How to choose the optimal model for your financing profile?

The question of organizing fundraising is one of the most critical strategic decisions for any organization. But before choosing between an in-house specialist, a freelancer or an agency, it is important to understand a fundamental thing: fundraising is not one function, but at least six different channels of attracting resources, each of which requires specific expertise.

Six Funding Channels: Your Unique Profile

A modern organization can raise funds through:

Institutional donors and grants — international funds, bilateral donors (USAID, GIZ), EU funding, state programs, large private funds. This is a world of complex applications, multi-level procedures, compliance and reporting.

Corporate fundraising — business partnerships, sponsorship, CSR programs, cause-related marketing. Personal connections, understanding of business logic, and the ability to build win-win proposals are important here.

Government structures — working with certifications and receiving payment for social services, submitting to participation budgets, receiving administrative resources or in-kind support. This is about long-term relations, a specialized approach, the ability to withstand bureaucracy.

Mass fundraising — crowdfunding, regular donations, campaigns for a wide audience, direct mail, digital fundraising. Requires marketing skills, working with data, understanding of digital tools.

Endowment and investment income — capital formation, fund management, investment strategy. Requires financial and legal expertise, long-term planning.

Social entrepreneurship and commercial activity — sale of services/goods, consulting, educational programs. This is business logic, understanding of the market, entrepreneurial skills.

Critically important: no organization works effectively with all six channels simultaneously. Each has its own unique financing profile — a combination of 2-4 channels that match the mission, capabilities and context.

For example:

• A human rights organization can focus on institutional donors (60%), major donors (30%) and mass fundraising (10%)
• Social enterprise — on commercial activity (50%), corporate fundraising (30%) and endowment (20%)
• Grassroots initiative — on mass fundraising (50%), corporate fundraising (30%) and major donors (20%)

Your financing profile determines exactly what competencies you need, and therefore what work model to choose.

Fundraiser ≠ Grantwriter: Critical Difference

Before moving on, it is important to dispel the most common myth: a fundraiser and a grant writer are different professions with different competencies.

Grantwriter is a specialist in writing applications for grants from institutional donors. His core skills: analysis of guidelines, development of project logic (logframe, theory of change), narrative writing, budgeting, compliance with donor requirements. The grant writer works exclusively with one funding channel — institutional donors.

A fundraiser is a strategist and relationship manager who works with one or more fundraising channels. Its competences depend on the channels: for corporate fundraising it is networking and business communication, for major donors — relationship management and donor service, for mass fundraising — marketing and digital tools.

In practice, this means:

• An organization that works only with grants can hire a grant writer (freelancer or full-time) and this will be the right decision
• An organization with a diversified financing profile needs either a general fundraiser or a team of specialists from different channels
• A grant writer will not be able to qualitatively do corporate fundraising or work with major donors – these are other skills

When I say “fundraiser” in this article, I mean a professional who is responsible for one or more fundraising channels according to the profile of the organization, including strategy, relationship building and operational execution.

Fundraiser on staff: for a focus channel with constant flow

A permanent fundraiser is a solution for organizations that have one or two priority funding channels with a steady flow of work.

When this is your option:

You have identified 1-2 priority funding channels that should provide 60-80% of the budget. For example, the basis is institutional donors + corporate fundraising. These channels require a constant presence, not periodic sprints.

The annual budget of the organization is 8-20 million hryvnias, of which 60-70% comes through channels that require professional fundraising. At this scale, the cost of maintaining a full-time specialist (60,000-120,000 UAH/month including taxes) is an acceptable 4-8% of the budget.

The chosen financing channel requires regular work. For institutional donors: monitoring of opportunities, preparation of 8-15 applications per year, administration of active grants, reporting. For corporate fundraising: pipeline management with 30-50 potential partners, regular meetings, proposal preparation, partnership support. For major donors: personalized communication with 20-40 donors, donor service, organization of engagement activities.

The organization is ready to invest in the employee’s development. A fundraiser who comes to you may have experience in one channel (for example, a good grant writer), but need development in other aspects (corporate fundraising, major donors). You are ready to invest in training, conferences, mentoring.

