How we work

This is our method for every project – flexible enough to work for a single grant application or a year-long strategic programme. We scale our approach to fit your needs and timeframe. Our network of associates means that we can put multi-disciplinary teams together or allocate one senior consultant to the job.

Step 1: Research
Getting under the skin of your organisation and reviewing your peers. We analyse what you’re doing now and what can be learned from others working in your field.

Step 2: Insights
Gathering internal expertise and external perspectives. We use quantitative and qualitative research methods – from interviews with staff to focus groups and stakeholder surveys – to capture your expertise, understand your audiences and identify opportunities.

Step 3: Develop
From research, we collaborate with you to create what you need: strategies, fundraising applications, brand guidelines, action plans, cases for support. Practical outputs grounded in evidence. And if you need the analysis captured first, then our reports contain practical, actionable recommendations tailored to your available resources.

Step 4: Deliver
We can then help embed the outputs we create together into wider teams with workshops, training and mentoring, or we can build your capacity by implementing the agreed programme of activity.
We always share our processes, tools, and templates so you have the capacity to continue the work long after we’ve gone.

We don’t charge for exploratory conversations or proposals. And if we’re not right for your project, we’ll happily connect you with someone who is – at no cost to you.

Ready to chat? Get in touch – we’d love to hear about your work.

Marketing

Getting your message heard above the noise

Smart marketing helps you connect with more donors, reach more beneficiaries, and keep people engaged with your cause. We use proven marketing principles adapted specifically for the charity sector – including that often-forgotten eighth P: Philosophy.

We help you understand your marketplace, identify what motivates your audiences, and develop positioning that makes you stand out. From audience research and campaign planning to creating content that resonates, we ensure your marketing is strategic, not scattergun.

Fundraising

From single applications to long-term strategy

Whether you need a compelling trust application written or a complete fundraising strategy developed and implemented, we work at the scale that suits you.

We write grant applications and cases for support that connect with funders. We analyse your fundraising potential across trusts, major donors, individual giving, and corporate partnerships. And we help you build donor stewardship programmes that turn one-off gifts into sustainable, growing income.

From tactical support to strategic transformation – we meet you where you are.

Branding

Your mission, unmistakably yours

A strong brand helps people instantly recognise and trust your organisation. We develop brand strategies and verbal identities that capture what makes your organisation distinctive and why people should support you.

We handle the strategic thinking and messaging, then collaborate with talented creative freelancers to develop and execute the visual brand that brings it all to life.

“It is so nice finally being able to talk about what we do, rather than starting with what we don’t do. A year in and we are seeing the language we developed together being reflected back to us in the words of decision-makers.” Sarah Davidson, CEO, Carnegie UK

Research

Evidence that drives decisions

Good decisions need good data. We undertake research projects that give you the insights to move forward with confidence – whether you’re testing messaging, understanding donor motivations, reviewing your brand positioning, or exploring a new audience segment.

We blend quantitative and qualitative methods – from stakeholder surveys to focus groups – to probe what people really think about your work and how they engage with you. Then we deliver practical, easy-to-digest reports broken down into clear next steps you can act on immediately.