An internal team of people, staff and/or
volunteers, who have time to dedicate to
A clearly articulated purpose fundraising and understand the roles they play

A robust business plan laying out current and The support of its community – especially
future aims and detailed, realistic propositions volunteers and members who can act as
to achieve them advocates

A financial plan proving sustainability, Established ways to communicate with

or progress towards it its community and wider audiences

External evidence to support the need for the Systems to manage data, track relationships
organisation, its work and any projects to be and plan/monitor actions
funded
Financial processes to accept,
A case for support which draws on all the monitor and report on funds received.
information above to answer the question
‘why should this museum be supported?’ An objective assessment of your organisation’s
fundraising fitness can help you determine what
A fundraising strategy developed with needs to be put in place, or improved, before starting
professional expertise if possible a new fundraising programme or invigorating existing
activities. This preparation can make the difference
between success and failure.
 Case for Support

The case for support is the core document that The case for support should include information from
brings together all the information required to the business and financial plans, together with external
make a compelling argument for why you need evidence and relevant evaluation to back up your
money. It explains what you need money for, who arguments for why the work of your organisation or
will benefit from it and how. It combines the strengths the outcomes of a particular project are so important.
of the organisation with honest assessment of its It is important that the case for support is unique to
weaknesses and provision that is currently lacking. your museum, even though there will be themes that
It is an internal document, from which tailored are common across the sector.
approaches and proposals will be created for potential
funders. With this document in place (and assuming
it is shared with trustees, staff and volunteers) you can
be confident that everyone can present the organisation
and/or project consistently.
 Cultivation cycle

D I DE
AR NT
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IF
ST

Y
R E S EAR
ICIT L
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C UL
TIVATE

Whatever category of donor or grantmaker you Solicit: Only when you are confident that your
are considering approaching, the cycle of cultivation potential donor/grantmaker/group of donors
remains broadly the same: understands and supports what you’re trying to
achieve (and will feel that they can play a part in
Identify: Gather information on everyone you think making it happen) should you actually ask for money.
might be interested in your museum/project. Get ideas Before you ask, think carefully about what you’re asking
from others – trustees, volunteers, other stakeholders – for – are you making best use of this relationship, or
and make sure your past donors are on the long-list. would it be better to wait for a project the donor may
find more attractive? Should you be waiting to make
Research: The objective is to whittle down the a larger request? If an ask is unsuccessful, don’t give up!
long-list by finding out more about each potential It obviously wasn’t the right time or the right ask – try
donor/grantmaker. Be quite brutal – does this person/ to find out why. Continue to cultivate the donor – they
organisation really care about what you do, or could may need more information, or it might not be the right
they (usually through close contacts) be made to care? project/initiative for them.
It is better to end up with a short and manageable list
of potential prospects with whom you will be able to Steward: Don’t be tempted to think a donation or
communicate, than one with loads of names that you grant is the end-result. It’s very much the start of the
are unlikely to be able to reach. next stage of the relationship with a donor/grantmaker.
You have convinced them to support you – now you
Cultivate: Get to know your potential funders as need to show them that they made the right decision.
well as you can, and help them to understand what Report back on progress; keep in touch; involve them.
you do better. Find out about their motivation to care Your past donors are your best donors: Steward them
about your museum, their interests and the other things well and they may become life-long supporters.
they support.
 Fundraising strategy

Fundraising ideas are the easy bit! Too often, people are The fundraising strategy should answer the questions:
led by what they see another (sometimes incomparable)
organisation doing rather than really analysing and Why do we need to raise funds and what for?
focusing on the fundraising method/s that will work
for them. This can waste both time and opportunity– How much do we need to raise?
it is vital that limited resources are used in the most
effective way. New ideas can sound fun and exciting, but When do we need the funds?
it is often the old and tested methods of fundraising that
will work best. Who cares about what we do and might want
to help make it happen? What funders and
Essentially, fundraising is about relationships. The funding streams are available to us?
vast majority of your time should be spent creating
and nurturing those relationships, not asking for What do we need to do to raise the funds we
money. There are no short cuts. It can help to think need in the most time and cost effective way?
about your own charitable giving to understand what
makes you give to a particular organisation – you are Which methods are we going to use?
probably unlikely to give (or continue to give) unless
you feel confident in what your money will be spent How will we prioritise to make best use
on and how. Large charities with high profiles and of our resources?
well-understood charitable objectives (eg: RSPCA,
Cancer Research UK, National Trust) have built up their What do we need to invest in order to get the
reputations over many years but still work hard to results we need?
ensure confidence in them and their missions and work,
museums have to work even harder to communicate Who will do what?
their case for support.
What are the major risks and how can we
mitigate them?

