It is a chicken and egg situation for newly established groups. On the one hand having something new, needed and different to develop to which it would seem likely that funding will be made available and, on the other hand, funders not wishing to give monies to groups that have not proved themselves over a period of time. And with that funders often only prefer to listen to groups that have received funding before which can be sole destroying for the group in question, if they do not have a history of fundraising.
Focus West London is one of those groups. Focus West London is a Hammersmith-based, volunteer-led community group providing a Saturday club for autistic children aged 3-11 years, and a programme of family support. Children are supported, one-to-one, by volunteer therapists trained in the principles of Applied Behaviour Analysis (“ABA”) which is an evidence-based, highly-effective behavioural intervention. Children learn vital, fundamental play, social and language/communications skills in a fun, nurturing and child-centred environment. So how did they raise their monies?
As a new group to the area Focus sought out Sobus for advice but being a newly formed group struggled with the chicken and egg situation. Sobus then introduced Focus to Localgoiving.
Who are Localgiving?
Localgiving is a charity itself and it supports local charitable organisations to diversify their income through online fundraising. They provide tools, training and advice to help local groups connect with supporters online, improve their digital skills and develop practical fundraising experience. Localgiving are also a leading advocate for the sector and work to raise awareness and support for local groups from the public, government and businesses. Localgiving effectively helped Focus West London to establish a presence on their website and from there money was raised.
What is happening now with Focus West London?
Focus can be found on the localgiving site at https://localgiving.org/charity/focuswestlondon/ and yes they have raised money totalling £11,000 already!
And whatever the money raised the process in itself shows commitment and proves that members of the public understand the charitable need. This now puts Focus West London in a stronger position to seek support from grant funders…..
Want to find out more?
If you are interested in finding out more about online fundraising contact Nigel Jacques at Sobus at nigel.jacques@sobus.org.uk
