Together to Thrive

The Together to Thrive Fund aims to upskill a new generation of fundraisers, unlocking more funding for Norfolk VCSE organisations.

Through a unique combination of expertise from Felton Fundraising and Creativity Unbound, the programme helps charities diversify their income beyond a single source and develop fundraising approaches that are sustainable over time.

Training is delivered through a series of four practical modules, typically taking place over a 6-9 month period and designed to fit alongside existing workloads, focussing on long-term capacity building rather than short-term income gaps.

Module 1: Building effective individual giving

Delivered by Creativity Unbound

A session designed to help you understand your audiences, develop compelling fundraising products, and plan individual giving activity that works for your organisation.

Module 2: Developing your chosen individual giving approach

Delivered by Creativity Unbound

This session focuses on one individual giving product, exploring effective strategies to attract new supporters and strengthen relationships with existing ones. Example areas include regular giving, corporate partnerships or legacy giving.

Module 3: Maximising grant fundraising

Delivered by Felton Fundraising and Appeals

A session that reviews current grant fundraising activity and provides clear guidance on approaching charitable trusts, foundations and the Lottery, while identifying any barriers to progress and opportunities for future development.

Module 4: Researching grant funders and writing applications

Delivered by Felton Fundraising and Appeals

A session which focuses on effective research techniques to identify suitable grant-making organisations and developing practical skills in bid writing and completing applications.

Following on from module 4, Richard Felton will be on hand to discuss ideas, explore potential funders and provide feedback on draft funding bids.

What funding is available?

The cost of the training and mentoring package is £3,000 and bursaries of up to £2,000 are provided to successful applicants. The recipient charity will need to match this with the balance from their own resources.
In this funding round, six bursaries are available. A further funding round is likely to be held later in 2026.

Who can apply?

This opportunity is open to Norfolk-based registered charities and CIOs that:

Have been registered with the Charity Commission for at least 12 months
Have submitted their first annual return and accounts
Priority will be given to organisations with a turnover between £100,000 and £1 million, and with a fundraiser who has been in post for less than two years.

Other requirements

The application must identify the post that will benefit from the training and demonstrate that the charity has a clear line management structure to support the person in their fundraising role.
The postholder’s role must include between 15 to 21 hours per week being devoted to fundraising.
The application must demonstrate that the trustee board is supportive of the application and the progression of fundraising within the charity.
We would normally expect the Fundraiser to be able to start the training within three months of the grant offer being made.
If the Fundraiser fails to engage satisfactorily with the training in the expected timeframe this may result in in the offer of support being withdrawn and the charity’s financial contribution being forfeited.

Decision making and next steps

Following the initial application (see link to the application form below) selected applicants may be invited to meet the panel to discuss their requirements from the training package. Successful applicants should be ready to start the training from April 2026.