Get the basics right: Findings from the Funding Experience Survey

Through the Funding Experience Survey, more than 1,200 charities shared what they feel are open and trusting grant-making practices – and why they matter. In sharing their practical ideas, charities showed huge empathy for the constraints and challenges that funders face. Our findings include:

• 10 actions funders can take to make a meaningful difference
• The challenges charities face in the application process and their ideas on how these might be resolved
• What charities appreciate in a funding relationship and how they feel their funders can add best value
• What it feels like to be funded in an open and trusting way – and why it matters

There is much here to help grantmakers of all kinds in their efforts to reduce the burden of the funding relationship on charities, so that everyone’s efforts can be directed to tackling the many challenges facing the causes and communities that both exist to serve. Even small steps can make a difference. The things that matter most to charities are not wasting their time and giving them as much financial flexibility and stability as possible – some change here is within everyone’s grasp.

We hope that many funders beyond our community will use the findings of this survey to develop their practice. If you are on a journey towards more open and trusting grant-making, please do join us by completing the form in the top right of this page. Share your experiences and become part of the collective effort, sending a powerful message to charities that funders are really listening – and that more positive changes are on the way.

You can access the report by clicking the download button below, or find supporting information using these links:

• Appendices (Methodology; Survey Questions; Practical actions by commitment)
• Data tables
• Image of the 10 funder actions to embed on your website