The strategy needs to sit within a long-term context –

for example, are you trying to build up an endowment
to generate annual revenue or are you planning a major
capital project in 5 or 10 years time? The likelihood is
that you will want to continue to fundraise in the future,
and that has an impact on how you go about raising
funds for shorter-term projects and needs. It means
investing time in relationships for the long-term and
not always expecting an immediate return. It requires
patience and commitment.

Photo: The Lightbox

One of the problems small and medium-sized museums
face is the resource, in terms of expertise and time,
available to dedicate to fundraising. The solution is to
limit the range of fundraising activities/programmes
that you implement. You will need to stand firm against
trustees and others who, when faced with concerns
about funding, want you to focus on quick wins and
new ideas. These can divert your attention from the
programmes that will result in a much better return on
investment.

Most fundraising strategies for AIM members

should prioritise:

Trusts and foundations

Individual giving – from major donors

and from supporter groups, eg: members

Gifts in wills

Donation boxes.
Photo: The Red House, Britten Pears Arts
 The fundraising team

Fundraising requires time. It isn’t a tap that can be One member of the committee (ideally a member
turned on and off. The benefits of continual investment of the staff/volunteer management team) should be
will be cumulative. responsible for coordinating all fundraising approaches
and managing data.
People will be needed to:
Fundraising consultancies can be a useful way of
Develop and monitor the fundraising strategy adding resource to your team to help determine the
fundraising strategy, develop the case for support and
Research potential funders grant applications and even to run campaigns when
the organisation needs to step up its fundraising for
Cultivate relationships a specific purpose and time period.

Develop the case for support into proposals There is plenty of excellent fundraising training
and applications available organised, for example, by:

Make presentations and hold meetings with AIM

potential funders
Chartered Institute of Fundraising
Process donations and ensure
acknowledgement of grants and gifts Regional Museum Development teams
Arts Council England and the National Lottery
Steward donor relationships Heritage Fund sometimes fund special
programmes to support fundraising in the
Keep accurate records. heritage and cultural sector.

When selecting training opportunities, make sure

This should never all fall to just one person. Even you are investing in those that are relevant to your
if your organisation has a professional fundraiser to fundraising strategy and not wasting time and energy
guide and manage the processes, they will be working developing expertise in a method that is not appropriate
with trustees, members of staff and/or volunteers and to your organisation.
other stakeholders to ensure all the organisation’s
resources are being harnessed to build and manage
strong relationships.

If a fundraising committee is formed, it is important to

have terms of reference so each member understands
what they are being asked to contribute. Essential
to their role is ensuring an appropriate fundraising
strategy is developed and followed. Each member
should also expect to play an active role in introducing
potential funders, cultivating relationships and taking
every opportunity to advocate on behalf of the museum.
 Communications
for fundraising

The objective of communications for fundraising is to A ‘Support’ link in the top level menu
create the environment in which people want to give. leading directly to fundraising information
This means making sure they feel informed, involved
and valued. It is as much about attitude as the physical Links to an online giving platform (eg: CAF,
means of communication – an organisation that is open, JustGiving etc) with ‘donate now’ buttons
transparent and keen to listen is much more likely to
garner support than one which appears aloof. Inclusion of the Gift Aid logo on the ‘Support’
page (assuming the museum is registered
It helps to have a consistent charitable message that for Gift Aid)
encapsulates why someone might want to support
the organisation. This message can be used in various Charity registration number on each page
ways, including to encourage sales in the shop or café,
Gift Aid on admission or the use of donation boxes. Opportunity to sign up to an e-newsletter
It helps communicate that the museum is not-for-
profit and needs support, and can inspire confidence Link to a Privacy Notice which includes
in the future of the organisation. The importance of this the organisation’s policy for use of data
‘trickle’ communication is reflected in the National Arts for fundraising purposes.
Fundraising School’s understanding that 50% of legacies
received by charities in the UK come from people not Social media such as Twitter, Instagram, TikTok
known to the organisation – in other words, they are and Facebook are increasingly used very effectively
not members, friends, volunteers or existing donors. in the sector. They are successful in communicating
with particular demographic groups, but it’s important
Any museum wanting to fundraise must have to remember that many of your potential donors may
a well-functioning, attractive website, including: not follow those accounts.