Which fundraiser profile do you need:

This depends on your funding profile:

If 70%+ of the budget comes from institutional donors: you need a strong grant writer with experience working specifically with your donors (EU funding, USAID, bilateral are different worlds). Additional advantage — project management skills for grant administration.

If a mix of institutional (40%) + corporate (40%): a universal fundraiser with experience in grant writing AND corporate fundraising is needed. Or two part-time specialists.

If the focus is on corporate + major donors: look for a person with a background in the business or corporate sector, strong communication skills, experience working with the VIP segment. Grant writing skills are secondary here.

If the basis is mass fundraising: this is rather a marketer with digital expertise than a classic fundraiser. An understanding of performance marketing, CRM, email campaigns, analytics is required.

Critical conditions for success:

Realistic expectations regarding the period of output. For institutional donors: the first 3-4 months — understanding the organization and the donor landscape, months 4-9 — preparing and submitting applications, months 10-18 — receiving the first grants. For corporate fundraising: 6-12 months to build a pipeline and close the first partnerships. For major donors: 12-18 months to build trust and receive significant donations.

Clear separation of time between channels. If you expect one fundraiser to effectively work with grants + corporate + major donors + mass fundraising, you will get mediocre execution of everything. One specialist can qualitatively cover 1-2 channels, a maximum of 3, provided that one of them is not the main one.

Involvement of management. The director should be integrated into donor relations, especially for corporate fundraising and major donors. The fundraiser opens the door, but the management often closes the deal.

Pitfalls:

Administrative overload. If you have 5-7 active grants, your fundraiser will spend 50-70% of their time on reporting and compliance, not on attracting new funds. The solution is an additional grants administrator or distribution of administration between program managers.

Incorrect match between the specialist’s profile and your needs. You have hired an excellent grant writer with EU experience, but you expect 40% of his time to be corporate fundraising — it will not work effectively.

Freelancer: for spot tasks in a specific channel

Freelancer is the engagement of an external expert from a specific funding channel for specific tasks.

When it works:

You need deep expertise in one channel for a one-time or recurring task. For example:

• Writing 3-5 applications for complex EU grants (a specialized grant writer is required)
• Starting a corporate program — developing a strategy, identifying prospects, creating pitch materials (requires a corporate fundraiser)
• Organization of one large crowdfunding campaign (mass fundraising specialist required)
• Audit major donors program and development of donor journey (high-value fundraising specialist required)

Organization at the initial stage of development of a specific channel. The annual budget is up to 8 million, you are just starting to systematically work with a new financing channel. A freelancer can:

• Develop a strategy for this channel
• Start the first processes
• Teach the team basic skills
• Create templates and tools

Seasonality in a specific channel. If the work with institutional donors is concentrated around 3-4 deadlines per year, a freelance grant writer for this period is more effective than a full-time specialist who is idle between deadlines.

Specific expertise is required, which is not available in the region. For example, you want to start an endowment – in Ukraine, there are units of people with real experience. Engaging an international consultant on a project basis is more logical than searching for a full-time specialist.

How to work effectively with a freelancer for each channel:

Grant writing: Clearly identify the donor and the type of grant. “Application for EU grant is required” – not enough. “Application for EU Horizon Europe is required under call HORIZON-CL2-2025-DEMOCRACY-01-01, budget €2M, consortium of 8 partners” – enough.

Realistic deadlines: 60-100 hours for the EU application, 40-80 hours for the USAID, 20-40 hours for the local fund. Plus time for coordination.

Payment: UAH 30,000-100,000 for one application for a large international grant, depending on the complexity. The success fee model rarely works for grants.

Corporate fundraising: Determine the scope: strategy (50-80 hours), development of partnership packages (30-50 hours), direct outreach to companies (it is better not to give it to a freelancer – this should be done by the management).

Salary: UAH 1,000-2,000/hour for senior-level or retainer UAH 50,000-100,000/month for active work.

Success fee can work, but be careful: 10-15% of what is attracted in the first year, but only if the freelancer has direct access to decision-makers in companies.

