business from previous clients
We are all voluntary sector professionals and share your ethos
About our Strategy and Fundraising Company
Established in 1998, our mission is to offer effective strategic and fundraising support to UK based not-for-profit organisations, through consultancy and implementation.
Our fundraising company was established by Simon George and Gill Wootton, two longstanding charity professionals, with extensive track records in fundraising and charity management.
Some 70% of our work comes to us either by recommendation or as repeat business from satisfied clients, who choose to use us again - evidence we believe of our effectiveness.
Independent research conducted through Business Link found that our clients value the strong relationships we develop with them, as well as our commitment to integrity.
We are a Corporate Member of the NCVO, as well as being individual Members of the Institute of Fundraising, to whose Code of Conduct we subscribe.
Our Mission
As a fundraising company, our mission is to enable our clients to grow their organisations and to develop sustainable funding streams, by taking a planned approach to fundraising and income generation and by helping them to access funding streams, such as government grants, charitable trusts, lottery funds, corporate support, individual giving and social enterprise.
Our vision is of a sustainable not-for-profit sector, where all charities and not-for-profit organisations will have sufficient resources to pursue their missions effectively, without the distraction of funding problems, lack of core income or short- term funding arrangements. It is a vision where all not-for-profit organisations, regardless of their field of work, client group, size or location, can access high quality advice and support to achieve this, according to their individual needs. Our vision as a fundraising company is to help deliver this.
We aim to be a strategy and fundraising company which:
Consistently provides value for money across all assignments, regardless of the nature of the work, the client or the consultant employed
Can demonstrate its success by achieving high levels of repeat business and referrals from satisfied clients
If you are looking for a fundraising company, please call us today to see if we can help!
Registered Office: Unit 8, Pendeford Place, Pendeford Business Park, Wobaston Road, Wolverhampton, WV9 5HD
In 2018 we celebrate 20 years in fundraising consultancy, Wootton George Consulting having been founded in March 1998 by Gill Wootton and Simon George.
Both experienced fundraisers, Gill and Simon had started their fundraising careers raising funds for a range of charities in the 1980's and 1990's. Having met via the Institute of Fundraising, they set up the company to help those charities that needed external advice and support to grow their income. Very quickly, they found that they did not have enough hours in the day, or all the experience demanded by clients, so gradually took on additional consultants to meet demand.
A very popular early offering was the Trust Service, which helps charities to raise funds from trusts and foundations. This is still operating today and has raised many millions of pounds for client charities, many of which have stayed with us for ten or more years (the record is 18 years!).
In the early years, 70% of our work came to us by recommendation or as repeat business and this still holds true today. We do very little advertising as a result, which also helps to keep fees affordable for clients.
Gill Wootton retired in 2011 and sadly died in 2016, after a long period of ill health. However, much of what she helped to build lives on in the company, which continues to thrive, with a broad client base and a team of 20 consultants.
anniversary of the company, Simon will be swimming 20 miles in 2018, in support of the charity Climate Stewards. This builds on our six years of support for this charity partner.
Simon commented: "I'm not a great swimmer and 20 miles will take me months to achieve, a bit at a time, but the work of Climate Stewards is so important in raising awareness of climate change and in finding practical ways to tackle it, that I felt I had to do my bit to help. So I'm hoping that lots of people will get behind me and support Climate Stewards' fantastic work in 2018."
Fees charged are based either on a daily rate or on a fixed fee for an agreed assignment. We do not work on commission.
For all work, and after discussion with you, we provide a free written proposal before any contract is signed or work delivered.
A fundraising consultant is a person or an agency (a partnership or limited company) which advises not-for-profit organisations on, and sometimes helps with, fundraising tasks. A genuine fundraising consultant has many years of experience in their field and may work independently or with other fundraising consultants to deliver fundraising support and expertise to clients.
This depends on the assignment. Sometimes they do, but not for example if a strategy or research is required. In other circumstances, a consultant may help an organisation make approaches to funders and donors. In fact, capacity building through training and mentoring is an important function of a good consultant.
They should seek evidence of relevant experience and a good track record. Other questions to ask are: How long has the consultant been practising? What was their experience beforehand? Which other clients have they worked for? Can they provide references? Are they insured? It is also important to select a consultant with whom you can build a strong rapport, as you may be working closely with them and you will need this to get the best from them. Finally, it is important to select a consultant with the capacity to deliver the work within your timescales.