An ‘About’ section which explains legal status

and governance of the organisation, including
biographies of trustees and senior staff.
 Stewardship

Your best donor is your last donor. There’s a lot of truth Creating opportunities for the donor/
in this fundraising adage. The purpose of stewardship is grantmaker to get to know the organisation
to build better and closer relationships with people who better, and for you to understand their
have already shown they care about your organisation interests and motivations
and what you do. These are the people most likely to
support you in the future. Investment in stewardship Updating them on changes at the organisation
is likely to be far more rewarding than constantly trying such as new trustees and members of staff
to find new donors.
Listening to their views and thoughts about the
Stewardship encompasses everything you do to nurture organisation.
your relationship with an individual or organisation
after they have made a gift/grant. It includes: Responding to ideas and proposals.

Saying ‘thank you’

Stewardship works when it’s personal and tailored
Ensuring a gift/grant is acknowledged to the interests and motivations of each donor/
(eg: on a donors’ board) appropriately grantmaker. This personalisation can be overlooked
when organisations try to herd donors into
Reporting back on the impact a gift /grant membership-style schemes and programmes.
has had on the organisation and on other Particularly with major donors, focus on giving
beneficiaries them individual attention.
 Administration: Data
and record-keeping

Good administrative systems are vital to fundraising. Data Retention

They enable you to account properly for everything
you receive, steward people well, and pass on important The Data Protection Network
information to your successors so that relationships
don’t leave the organisation when you do. For many smaller museums, data for fundraising can be
kept on Excel spreadsheets – this is often the easiest way
How you collect, use and destroy personal information to get to grips with information about your supporters.
for fundraising purposes needs to comply with However, larger organisations, or those with large
current legislation. New rules under the General Data numbers of donors, should consider investing in an off-
Protection Regulation (GDPR) came into effect in 2018 the-shelf fundraising database. These vary in price and
and it is important to ensure you keep up to date with functionality greatly and can be server or cloud-based.
requirements. We recommend referring to the following We have recently seen the following used successfully:
sites and documents:
Salesforce
General information on GDPR
Subscriber
AIM Success Guide: Successfully managing
privacy and data regulations in small museums It is probably not wise to invest in this sort of system
unless you have a dedicated fundraiser or fundraising
Information Commissioner’s Office: team. Whatever system you use, you will need to find
Guide to data protection a way of recording communications with donors and
planning future actions.
The Chartered Institute of Fundraising: GDPR:
The Essentials for Fundraising Organisations

The Data Protection Network is a very useful

website. Sign up to their newsletter to receive
free news, insight and how-to-guides to
support your day to day data protection work.

Legitimate Interest

Information Commissioner’s Office:

Lawful basis for processing: Legitimate
Interests guidance

Fundraising research

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising:

Connecting people to good causes:
A practical guide to fundraising research
Funders
 Public funders

Public funders tend to launch specific grant programmes Welsh Government Culture Division
reflecting their strategic objectives. Grants will almost
always be restricted – meaning they have to be spent Cadw
on the project (capital or revenue) you have described
in your application. Only applications that meet the Northern Ireland Museums Council
funding stream precisely will be considered, so always
think carefully about this before applying and check Local enterprise partnerships
that the funder’s demands match your own objectives.
Larger grants will often require a two-stage process and Local authorities (eg: Section 106, Community
can be very time-consuming. Infrastructure Levy)

Funders of museums and heritage include: Regional Museum Development offices.

Department of Culture Media and Sport Many (but not all) grantmakers will expect you to
partially match their grant with funds from elsewhere.
National Lottery Heritage Fund Also, be prepared that you may have to invest your
organisation’s money in extensive preparatory work
Arts Council England before being ready to apply for funding.