Major donors: Projects: donor research (creation of HNWI database), donor journey development, preparation for major gift solicitation, team training.

Salary: UAH 1,500-3,000/hour for top specialists. Success fee is problematic — the result depends very much on the involvement of management.

Mass fundraising: Specific projects: launching a crowdfunding campaign, building regular program donors, email fundraising strategy.

Payment: from UAH 50,000 for campaign development and launch to a retainer of UAH 40,000-80,000/month for ongoing management. Success fee (5-10% of the attracted) works better for mass fundraising than for other channels.

Model limitations:

The freelancer doesn’t see your full funding profile. It focuses on its channel, but may miss synergies between channels (for example, a corporate partner can become a major donor, a grant project can generate a corporate partnership).

The transfer of knowledge is limited. A freelancer will do the task, but if knowledge transfer is not prescribed, the team may not learn how to do it on their own.

Professional agency: a comprehensive solution for multiple channels

A fundraising agency is a team of specialists who can cover several funding channels at the same time.

When it is your decision:

Your funding profile includes 3-4 active channels and you need expertise in each. For example:

• Institutional donors (40% of the budget) – a grant writer is needed
• Corporate fundraising (30%) — a corporate fundraiser is needed
• Major donors (20%) – a specialist in the HNW segment is needed
• Mass fundraising (10%) — a digital fundraiser is required

Instead of hiring 4 full-time specialists (budget 250,000-400,000 UAH/month), the agency can cover all channels for 100,000-250,000 UAH/month.

Organization at the stage of rapid scaling and diversification. You received a large multi-year grant and have 24-36 months to create a diversified funding system. The agency can:

• Quickly launch work in 3-4 channels at the same time
• Create systems and processes for each channel
• Train your team
• Transfer in-house after contract completion

Integration between channels and an overall strategy is required. A good agency does not just provide channel specialists, but develops an integrated fundraising strategy where channels complement each other.

No in-house expertise to manage a fundraising team. If you hire 3-4 full-time fundraisers, someone must manage them, coordinate them, understand the specifics of each channel. If management does not have this expertise, an agency with a fundraising director may be a better solution.

What to expect from an agency with multiple channels:

Specialized teams. Ask who specifically will work with each of your channels. The agency must have:

• Grant writer(s) with experience of your donors
• Corporate fundraiser with contacts in a business environment
• Major donors specialist with experience working with HNWIs
• Digital fundraiser for mass fundraising
• Fundraising director/strategist who coordinates everything

Differentiated pricing model. Different channels have different costs and different payment logic:

• Grant writing: usually project payment or fixed retainer, rarely success fee
• Corporate: retainer + success fee (10-15% of the involved)
• Major donors: retainer + possible performance bonus
• Mass fundraising: retainer + success fee (5-10%)

Expect a total monthly retainer of UAH 120,000-300,000+ depending on the number of channels and the intensity of work.

Contract for at least 12-18 months with a clear distribution by channels. The first 6 months — setting up all channels, months 7-12 — active work and first results, months 13-18 — optimization and preparation for in-house transmission (if this is part of the plan).

Agency selection criteria:

Relevant experience in your specific channels. Not the general “we do fundraising”, but specific cases:

• “We launched a corporate program for organization X, attracted 15 companies in 18 months, €500K”
• “Wrote 12 EU applications for sector Y, success rate 42% (with an average of 15%)”
• “We built a major donors program for Z, attracted 25 donors, $300K in the first year”

Transparency about who will work with you. Get CVs and the opportunity to chat with specific people who will be on your team. It is especially important for grantwriting (each donor is specific) and corporate fundraising (real connections are needed).

Approach to knowledge transfer. Ask how the agency plans to transfer knowledge. Will there be:

• Regular training for your team?
• Documentation of all processes?
• Create templates and playbooks?
• Gradual transfer of functions to your full-time employees?

Risks:

“Cookie-cutter” approach. The agency can apply the same templates to all clients, regardless of the uniqueness of your profile. Insist on customization.

