Our selection process

Funding charities that improve the lives of children is a task that brings us great joy; but with that joy there’s also a heavy sense of responsibility. That’s why we complete thorough due diligence on behalf of our corporate partners, to ensure their money is safe. We also don’t believe in dangling financial promises to charities doing great work, only to tell them they’re not the right fit after months of applications.

As a small charity ourselves, we’re well aware of the challenges they face: a competitive funding landscape, with heaps of paperwork piling up for already time-pressed staff.

We’re not here to add to those challenges. We’re here to solve them! Our funders put so much trust in us precisely because our model is different. We lessen the burden for small charities, while also carrying out the highest level of due diligence.

We ensure we’re scoping out the right charities from the get-go. That’s how we’re certain funders’ money will go to the right places and make the biggest impact.

Here’s what excites us at each stage of our selection process:

Research

As experts on maximising the impact of support for young people in this country, we have a strong grasp on who’s doing amazing work. And you can take our word for it – there’s a lot of life-changing work happening across the UK.

The variety and breadth of community support for young people is truly inspiring. We know that wherever there’s a need, a dedicated leader often stands up to do something about it.

This in-depth knowledge of the youth charity sector means we’re already on top of who we might be able to partner with and building on this strong base, we start our research process.

As soon as we begin the process of onboarding new partners, we start in-depth research that ensures we’re considering all of the fantastic charities that are out there that fit the brief. There’s no vague open call giving funding-strapped leaders false hope. Our team use their research skills, depth of experience and wide-reaching networks to scope out all the hidden treasures.

Expressions of Interest

After the initial, exciting exploration stage, we send out expressions of interest to a short list of charities.

We ensure we’re only asking the most significant questions. The reality is that we know very specifically what our funders care about and what information we need. We save charities’ precious time that they’d otherwise spend answering endless questions by keeping things to the point.

What we’re after is simple: what positive changes will happen for kids benefiting from their work? What methods are the charity using to make this happen?

We know when we find ourselves smiling along and nodding our heads our funders will be impressed too.

As soon as we begin the process of onboarding new partners, we start in-depth research that ensures we’re considering all of the fantastic charities that are out there that fit the brief. There’s no vague open call giving funding-strapped leaders false hope. Our team use their research skills, depth of experience and wide-reaching networks to scope out all the hidden treasures.

Application

The application stage is where we do our most detailed due diligence.

Only organisations that are punching above their weight in terms of thoughtful and strategic growth get through to this stage.

Here we ask charities to submit more thorough details of their impact, finances and inner workings. We’re aware that this is a big ask and we want to ensure that the chances of success are high enough for charities to truly justify the time spent applying.

For each vacancy on the Raise Your Hands platform, we only ask a maximum of two or three charities to submit applications and find this means the calibre we receive is very high.

Interview

The final stage of our process is the most exciting! After weeks of rooting for our potential partners from afar, we finally get to meet these inspiring changemakers.

During the interviews, we dig deep to find out what direction the organisation is heading in. We also make sure that there are safeguards and processes in place behind the work.

It’s always thrilling to meet dynamic leaders and learn about how they are driving real, meaningful change in our society.

So when are we sure that it’s a match? When it comes to our selected charities, we’re always hearing about how central their work is to the well-being of the children they support. It’s not uncommon for the charity to be one of the most important and enriching influences on these children’s lives.

Meeting the teams behind this impact, it’s clear that this work is equally enriching and central to their lives too. When we see this winning combination during the interview process, that’s when we’re certain we’re on to something great.