Historic England Funding streams are reviewed regularly and changes

made to them. Always check on the appropriate websites
Museums Galleries Scotland and sign up for social media and email alerts to keep
yourself informed about new programmes.
Historic Environment Scotland
 Charitable trusts
and foundations

In 2020/21 70% of private investment in museums Heritage Funding Directory managed by The Heritage
and heritage came from trusts and foundations. Alliance and the Architectural Heritage Fund. Your
This is an extremely important category of funders local authority may also keep a list of possible funders
and should be the top priority of most museum in your area. Checking which trusts have funded
fundraising strategies. The total amount given has comparable organisations can also be very helpful.
reduced slightly and, more importantly, the number The result of this identification phase should be
and range of organisations applying for grants has a long-list of potential funders.
increased. This means more competition – only the
best applications will be successful. Your long-list might include some or all of the following:

Increasingly, most grants from trusts and foundations Major trusts who regularly give to museums
are restricted to specific capital projects or revenue and heritage organisations, such as:
activities. It is difficult to secure grants to cover
core costs. Garfield Weston Foundation

The way in which trusts and foundations give is Wolfson Foundation

constantly changing in response to market conditions
and income. This affects not only what is funded but Esmee Fairbairn Foundation
also methods of application and assessment. Common
adjustments include narrowing grantmaking criteria, Foyle Foundation
scrutinising bids and applicant finances in greater
detail, taking longer to make decisions, reducing Pilgrim Trust
(or increasing) individual grant amounts by focusing
on fewer projects or spreading the funding more widely.
Local and regional trusts who specify
For larger projects, some trusts will be concerned about geographic areas of interest, eg: the
an organisation’s likelihood of finding match funds to 29th May 1961 Charitable Trust – preference
reach a fundraising target. They will rarely fill the whole given to ‘charities operating in the West
funding gap themselves, but realise the project will be Midlands and in particular the Coventry and
dependent on you being able to attract other funders. Warwickshire area’.
Many will want to understand your fundraising plan and
be confident that it is realistic. Some will not confirm a Trusts who fund projects that deliver outcomes
grant until other funds have been found, making it more to particular groups of beneficiaries, eg: the
difficult to find vital seedcorn money. elderly, young people with learning disabilities,
young carers etc. These trusts will be useful
in funding your social impact, learning and
Identify community work but won’t necessarily have
a history of funding museums.
The first step is to identify which trusts might consider
funding your project or organisation. To do so, you
can use a subscription search engine such as the
Directory of Social Changes’ Funds Online or the free
Research

Look at each trust on your long-list in detail and whittle

them down to those who have the highest likelihood of
supporting your museum/project. Quality not quantity
is the best route for trusts and foundations – a few well
written, well matched applications will reap much better
results than churning out multiple appeals that don’t
resonate with the targeted funders. Take time to visit
individual trusts’ websites, where available, and look
at their accounts on the charity commission website.

You are looking for:

Criteria for grantmaking

Examples of who and what they’ve funded

in the past

Application deadlines and decision timetables

Funding levels – what size of grant do they give

Application requirements

Check their list of excluded projects or activities

and whether they allow unsolicited applications.
Almost all trusts exclude projects which start before
the grant is awarded. Benchmark your project against
similar projects they have funded to get an idea of how
much you could ask for.

Cultivate

Where possible, ring the administrator to find out more

or to discuss your project with them. This often elicits
helpful information and also makes them aware of your
project when it arrives on their desk.

Always circulate a list of the trustees of potential

grantmaking trusts to your own organisation’s trustees.
Connections can help greatly and may mean a trust
is more likely to consider your application. The link
person might be able to write a covering letter, or
at least alert their contact to your need and request
for funds.
Solicit Every trust will have different priorities and it
is necessary to bear this in mind when applying –
To succeed your application needs to: is there a particular element of your project which
would be of greater interest than the whole? Are they
Align closely with the trust’s aims and criteria more passionate about history, architecture, education
or the local community? No two applications should
Be well written and clearly presented ever be the same.

Be factual and refer to robust evidence of need The length of the application will depend on
the requirements of the trust and the complexity
Focus on the beneficiaries and impact of of the project you are putting forward. However,
the project on them. Outcomes are really less is generally better than more.
important to trusts
Don’t underestimate the importance of evidence.
Provide evidence that your organisation Vague references to the importance of your organisation
is able to deliver the project effectively. or project won’t hold much sway – trusts like to see the
evidence of need, impact measurement and relevant
Many of the larger trusts have their own application evaluation that have led you to the plan you are
forms online which you must use when required. Others presenting.
have a list of questions that they expect you to cover
in the application, and the rest give very little guidance
except perhaps the number of pages they are prepared Steward
to read. It is extremely important that you meet these
basic requirements. Some will ask for additional Always report back to funders on the progress and
documents, such as accounts. achievements of your project. This will develop your
relationship and stand you in good stead for future
grant requests.
 Individuals

Members, friends and volunteers to cultivate relationships.