Conflict of interest between channels. For example, a corporate partner may be a potential source for an endowment, but if teams within the agency are not communicating, an opportunity may be missed.

High cost without guarantee of result. An annual contract of UAH 2-4 million with your budget of 15-20 million is a serious investment. Make sure there are clear KPIs for each channel and the ability to exit early if there are no results.

Find out how much this service will cost you: CALCULATE

Fundraising department: for mature organizations with a multi-channel profile

The fundraising department is an internal team of 3-7+ specialists that covers several funding channels and has a full cycle from strategy to execution.

When exactly the department is needed:

Annual budget 30+ million hryvnias, of which 60-80% through professional fundraising (not state funding or commercial activity). At this scale, the budget for the fundraising department is 3-5 million UAH/year (250,000-420,000 UAH/month), which is an acceptable 10-15% of the funds raised.

Your financing profile includes at least 3 active channels, each of which generates 5+ million UAH/year:

• Institutional donors: 8-12 active grants at the same time, 15-25 applications per year
• Corporate fundraising: pipeline of 50-100 companies, 15-20 active partnerships
• Major donors: a base of 40-80 donors who give 50K+ UAH/year
• Mass fundraising: 5000-10000+ active donors, regular campaigns

The organization has a long-term strategy (5-10 years) with a clear vision of how the funding profile should develop. The department is not being built for current needs, but for future needs.

Management understands fundraising and is willing to invest in building internal capacity. The board/council has people with a fundraising background or willingness to hire a Chief Development Officer.

The structure of the department for the financing profile:

The classic structure for a balanced profile (institutional + corporate + major donors):

• Head of Development / Fundraising Director (1) — strategy, coordination, high-level donor relations
• Institutional Giving Manager (1-2) — grants from foundations, bilateral donors, EU
• Corporate Partnerships Manager (1) – corporate fundraising
• Individual Giving Manager (1) — major donors + mass fundraising coordination
• Grants Administrator (1) — administration of active grants, reporting, compliance
• Development Coordinator (1) – donor CRM, database, analytics, team support

Budget: UAH 300,000-450,000/month (including taxes).

Structure for grant-heavy profile (70%+ from institutional donors):

• Fundraising Director (1)
• Senior Grant Writer – EU/Bilateral (1)
• Grant Writer — Foundations (1-2)
• Grant Administrator (2) — for 10+ active grants
• Corporate/Individual Giving Manager (1) — development of other channels for diversification

Budget: UAH 280,000-400,000/month

Structure for individual giving focused profile:

• Head of Development (1)
• Major Gifts Officer (1-2) — for major donors
• Digital Fundraising Manager (1) — mass fundraising, online campaigns
• Donor Relations Manager (1) — donor service, stewardship, retention
• Corporate Partnerships Manager (1) – corporate fundraising as an add-on
• Fundraising Operations Manager (1) — CRM, data, analytics, gift processing

Budget: UAH 320,000-480,000/month

Key principles of building the department:

Specialization in channels. Don’t do universal fundraisers that do “everything”. Each person has a primary channel where he is an expert. The exception is small organizations at the beginning of building a department (2-3 people), where flexibility is needed.

Balance between senior and junior. You cannot build a department only with juniors (even if it is cheaper) — there will be no expertise. But it is ineffective only with seniors – it is too expensive for routine tasks. Optimal: 40% senior, 40% mid-level, 20% junior/support.

Investment in Head of Development. This is the most critical position. A person must understand all channels (at least at a basic level), be able to build a strategy, manage a team, work with the CEO and the Board. Cost: 80,000-150,000 UAH gross. This is 30-40% of the department’s budget per person, but without a strong leader, the department will not work.

Systems and processes are more important than people. The department should work as a system, not depend on one star-fundraiser. This means:

• Donor CRM (Salesforce, Raiser’s Edge or local alternative)
• Documented processes for each channel
• Regular pipeline meetings
• Donor stewardship system
• Shared knowledge base

Stages of building the department:

Stage 1 (6-12 months): Foundation We start with 2-3 people:

• Fundraising Director (experienced, comes from strategy)
• 1-2 specialists in your top channels (for example, Grant Writer + Corporate Fundraiser)

Focus: creation of strategy, basic processes, first results in priority channels. Budget: UAH 150,000-200,000/month.

