Skilled Grantseeker Programme: all clusters
The complete programme
The Skilled Grantseeker Programme is an effective and comprehensive toolkit. You won’t find anything more in-depth anywhere else. Participating in the full programme means you’ll be on a learning journey with peers, making connections that can last for years.
The complete online programme costs £895 and saves you £100 compared with booking all 5 Clusters individually.
The complete programme schedule with dates and times is available on our booking platform.
Click to head to our booking platform
See below for scheduling and the learning outcomes of the full course content.
Online
Cluster One - Understanding the Audited Accounts of a UK Foundation: This cluster covers key sections such as the Trustees Report, Statement of Financial Activities, Balance Sheet, Notes to the Accounts, and Grant Lists. The workshops progress from introductory to advanced levels, focusing on how to interpret complex accounts, make predictions for the future, and answer numerical and factual inquiries from stakeholders.
Cluster Two - Writing for Impact: This cluster focuses on essential writing techniques for fundraisers developing appeals to various donors. The cluster covers the use of empathy, logical storytelling, brevity, creating memorable writing, and infographics. You will learn how to construct persuasive stories using empathy and tools like the "Disney Method," to reduce word counts effectively and emphasise key points to enhance proposals.
Cluster Three - Bid Writing Boot Camp: This cluster covers essential aspects of project design, including content quality and project planning. You will also learn about developing a Theory of Change and how to incorporate it it into proposals. The principles of monitoring and evaluation will be explored as well as how to use change management techniques to assist in building a bid development team.
Cluster Four - Stewardship Toolkit: This cluster focuses on successful donor stewardship techniques. It begins with networking to reach new donors and covers developing rapport, negotiating, and asking for money. The sessions emphasise the importance of building relationships and provide practical skills for engaging with donors effectively. They cover topics such as networking, building rapport, negotiating, and asking for money. The aim is to equip fundraisers with the necessary skills to meet donors and secure funding across various contexts, including foundations, government representatives, corporates, and individuals.
Cluster Five - Planning: This cluster is designed for managers involved in high-value fundraising operations, including foundations, corporations, and major donors. It is also relevant for fundraisers handling complex donor portfolios. You will learn about target setting formulas based on evidence, ensuring accurate targets, how to develop a prospect pipeline and establish a tracking system for high-value donors, create donor development plans through proactive management of valuable relationships, and finally, setting KPIs and tracking progress, emphasising lead indicators of fundraising success and selecting appropriate monitoring options.
Learning Outcomes - Cluster One: Understanding the Audited Accounts of a UK Foundation
Cluster One: Understanding the Audited Accounts of a UK Foundation /Pod 1: Introductory
-The meaning of the key terms
-The purpose of the key sections and how to read them.
Cluster One: Understanding the Audited Accounts of a UK Foundation/Pod 2: Basic
-How to spot changes in decision makers and explain the implications for fundraising
-The range of different income sources and how they impact upon philanthropy
The key investments and how these will impact on grant making
Cluster One: Understanding the Audited Accounts of a UK Foundation /Pod 3: Intermediary
-How to get more detailed information on the grants they have given.
-How to assess their commitment to philanthropy and judge whether you can engage this funder
-How to interpret their investment strategy and how that will impact upon their grantmaking
-Whether they are a passive or active giver and whether they have a ‘carousel’ of beneficiaries.
Cluster One: Understanding the Audited Accounts of a UK Foundation /Pod 4: Advanced
-How to predict whether new decision makers will transform a funder.
-How to anticipate changes to their income which can open up new opportunities for you – or close them down.
-How to engage this funder now and in the future.
-How to predict whether you can get into this funder, stay there or get more.
Cluster Two: Writing for Impact/Pod 1: Logical Empathy
-Understanding of the role of empathy in persuasive writing.
-How to use the ‘Disney Method’ to construct a powerful story.
Learning Outcomes - Cluster Two: Writing for Impact
Cluster Two: Writing for Impact/Pod 2: Mastering Brevity
-Ability to reduce word counts by converting from passive to active voice.
-Ability to reduce word counts by using techniques to cut out unnecessary words.
Cluster Two: Writing for Impact/Pod 3: Memorable and Trustworthy Writing
-Ability to identify the key point you want to emphasize and use a ‘dissonant’ technique to ensure that it is memorable.
-Ability to insert appropriate detail into proposals, in order to convince readers of the accuracy of your writing.
Cluster Two: Writing for Impact/Pod 4: Creative Infographics
-Understanding of the role of infographics in proposals.
-Ability to use at least three techniques to develop infographics within your proposals.
Cluster Three: Bid Writing Boot Camp/Pod 1: Results Based Project Design
-Ability to describe the five elements of Results Based Management.
-Ability to design projects in a high quality and robust manner.
Learning Outcomes - Cluster Three: Bid Writing Boot Camp
Cluster Three: Bid Writing Boot Camp/Pod 2: Introduction to -Theory of Change
-Ability to understand the principles and structure of a -Theory of Change
-Understand all of the key terms and acquire a basic level of expertise.
Cluster Three: Bid Writing Boot Camp/Pod 3: Introduction to Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning
-Understanding the principles of monitoring and evaluation.
-Ability to describe M&E effectively within your proposals. To answer that application question accurately and specifically
Cluster Three: Bid Writing Boot Camp/Pod 4: Managing the Bid Writing Team
-Ability to use a planning to tool to assess the commitment of your colleagues and devise plans to improve the functioning of the team.
-Ability to use forcefield analysis to set aims and implement changes to the team activities and behaviours.
Cluster Four: Stewardship Toolkit/Pod 1: Networking
-Understanding of the process of networking.
-Ability to use a range of techniques across the networking process.
Learning Outcomes - Cluster Four: Stewardship Toolkit
Cluster Four: Stewardship Toolkit/Pod 2: Building Rapport
-Ability to use a three-step process for every conversation with a new contact.
-Ability to assess and set targets for improved rapport with donors.
Cluster Four: Stewardship Toolkit/Pod 3: Negotiating
-Ability to use a proven six-step process for managing a face-to-face negotiation.
-Understand when to use listening skills and when to be persuasive.
-Ability to work collaboratively as a team to engage donors – to establish your own ‘hit squad’.
Cluster Four: Stewardship Toolkit/Pod 4: Asking for Money
-Understanding of the five ways to ask for a commitment.
-Ability to predict which technique to use with which donor.
-Understanding of your own ‘asking comfort zone’ and how you need to expand your repertoire.
Cluster Five: Planning/Pod 1: Target Setting Formulas
-Understanding the five different objectives for donor targeting.
-Ability to set targets based upon robust, evidence-based formulas.
Learning Outcomes - Cluster Five: Planning
Cluster Five: Planning/Pod 2: Developing a Prospect Pipeline
-Understanding of the four stages in establishing a relationship.
-Ability to use a range of techniques across these four stages.
-Ability to construct a tracking system for high value donors.
Cluster Five: Planning/Pod 3: Donor Development Plans
-Understanding of a standard format for donor development plans.
-Ability to develop plans for key donors.
Cluster Five: Planning/Pod 4: Setting KPIs and Tracking Progress
-Understanding of the lead indicators of fundraising success.
-Ability to convert lead indicators into KPIs for your fundraising.
-Ability to select the appropriate monitoring options for your plan.