Fundraising is the lifeblood of most charities, enabling organisations to deliver their mission and make a real difference in the communities they serve. Successful fundraising goes beyond raising money – it’s about building lasting relationships with supporters, telling compelling stories, and ensuring financial sustainability for the long term.
This page brings together a selection of external resources to help charities develop their fundraising practice. From guidance on grant applications and individual giving to corporate partnerships, events, and legacy fundraising, these tools provide insight and inspiration for teams of all sizes. Whether you are just starting out or looking to refine established approaches, these resources can support your fundraising and income generation development.
The charity fundraising resources are provided as part of our charity resource centre.
Table of contents
- Fundraising compliance & regulation
- Individual giving resources
- Major donor & philanthropy resources
- Grants, trusts & foundations resources
- Corporate partnerships resources
- Community & event fundraising resources
- Digital & online fundraising resources
- Legacy giving resources
- Donor stewardship & relationship building resources
- Fundraising strategy & planning resources
- Fundraising materials & toolkits
- Disclaimer
Fundraising compliance & regulation
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| UK fundraising regulations | Fundraising Regulator |
Individual giving resources
Individual giving resources including regular donations, appeals, and major donors.
Major donor & philanthropy resources
Major donor and philanthropy resources including philanthropic programme development and major donor stewardship.
Grants, trusts & foundations resources
Grants, trusts and foundations resources including identifying appropriate grant funders, proposal writing, and reporting.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Free charity grant finder directory of charitable grant awarding organisations plus links to additional lists of grant providers. | Charity Excellence Framework CIO |
| Free AI grant/bid writer to help collecting and collating information to feed into a draft bid – ready for the polish of the human touch and knowledge. | Charity Excellence Framework CIO |
| Find a grant is a service that allows you to search government grants. | Gov.uk Find a grant |
| Search, explore and download grants data published by UK funders in the 360Giving Data Standard. | 360 Giving GrantNav |
| My Funding Central is a subscription-based funding search tool for Charities and VCSE organisations in England | My Funding Central |
| GrantFinder is the leading funding database in the UK covering local, national and international sources of funding | Idox Grant Finder |
Corporate partnerships resources
Corporate partnerships resources including sponsorship, matched funding, and employer engagement.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Free directory of UK companies that donate to charity including match funding and companies that are interested in corporate/charity partnerships. | Charity Excellence Framework CIO |
Community & event fundraising resources
Community and event fundraising resources including volunteer fundraising events, challenge and participation events, fairs, charity raffles, and sponsored activities.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Free charity help finder including UK companies that make donations or provide raffle prizes and more. | Charity Excellence Framework CIO |
Digital & online fundraising resources
Digital and online fundraising resources including website donations, social media, crowdfunding, text giving, and online shopping partnerships.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Articles and information about digital fundraising. | Charity Digital Trust |
| Digital Fundraising is Now Guide | Media Trust |
Legacy giving resources
Legacy giving resources including wills, bequests, and in-memory fundraising.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Overview of legacy fundraising | NCVO |
| Fundraising regulations relating to legacy giving | Fundraising Regulator |
| Introduction to legacy fundraising | Chartered Institute of Fundraising |
Donor stewardship & relationship building resources
Donor stewardship and relationship building resources including communications, thank yous, and donor retention.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Overcoming donor’s negative perception of charity overheads. | CAF |
Fundraising strategy & planning resources
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
| Charity data finder including donation statistics and fundraising statistics. | Charity Excellence Framework CIO |
Fundraising materials & toolkits
Fundraising materials & toolkits including posters, templates, and guides.
| Resource description | Source |
|---|---|
Disclaimer
The resources listed here are provided for your convenience and as a free public resource, they do not constitute consultancy. As they are created and managed by third parties, Sailfin cannot take responsibility for the accuracy, currency, or completeness of the information provided, nor for how it may apply to your organisation’s circumstances. Including a link does not imply endorsement, and any use of these resources should be undertaken at your own discretion. For advice tailored to your specific situation, please seek professional guidance or contracted charity consultancy support.