Stage 2 (months 12-24): Scale Add:

• Another 1-2 channel specialists (depending on the results of the first year)
• Grant Administrator (if there are 5+ active grants)
• Development Coordinator for operations

Focus: scaling successful channels, launching new ones, building systems. Budget: UAH 250,000-350,000/month.

Stage 3 (year 2-3): Optimize The department is working, the results are there. Now:

• Fine-tuning structures (perhaps we change people who did not show results)
• We add a specialization (for example, a separate Major Gifts Officer)
• We invest in technology and training
• We can hire freelancers for peak periods

The budget is stable at 300,000-450,000 UAH/month.

Metrics of success for the department:

By channels (examples for an organization with a budget of 40 million):

• Institutional donors: success rate of applications 30-40%, average grant size 3-5 million UAH, pipeline at least 3x of the target attraction
• Corporate: 12-20 new partnerships/year, retention rate 60-70%, average gift size increases by 15-20% every year
• Major donors: acquisition of 15-25 new donors/year, retention rate 70-80%, moves management system works
• Mass: acquisition cost under control, retention rate 40-50%, lifetime value is increasing

ROI: the department should attract at least 5-7 times more than it costs. With a department budget of UAH 4 million/year, it should attract at least UAH 20-25 million/year. Realistic target: 8-10x ROI.

When the department does not work:

No CEO buy-in and Board involvement. Fundraising cannot be just a function of the department. The CEO should spend 30-40% of his time on donor relations, Board members should be ambassadors.

The organization is not ready for professionalization. The fundraising department needs investments in systems (CRM 20,000-50,000 UAH/year), donor events (100,000-300,000 UAH/year), travel for donor meetings, marketing materials. If an organization wants a department but isn’t ready to invest in the infrastructure, it won’t work.

Unrealistic expectations for speed. Building a department is 2-3 years. The first year can even be with a negative ROI (department expenses are greater than additional funds), because you invest in people, systems, pipeline. Profitability comes in years 2-3.

Culture of the organization is not compatible with fundraising. If the organization is closed, not ready for transparency, does not want to share impact stories, conflicts with donors, the department will not save. Fundraising requires openness and a donor-centric approach.

Hybrid models: the best of several worlds

In practice, many successful organizations use a combination of approaches, especially considering the different needs of different channels:

Model “Core team + Specialists”: In the staff:

• Fundraising Manager (coordinates everything)
• Grant Administrator (administers active grants)

Freelancers for specific channels:

• Grant Writer on retainer to write 8-10 applications/year for institutional donors
• Corporate Fundraising Consultant — 2-3 days/month to work with the corporate pipeline
• Major Donors Coach — quarterly sessions to prepare CEOs for solicitations

This model works for organizations with a budget of 15-25 million UAH. Cost: 120,000-180,000 UAH/month (employee) + 60,000-100,000 UAH/month (freelancers) = 180,000-280,000 UAH/month. More flexible and cheaper than a full department.

Model “Launch with the agency, Build internal team”: Years 1-2: The agency launches 3-4 channels, creates systems, trains the team. In parallel, you will gradually hire full-time employees:

• Year 1: Fundraising Coordinator (he studies at the agency)
• Year 1.5: Grant Administrator
• Year 2: Your first Channel Manager (the channel that works best)

Year 2-3: Gradual transfer of channels from the agency to your team. The agency remains as a consultant or continues to lead the most complex channel (for example, EU grants).

This model is optimal for organizations that received a large multi-year grant (USAID, EU) and have 2-3 years to build a sustainable funding model.

Model “In-house for base, Agency for growth”: In the staff, there is a department that leads the “core” channels are stable (for example, institutional donors + corporate, which provide 70% of the budget and where there is predict ability).

