Fundraising for Social Justice

Course summary

In this course you will learn how to plan and implement fundraising techniques for progressive social change. The course will look at the range of techniques and platforms used for fundraising. You will produce an evidence-based fundraising plan for a social justice issue, plus supporting digital fundraising content for social media platforms. You will consider the role of fundraising and how this integrates with campaign communications. This is a practical, hands-on module taught through a series of workshops with masterclasses by leading international fundraisers.

Learning outcomes

By the end of the course, students will be able to:

• Analyse the evolving role of fundraising for social justice and reflect on the impact of these changes for social change campaigns and fundraising.
• Identify, research, evaluate and prioritise the external and internal factors that influence fundraising success.
• Identify and evaluate the fundraising techniques and strategies most likely to meet specific fundraising and campaign aims.
• Devise and present a fundraising plan based on audience analysis, an understanding of fundraising techniques, and other evidence-based research, and including different types of digital content to support the plan.
• Develop a budget and key impact measures to analyse fundraising campaign success.

Who is this course for?

This course is for anyone who would like to develop their skills and knowledge in fundraising for social justice. This includes professionals who are already working in this or a relevant field, people who volunteer for organisations and would like to sharpen their skills, as well as recent BA graduates who are thinking of conducting further study in Media, Campaigning and Social Change.

Course structure

The course will include sessions on the following topics:

• Audiences for fundraising – understanding motivation to give
• Storytelling – making connections and showing impact
• Fundraising income sources: individuals and mass fundraising
• Fundraising income sources – philanthropy and partnerships
• Workshop: developing a case for support
• Fundraising strategies: the fundamentals
• Regulation and governance
• Budgets and finance for fundraising
• Ethics in fundraising
• Measuring the success and effectiveness of fundraising efforts

The module is delivered in person through a series of 11 weekly half-day practical workshops.

Workshops include group exercises and group discussion, as well as lectures, guest speakers and masterclasses. Class workshops may include analysis of fundraising campaigns from both the UK and internationally, and the process of creating a fundraising plan.

Accreditation

This course is part of University of Westminster's MA Media, Campaigning and Social Change. Those who successfully complete it can use the credits towards a full MA or a Postgraduate Diploma.

While the course is credit bearing, please note that successful completion of the module does not allow direct entry onto the associated Masters programme. To be eligible for entry onto the degree, you will still need to meet the necessary requirements and submit an application via Admissions.