Unsuccessful Bids . . . Whose ‘Fault’ Is It?

Over the years, I’ve sometimes been told that a negative grant outcome wasn’t my fault because I wasn’t involved in that particular bid, or because it related to a project that took place before I’d joined the organisation. So, if I had written that bid, would an unsuccessful outcome have been considered to be my ‘fault’? Although it was probably just a poor word choice (it was meant kindly), I do think it reflects a common assumption that unsuccessful bids are the fault of fundraisers.

It’s wrong. We have to see fundraising in the context of the bigger picture, and this is why:

-There are countless reasons why bids fail. From my experience, it’s rarely the ‘fault’ of the fundraiser. Much more often there are more complex issues at play - funders’ priorities, geographical priorities, and all sorts of issues, e.g. the reserves level (a charity seeming too secure/too financially unstable), issues with a charity’s policies, how a charity manages safeguarding, late reporting in the past, etc etc.
-Fundraising is so ridiculously competitive. Success rates with funders are often around 5% or even less. And it’s now harder than ever, with so many funders closing or pausing their funding streams. Success with new funders can also be much lower than with pre-established relationships.
-Fundraising is a collective effort. Trust fundraisers gather data from finance managers, service managers, CEOs, volunteers, clients, and many others. The quality of our bids relies heavily on the information provided by others. I’ve worked on many bids that have involved many people. And almost all my bids are proofread by someone else before submission (in my view, this is always good practice).
-A really good bid reflects a well functioning organisation. The most successful that I’ve been with bids (a 90%+ success rate over two years, and a tripling of income [two paid fundraisers]) was for a charity that absolutely excelled in its strategic development. Services grew in response to demand, clients were involved at all levels of the organisation, partnerships were plentiful, and so on. The impact was huge and demonstrable. But, the charity also had certain things working in its favour (it had strong pre-existing relationships with funders, there were a series of global/political issues that led to an upsurge in donations, and that particular cause did very well during Covid).

Fundraising is a team effort.

So, what can we do?
-Treat fundraising as the collective effort that it is. Your trust fundraisers and other fundraisers are one incredible cog in the machine. Don’t let them hold all the responsibility. And, parallel to that, see wins as a collective win.
-Celebrate successes and learn from unsuccessful bids (where possible) and then move on. And learn fully from them - what can the whole organisation learn? Can improvements be made to budgets, strategy, policies, etc?

-Make sure that fundraising targets are realistic and achievable, and that they are appropriate given the level of staffing/resources.
-Celebrate the process, not just the outcome. Fundraisers bring so much more than just a result. A good fundraiser will spot weaknesses and gaps, and help you develop. They’ll also demonstrate your strengths and add to them. They’ll build and strengthen relationships with funders. They’ll put things in place for the future, and they’ll put you on a path to better sustainability - but there will be rejections on the way.

This is what I tell new clients:
-There will be rejections - it’s the nature of the work.
-You may not see any results for 6 months or more, but the work will pay for itself. You have to be patient.
-It’s not a quick fix. You can’t bring me in for a capital build that’s starting in two months or to solve an immediate fundraising crisis. Trust fundraising doesn’t work that way.
-There are things you/we can do to increase your chances (but that is for another post).

We mustn’t attribute all the success or failure of bids to fundraisers. It’s not right, and it creates unnecessary stress. Fundraising can look easy when you don’t do it, but it really really isn’t.

Meanwhile, fundraisers need to help organisations manage expectations. There’s nothing magical about trust fundraising - I don’t know what funders are thinking, and nothing is guaranteed. But, if I’m writing for an excellent organisation with good strategy/policies/finances/impact reporting and so on, the bids will be much more effortless, and the success far more likely.

And . . . I’m not saying that fundraisers never make a mistake - of course they can, anyone can. But fundraising is never just about the effort of a single person. There are always many factors that will determine its success. And I’m also not saying that my clients blame me, because they absolutely don’t. They have been great about the nos and the yeses.

But, over the years, I have often felt like a no is somehow my fault, and it’s taken me a long time to learn that it isn’t. The (sometimes overwhelming) feeling of responsibility is still something that I struggle with, because we can feel as if our colleagues’ salaries - or indeed the whole future of an organisation - is somehow on our shoulders.

Fundraising success relates to many factors, and this is also why I won’t consider ‘no win no fee’ work. It doesn’t feel right to be compensated only for monetary success (when so much is outside the fundraiser’s control) rather than skills, expertise and damn hard work. Plus, this model attributes success/failure to the fundraiser only and excludes all the other people who have contributed to its success. Like I said, it’s a team effort.