The 2025 Code of Fundraising Practice: What It Means for Your Charity
Discover what the 2025 Code of Fundraising Practice means for your charity, with clear guidance, practical actions, and key changes fundraisers need to know.
Achieving balance: foundations of fundraising resilience
Regardless of your fundraising specialty, here are some tips from Money Tree Fundraising to help build, or rebuild, your fundraising resilience.
Why Fundraising Consultants Don't Work on Commission
We do not work on a commission basis.
Nor do any fundraisers who follow the Fundraising Code of Practice as laid out by the Fundraising Regulator.
Going Freelance as a Fundraiser: 10 Lessons I Wish I'd Known
Freelance fundraising can be genuinely rewarding — but it comes with its own particular challenges. Beth Upton shares ten honest lessons from experience, covering everything from choosing clients wisely to financial planning to the things that nobody tells you before you start.
Failure to ask: a cautionary tale
One of the most common reasons charities miss major gifts is simply that they never make the ask. Beth Upton tells the story of an organisation that had everything it needed to secure a significant gift — and never asked. The consequences were entirely avoidable.
What Makes a Great Major Donor Fundraiser? The Six Attributes That Matter Most
Major donor fundraising requires a very specific combination of skills, personality traits, and working habits. Beth Upton identifies the six attributes that distinguish excellent major donor fundraisers — and why understanding them matters whether you are recruiting this role or developing someone already in it.
Trust Fundraising Under Pressure
Emergency trust fundraising is rarely ideal — but sometimes unavoidable. Beth Upton explains how to act quickly and effectively when urgency strikes, and more importantly, how to build a sustainable trust pipeline that prevents the crisis from recurring.
Hiring the Right Fundraiser: How to Avoid the Most Common Mistake
The single biggest mistake I see from those recruiting for high value roles is the mistake of choosing the best person of those who came for interview rather than holding out for the person with the right skills, attributes and experience.
6 Essentials for a Successful Major Donor Programme
We are often asked what needs to be in place for successful major donor fundraising, to which the answer varies depending on the charity. However, there are 6 generally accepted fundamental factors (I don’t claim to have invented these!), which should act as the core of your major donor programme
Is a Development Board a Help or a Hindrance for Major Gift Fundraising?
A Development Board can be a powerful asset for major donor fundraising — but only when the conditions are right. Beth Upton explains the three factors that determine whether a Board will help or hinder your fundraising, and when it is better to say no.