Agency — for the development of new channels or scaling. For example:

• The staff department works with grants and corporate
• The agency is launching a major donors program (new for you) for 12 months
• The agency conducts massive digital fundraising (requires specific expertise, which is not available in-house)

After the new channel has started working, you can either take it in-house or leave it at the agency, if it is more efficient.

Model “Specialized freelancers for each channel”: Works for organizations with a budget of 8-15 million UAH, which are not ready for a full-time department, but have 3-4 active channels:

• Grant Writer on retainer (30,000-50,000 UAH/month) — manages institutional donors
• Corporate Fundraiser on retainer (40,000-60,000 UAH/month) — led by corporate
• Major Donors Consultant (20,000-30,000 UAH/month) — coaches CEO, develops strategy
• Digital Fundraising Agency (30,000-50,000 UAH/month) — conducts mass fundraising

Coordination — either CEO or part-time Fundraising Coordinator in the staff.

Total cost: UAH 120,000-190,000/month. Smaller than a full-time department, more flexibility, but requires strong coordination.

Decision Matrix: From Funding Profile to Model

Step 1: Determine your financing profile

Look at the current revenue structure and the desired one in 3 years:

Example of Organization A (human rights):

• Current: Institutional donors 80%, Corporate 15%, Major donors 5%
• Desirable after 3 years: Institutional 60%, Corporate 20%, Major donors 15%, Mass 5%

Example of Organization B (social services):

• Current: Grants 70%, State funding 30%
• Desirable: Grants 40%, State 30%, Corporate 15%, Major donors 10%, Mass 5%

Example of Organization C (think tank):

• Current: Grants 60%, Corporate 25%, Commercial services 15%
• Preferred: Grants 30%, Corporate 30%, Major donors 20%, Endowment income 10%, Commercial 10%

Step 2: Estimate the required expertise for each channel

For each channel in your profile:

• What depth of expertise is required? (Basic / Intermediate / Expert)
• What is the scope of work? (One hour per month)
• How critical is continuity? (Episodic / Regular / Permanent presence)

Example for Organization A:

• Institutional donors (60%): Expert level (EU + bilateral), 80-100 hours/month, permanent presence
• Corporate (20%): Intermediate, 40-50 hours/month, regular
• Major donors (15%): Expert, 30-40 hours/month, permanent presence
• Mass (5%): Basic-Intermediate, 20 hours/month, episodic

Step 3: Choose a model for each channel

Solution for Organization A:

• Institutional donors: full-time Senior Grant Writer (100 hours/month, expert)
• Corporate: Freelancer on retainer (50 hours/month, intermediate)
• Major donors: Part-time Individual Giving Manager (40 hours/month, expert) or CEO with consultant support
• Mass: Digital agency on a project basis for launch (first year), then support 5-10 hours/month

Total cost: ~180,000 UAH/month

Alternative: Agency that covers all 4 channels for 200,000-250,000 UAH/month. More expensive, but less burden on coordination.

Step 4: Consider the stage of development

Startup stage (budget <5 million, 0-2 years):

• Minimum set: CEO + freelancers for point tasks
• Focus on 1-2 channels maximum
• Budget for fundraising: UAH 50,000-100,000/month

Growth stage (budget 5-20 million, years 2-5):

• First full-time: 1-2 fundraisers for priority channels
• Freelancers/agency for additional channels
• Budget: UAH 150,000-300,000/month

Scale stage (budget 20-50 million, years 5-10):

• A department of 3-5 people or a full spectrum agency
• Diversification into 3-4 channels
• Budget: UAH 300,000-500,000/month

Mature stage (budget 50+ million, 10+ years):

• Full-fledged department of 5-10 people
• Work in 4-5 channels
• Budget: 500,000-1,000,000+ UAH/month

Step 5: Financial modeling

For each option, calculate:

Direct costs:

• Salaries (gross + taxes 40%)
• Fees to freelancers/agencies
• Success fees (if applicable)

Indirect costs:

• CRM and tools (10,000-50,000 UAH/month)
• Donor events and stewardship (20,000-100,000 UAH/month)
• Travel for donor meetings (10,000-50,000 UAH/month)
• Marketing materials (5,000-30,000 UAH/month)
• Training and development (5,000-20,000 UAH/month)

Expected engagement by channel: Realistically estimate how much each channel can bring in if it works professionally. Don’t confuse market potential with what is realistically achievable for your organization.