Many museums have some sort of friends or

membership scheme. These are low-cost programmes When launching a fundraising appeal, the best starting
often based on multiple admission benefits plus point is with those closest to you – your members,
additional events and possibly discounts. With more friends and volunteers. They are already committed
museums adopting the annual pass form of Gift Aid to the organisation. However, just because they are
ticketing, the benefit of some of these membership already involved and have shown that they care about
programmes has been compromised (both to the the organisation, doesn’t mean they will feel minded
organisation and to the member) and care needs to give to an appeal or capital campaign. You will
to be taken to ensure they remain profitable and need to ensure you bring these people with you as
appropriate to the motivations of the members. you develop plans for the future; that you keep them
Whilst these schemes provide museums with a informed of progress; and that you listen to their views
one-size-fits-all channel of communication with about the museum’s direction and plans. Newsletters
a large group of supporters, they present a risk and virtual briefings are great ways to engage these
that such a generic approach satisfies none of them. supporters, and the occasional survey in which you
Regularly surveying friends/members to be sure investigate their motivation for support as well as their
of motivations and preferences can help ensure satisfaction with the organisation, can be extremely
a membership programme remains relevant to its useful. Being able to talk to them individually at events
members and worthwhile for the museum. is invaluable.

Higher level membership programmes, often referred Don’t ask supporters for money too often. In addition to
to as Patrons, need to be established with great care. friends/members subscriptions, it might be appropriate
As described below, major donors (often the same to run an appeal in alternate years.
people) need to be treated as individuals and trying
to herd them into a ‘scheme’ may not be the best way
Major donors

A major donor is someone who makes a sizeable gift

to the organisation. They may or may not be a friend,
member or volunteer. They need to have both the
capacity and the motivation to give – just being rich
isn’t enough. When attracting new donors, it will help
if there is a personal connection to the organisation
– hence the important role trustees can play in
introducing people. Cultivation and stewardship need
to be personal and tailored to each individual to enable
them, and you, to build a close relationship.

Do not rush to ask a potential donor to give their

support, but allow time for the relationship to develop.
You are much more likely to get a positive response,
and potentially a larger gift as well. Examples of
opportunities to develop these relationships include:

Behind the scenes tours

Opportunities to meet experts before or after

a larger event, eg: a lecture

Identifying and sharing an object or collection

of particular interest to the donor, eg: local
to their home

Coffee, tea and lunch meetings.

Small, bespoke events will be much more effective

than large ones which take a great deal of planning
and organisation whilst rarely being conducive to
getting to know people better.

Only once you understand a potential donor’s

motivations and interests can you consider what
they might want to support and how. Asking too soon,
or for the wrong thing, can destroy the relationship
you’ve been trying to build. Be patient and invest
time and thought to create the long-term supporter
you want and need.
 Business

There has been a steady decline in corporate giving For those of a more generic nature, it is extremely
in recent years – very few companies still make gifts difficult. If you are considering including business
to not-for-profit organisations and expect nothing in sponsorship in your fundraising strategy, consider
return. In general, their involvement with a museum two questions:
will require direct benefit in terms of brand association,
corporate social responsibility agendas or staff Once you have factored in the benefits
volunteering programmes. It is a business investment (in resource and cash) you will need to
not a philanthropic one. deliver to the sponsor, and taken into
account a realistic income, is a sponsorship
Corporate membership has been badly hit during likely to be profitable?
the pandemic. It is not clear whether it will recover
to previous levels. Would the time you spend approaching,
negotiating with and then delivering to
Business sponsorship continues to benefit London-based a sponsor be used more profitably pursuing
museums disproportionately – it is notoriously difficult a different fundraising avenue?
to secure cost-effective sponsorship arrangements
outside the capital. Companies most likely to sponsor a small or medium
sized museum are those that are privately owned and
Museums most likely to attract sponsorship outside where the owner/director has a personal interest in the
London are those with collections that align with organisation. This is where personal contacts can help,
particular industries – transport sectors for example. for example through trustees.
 Other
organisations

There are other grantmaking organisations you could

consider, e.g.:

Postcode Lottery – organised into separate

regional trusts. Use the ‘postcode trust finder’
to locate the one appropriate for your site.

