Many people working in the philanthropic sector understand that fundraising from trusts, foundations and grants sources is getting harder. Governments have slashed aid funding while the very wealthy are giving less to charity. The ever-diminishing pots of money are becoming more competitive, making it increasingly important for bids to stand out against hundreds, if not thousands, of other applicants.

While some factors are outside the control of fundraisers, many remain entirely within the influence of charities and how they choose to approach and think about fundraising. On Tuesday, Conduit member Atul Kumar hosted a workshop on how fundraisers can think differently about grant writing. With over 24 years of experience in fundraising and more than £23 million raised for charities over the course of his career, Kumar offered insights that went well beyond the theoretical.

In one example, he demonstrated how changing a project name from a 15-word description about climate to a two-word name about health helped a charity raise millions in funding.

The following five tips are a condensed version of the 90-minute online Masterclass being held on Thursday, 23 October 2025, on Zoom.

1. Think about who does what in your organisation

Kumar suggested that one major problem organisations face in raising money is that it is often unclear who is responsible for fundraising. While trustees and CEOs can lead on fundraising, project managers and communications teams often end up doing much of the work. A clear delineation of responsibility helps get applications sent faster.

“Project development is not fundraising,” Kumar states emphatically. “The first step is to separate project development from fundraising. That frees up a lot of time for fundraisers to send bids.”

He added that relationships with funders often begin only once the application is sent. A common pitfall many charities fall into is waiting to build a relationship with a funder before submitting a bid.

“If you wait to build a relationship, you might never send the bid. Just go ahead and send it anyway—and then ask the grant manager out for a cup of coffee.”

2. Prospect Research Overview

One of the best ways to find funding is to look up who is funding similar projects from other organisations. Annual reviews from similar charities are a great starting place to look up potential funders, as is the Charity Review website, which has an advanced search function.

Kumar warns that while e-newsletters and alerts are great providers of information for grant offers, other organisations are also receiving the same newsletters and which means these grants will be very competitive. “A much more effective way to find money is to look at annual reviews where charities thank their donors. Then look for the low-profile donors,” he suggests.

The National Lottery is a well-known and valuable funding source, but Kumar recommends focusing also on less obvious ones, such as the Health Lottery and local funders.

3. Writing Skills

Kumar’s advice for grant applications begins with the first rule of good writing: write for your audience. Grant managers at small family trusts might not be experts in particular subject areas or familiar with charity-sector jargon. A clear, engaging narrative is the best approach for small, non-specialist funders.

Corporate donors, however, require a different approach.

“Since 2008, corporate philanthropy is a misnomer. They all want something back from their funding, even if it’s just social media exposure,” he warns. Be explicit about what your organisation can offer in return, and remember that all funders appreciate brevity. For a reader sifting through hundreds of applications, a concise, well-written two-page letter shows respect for their time.

“Spell out every acronym the first time, and be sure to remember the narrative arc of beginning, middle, and end,” he suggests.

One of Kumar’s most insightful points was to think separately about a project’s primary and secondary benefits. He gave the example of a charity where doctors sent patients to volunteer with a conservation group because it improved their mental health. The original project title, Wednesday Afternoon Volunteer Group for Conservation, failed to attract funding. The bid writers pivoted from the project’s primary focus (conservation) to its secondary one (health) and rebranded it as Clean Gym. Suddenly, the project began winning funding from both health and conservation groups.

Finally, Kumar cautioned against internal disagreements over wording that delay or derail applications. “Remember, ‘submitted’ is better than never sent. It doesn’t have to be perfect. Aim for neutral in the letter, and greatness in the project name.”

4. Strategic Approaches

As counterintuitive as it may sound, Kumar advises bid writers to pursue small funders first, big funders second. “Some funders have admitted to me that they are sheep and will only fund a project if others have already stepped in,” he says. “This is especially true for family trusts. They want to be able to say at the dinner table that they’re funding a £10k project for only £6k.”

Having more matched funding than competitors in a funding round is highly attractive because it de-risks the project. “Always remember: your approach should not be ‘larger funders then smaller,’ but ‘smaller then larger,’” he says.

If all else fails, Kumar suggests asking trustees to pledge to cover the remainder of a project if other funding sources fall through. This move reassures funders and reduces perceived risk. “The lower the percentage of the project you are asking a funder to cover, the more likely you are to get the funding.”

5. Fundraising programme management

Finally, Kumar recommends rewriting job descriptions so that each team member has dedicated time each week to contribute to fundraising. “This way your project manager goes from saying, ‘I’m too busy to give you a quote for a Land Rover in South America,’ to, ‘It’s my job to give you what you need to write a budget for your bid.’”

He shared the example of an organisation where everyone adjusted their job descriptions to include time for fundraising. This resulted in the communications team finally had the information they needed to send bids on time.

“The solution isn’t always that you need more fundraisers,” Kumar concludes, “but rather that you need to integrate fundraising into project management.”

In the question-and-answer session following the workshop, one participant asked what the “right ratio” should be between bids written and bids won. Kumar’s response reframed the issue entirely: that, he said, is the wrong question to ask. Instead of focusing on win ratios, fundraisers should consider how much energy they invest in writing each bid, and what return they achieve from that energy. By analysing effort versus outcome, rather than success rates alone, bid writers can more effectively prioritise the funding sources most likely to deliver meaningful results. This perspective encourages smarter, more strategic fundraising, where every bid contributes to learning and long-term success.

For those seeking to go deeper into these ideas, Kumar will be hosting an extended Masterclass on Thursday, 23 October 2025, where he explores these principles in more detail and demonstrates practical techniques for improving bid-writing performance. The session will offer a rare opportunity to refine your fundraising strategy, learn how to maximise energy and efficiency in the bidding process, and gain further insights from Kumar’s 24 years of hands-on experience in winning grants for a wide range of charities.