What I do
I help Swiss third-sector associations and foundations — in Ticino and across the rest of Switzerland — find the funding for their cultural and social projects.
Funding comes from three kinds of funders: Swiss private foundations, public bodies (the Confederation, cantons and municipalities) and public calls. I work on two fronts that go together: I help shape projects so they are fundable, and I write the funding applications that take them to the right funders. I follow the whole path, from the initial strategy to the final report.
Fundraising strategy
I develop medium- to long-term fundraising strategies, over 12 to 36 months. I work out which kinds of funders are realistic for the organisation, build a sustainable mix of private foundations, public bodies, calls and other sources, and set priorities and timing. I often work with organisations deciding to take up institutional fundraising — that is, fundraising aimed at foundations and public bodies rather than individual donors — in a structured way. In these cases the starting point is often me: the new fundraising function gets going and grows with someone who already knows the craft.
Developing the cultural or social project
A good dossier starts with a good project. I help organisations develop their projects so they have what it takes to be funded: measurable objectives, a coherent structure, credible expected outcomes, the right partners. Often we start from an idea or a hunch, and build the real project together.
Because an idea is not enough: it takes a structured project to convince funders
Writing the dossier and the funding application
Once the project is structured, I write the dossier — the funding application to send to foundations or public bodies. The content and the format change depending on whether the dossier is meant for a Swiss private foundation, a public body (canton, municipality, Confederation) or a cultural or social call. Every dossier sets out the project description, the objectives, the expected outcomes and the reporting plan. Who to approach follows from the fit with that specific project, not from generic contact lists.
Budget and reporting
I build the project’s projected budget at the dossier stage, and the final budget once it is over. I handle the reporting on the projects I have raised funding for, both project by project and for the organisation’s full year of activity. This is often where well-written dossiers lose their grip: the numbers do not add up against what the project promises, some costs are too low for the real work involved, and there is no clear plan, from the outset, for how spending will be accounted for to funders.
Funder research and partner coordination
I look for the Swiss foundations and public bodies that can fund a specific project, starting from what that project is about rather than from generic lists. When a project is run by several organisations together, I coordinate the relationships between whoever leads it, those who collaborate and those who support it. Over time I keep up the relationship with funders who have already backed the organisation, because keeping an existing relationship alive is worth more than chasing a new one.
How we work together
You can bring me in as a fundraising consultant in different ways, depending on what the organisation needs:
- Consulting on a single dossier
- Ongoing consulting across several dossiers over the year
- An ongoing monthly contract
- A part-time role
It is the organisation that chooses the format, based on its own structure and budget.