Landfill Communities Fund (via Entrust)

AIM

Social investment may also be appropriate for

a project. Examples of available loan schemes,
for example, include:

The Architectural Heritage Fund which focuses

on acquisition, reuse or redevelopment of
buildings which are of historic or architectural
important;

The NESTA Arts Impact Fund.

Don’t forget that funds from your own reserves can help
you kickstart or match-fund a project. If a fundraising
campaign is successful, you may be able to replace and
reuse those funds as seedcorn for another project.
Fundraising
activities

Gift in Wills

Legacy Foresight research predicts income to

charities from gifts in wills will rise to £4.2 billion
per year between 2022-26 – a 26% increase from the
preceding five years. More and more charities are
moving into this market which is ripe for development
in the heritage sector. To benefit, museums need to
offer guidance to their supporters on why and how
to make a gift in their will, and use all communications
channels sensitively but consistently to reinforce the
message that gifts in wills are essential to the future
of the museum.

It helps to have a legacy policy, approved

by trustees and describing how unrestricted legacies
will be allocated. It can be off-putting if a potential
donor thinks their money will be spent propping
up the revenue budget – indicating that funds will
be allocated to conservation, acquisitions, education
or a long-term invested fund to create revenue will
be much more appealing.
 Online giving

Every museum should have a facility for online

giving. You may have a ticketing platform that
enables online giving, or you may need to use
one of the many web-based platforms such as:

Charities Aid Foundation

Just Giving

Donor Box

In deciding which platform to use, check the following:

Cost – for smaller museums having a large

standing charge is usually a bad thing.

Flexibility to brand the giving pages – the more

you can make the pages look like part of your
own website the better

Capability to run different appeals at the

same time and to offer one-off or regular/
multiple gifts.

Only use your ticketing system if it is set up to manage

Gift Aid.

Regular giving

Gifts that you receive on a monthly or annual basis,

particularly if they are unrestricted, are hugely useful
because the organisation can plan ahead. Even relatively
small monthly amounts can create significant gifts.
For example, £10 a month over 3 years (including Gift
Aid) raises £450. Don’t forget to thank and steward
these donors.
 Crowdfunding

The loosest definition of crowdfunding just means Other online schemes

raising funds from a large group of people, usually
via the internet. This can take the form of a fairly Along with other charities, museums can sign up for
traditional appeal to an existing database of friends schemes such as Amazon Smile and Easyfundraising
and supporters via email, and social media, directing whereby small sums of money are raised each time
people to your online giving page to make a donation. a supporter makes a purchase through the platform.
At the other end of the spectrum it can involve setting Be aware that supporters can get confused and/or
up complex tiers of benefits and gifts which people tired of being asked to help in different ways. Adding
select according to their level of support. This can be more options to your website or email can detract
very transactional in nature. By using platforms such from your main fundraising activities so make sure
as the Art Fund’s Art Happens, organisations hope to this really is the right method for you.
extend their reach – this potential has to be weighed up
against the resource required to set up the campaign.

The Big Give specialises in match funding appeals.

The Christmas Challenge has established itself as an
interesting focus to encourage major donors to provide
the initial match fund pot.

Before deciding what sort of appeal you are going

to run, think carefully about your demographic.
Do they need to be offered gifts and benefits in
return for their donation? Or will they approach
your appeal philanthropically? Think also about
return on investment – fully fledged crowdfunding
campaigns take considerable time to prepare, require
extensive social media support and the cost of delivering
benefits can eat away at the value of donations.

These appeals should only be run if they form part

of your fundraising strategy. You mustn’t ask your
existing supporters for funding too often so don’t
be lured into an extra activity unless it’s absolutely
right for you. Sometimes it’s better to say no!

Art Fund

Crowd Funder

The Big Give

 Onsite and print

Donation boxes & cashless donation points Text giving

Donation boxes deliver two benefits: Text giving could be considered when you are
aiming to raise quite small but spontaneous donations,
Their presence, highlighted by clear charitable for example at an event. The maximum amount that
messaging, helps reinforce the message that can be given is usually capped because the donation
the museum is a charity or other not-for-profit is added to the donor’s mobile phone bill. The process
for capturing Gift Aid is complicated and the donor can
They can attract useful unrestricted funds. be irritated by further texts or phonecalls asking for the
necessary information.
AIM has published a Quick Guide: Donation Boxes
in Museums which gives detailed information on If you are interested in setting up text giving, potential
how to make your donation boxes work as well as operators include:
possible. The Guide was updated in 2019 to include
information on contactless giving boxes. At that time, National Funding Scheme (Donate)
the key operator in the contactless giving market was
Good Box, and a number of museums have installed DONR
their devices. At the time of writing, the company
is under administration. Just Giving