Calculation of ROI:

• Year 1: typically ROI <3x (launch investment)
• Year 2: 4-6x ROI (channels working but not optimized)
• Year 3+: ROI 7-10x (mature system)

If the model does not reach ROI >5x by the end of year 2, revise the strategy.

Red flags: when the model won’t work

For a full-time fundraiser:

• You expect one person to cover 4-5 different channels with quality
• You are looking for a junior specialist, but there is no one in the team to train him
• Management is not ready to spend >20% of their time on donor relations
• There is no budget for infrastructure (CRM, events, travel)

For a freelancer:

• You need a permanent presence (>100 h/month), but you don’t want to hire
• You expect a freelancer to “take care of everything” without a clear scope
• The payment is significantly below the market (“we have an NGO, we cannot pay much”)
• There is no internal coordination – the freelancer works in a vacuum

For the agency:

• The budget of the organization is <15 million, but the cost of the agency is UAH 150,000+/month (>12% of the fundraising budget is unrealistic)
• The management wants to “transfer everything to the agency” and not get involved
• There are no clear KPIs and accountability framework
• Agency does not have relevant experience in your sector/channels

For the department:

• Budget <25 million, but you want a department of 5 people
• Organization at the startup stage (first 2-3 years)
• The CEO does not understand fundraising and does not want to learn
• No Board support and their involvement

Practical steps: where to start

Step 1: Fundraising audit (month 1)

Analyze the current state:

• Which funding channels do you currently use? What is the share of each?
• How much time does the team spend on fundraising? Who exactly does what?
• Which channels have the greatest potential for your organization?
• What expertise is already available internally?

You can do it yourself or hire an external consultant (cost 50,000-100,000 UAH for a full audit).

Step 2: Determine your target funding profile (month 2)

Based on audit + strategic priorities:

• Which 2-3 channels will be prioritized for the next 3 years?
• How much can you realistically attract through each channel?
• What expertise is needed to achieve these numbers?

Step 3: Pilot model (months 3-9)

Instead of immediately hiring staff or signing an annual contract with an agency:

• Select one priority channel
• Pilot one model for 6 months (freelancer on retainer or part-time regular)
• Measure the results: how much was involved, how much time was spent, what was learned

Example: If you decide that the priority is institutional donors, hire a grant writer on retainer to write 4-5 applications in 6 months. Budget: ~150,000 UAH. If 2 out of 5 applications are successful in the amount of >1 million UAH, the model works and can be scaled.

Step 4: Scale or pivot (months 10-12)

Based on pilot:

• What worked? What is not?
• Do you need to change the model?
• Are you ready to scale (add more channels or people)?

Step 5: Build system (year 2+)

If the pilot is successful:

• Document processes
• Invest in infrastructure (CRM, tools)
• Add the following channels gradually
• Build to target model (department/freelance team/agency partnership)

Conclusion

There is no universal answer to the question “state, freelancer, agency or department?”. The right decision depends on your unique financing profile—the combination of channels you use or plan to develop.

Key principles:

• Start with a funding profile, not an organizational model. First, understand which channels are priority for you, then determine what expertise is needed.
• Fundraiser ≠ grant writer ≠ corporate fundraiser ≠ major gifts officer. These are different professions. One specialist can qualitatively cover a maximum of 2 channels.
• Scale gradually. Don’t try to build a full department or run all 6 channels at once. Choose 1-2 priorities, pilot, learn, then add.
• Realistic expectations about timing. The first significant results in any channel come after 12-18 months. Budget accordingly.
• Invest in systems, not just people. CRM, processes, knowledge base are what will remain, even if people leave.

And remember: the work model must evolve with your organization. What worked on a budget of UAH 5 million will not work on a budget of UAH 25 million. Regularly (every year) review your fundraising capacity and adapt the model to new realities.