Feedback from museums on contactless giving has been

mixed with most saying they have been disappointed QR codes
in results, particularly given the running costs of the
device. It appears that in most venues cash boxes are QR codes have grown in popularity and can be used
still performing better. in numerous ways, including on print and display
boards to direct people to fundraising pages. Some
Research has shown that the type and location giving platforms, such as JustGiving and CAF, offer
of donation boxes makes a marked difference QR codes as part of their service. It is also possible
to the donations that are received. Despite the to use one of the free QR code suppliers online.
relatively high initial outlay, it is worth investing
in a transparent box which shows the donations
inside (with some notes visible at the start of every
day). You can experiment with the best location,
but it should be a prominent position, probably near
the entrance and exit. The charitable message tells
your supporters what their money will do and can
motivate them to give. Training staff/volunteers to
ask visitors for donations can have very positive results.
 Gift Aid

If you are a charity, you can apply to HMRC to register

for Gift Aid. With registration, you will be able to
increase the value of donations by 25%, subject to the
permission of the donor and their tax status.

Original gift from donor Gift Aid reclaimed from HMRC Total value to the charity

£1 25p £1.25
£25 £6.25 £31.25
£50 £12.50 £62.50
£100 £25.00 £125.00
£1,000 £250.00 £1,250.00

If you are not registered for Gift Aid, do it now! It’s important to set up good systems for collecting and
Not only will you raise more money, but you will storing Gift Aid declarations and making regular claims
communicate to your supporters that you are a to HMRC for payment. Online giving platforms do this
charitable enterprise. Always include the Gift Aid on your behalf, but Gift Aid on donations paid to you
logo (assuming you are registered) on donation directly will need to be claimed manually.
boxes, fundraising pages on your website and
any fundraising leaflets. Gift Aid Small Donations Scheme (GASDS)

Gift Aid can be claimed on donations from individuals, This scheme allows charities to claim Gift Aid on cash
but not from trusts or companies. You can reclaim tax and contactless donations of £30 each or less, up to a
on the ‘gross’ equivalent of all donations where your maximum total of £8,000 resulting in a reclaim of £2,000.
donor has provided a Gift Aid declaration. Payments Donor Gift Aid declarations are not required for this
made in return for goods or services (e.g. raffle tickets scheme, meaning money in your donation boxes still
or event admission) do not qualify. Museums can offer qualifies for the bonus.
the donor a modest token in appreciation of their gift,
but there are limits on the value of this benefit. For further information on Gift Aid visit the
HMRC website.
If a donor is a higher or additional rate taxpayer, they
can claim relief equal to the difference between the
higher rate of tax and the basic rate of tax. They do this
on their income tax return.
 Fundraising regulator

The independent regulator of charitable fundraising The following four values support all standards
in England, Wales and Northern Ireland has published in the code.
a Code of Fundraising Practice. This sets out the
responsibilities that apply to fundraising carried Legal: All fundraising must meet the requirements
out by charities and third party fundraisers. of the law.

The code aims to: Open: Fundraisers must be open with the public about
their processes and must be willing to explain (where
Promote a consistent, high standard of appropriate) if they are asked for more information.
fundraising
Honest: Fundraisers must act with integrity and
Make sure charitable institutions, their must not mislead the public about the cause they
governing bodies and fundraisers know what are fundraising for or the way a donation will be used.
is expected of them
Respectful: Fundraisers must demonstrate respect
Set out the standards the regulator uses whenever they have contact with any member
when considering complaints of the public.

Provide a benchmark for organisations and More information can be found at Fundraising Regulator
fundraisers to assess their practices against
so they can identify necessary training and Charities can register with the Fundraising
monitor and set policy priorities for their Regulator as a way of showing your supporters
fundraising that you are committed to fundraising in a way that
is legal, open, honest and respectful in line with the
Develop a culture of honesty, openness and Code of Fundraising Practice. Once registered you can
respect between fundraisers and the public. display the Fundraising Badge on your website and
fundraising materials.
 About the Author

Judy Niner, Director, Development Partners.

Development Partners is a fundraising and
business development consultancy specialising
in museums and heritage.

For further information, please visit

Development Partners.