Managing growth and change
To deliver its key goal, WaterAid must grow and manage change.
Funding
WaterAid's ability to implement this strategy is critically dependent upon securing sufficient funding. To achieve its aims WaterAid will seek to raise £35 million a year by 2010.
WaterAid's funding is demand-driven to meet the long-term requirements of its country programmes, partners and advocacy work. Where necessary WaterAid's reserves will be used to even out fluctuations in income so that these commitments are assured.
WaterAid relies heavily on voluntary donations from individuals, community groups, companies and charitable foundations. While historically the majority of income has come from the UK, increasing the income from international donors and developing the skills of country programmes and partners to raise funds will be essential.
Voluntary income
WaterAid will maintain and develop a diverse base of voluntary funding sources with an overall income to expenditure ratio that compares favourably with best practice of similar non-profit organisations.
WaterAid will develop relationships with long-term supporters in the UK to ensure individuals giving regular monthly donations contribute an increasing proportion of income. Further investment will be made developing existing donor relationships while new supporters will also be recruited to maintain growth. UK campaigns, based on international policy themes, will be integral to raising awareness of WaterAid's work.
The longstanding relationship with the staff, companies and customers of the UK water industry will continue to be developed and supported, and opportunities to develop similar relationships in other countries will be pursued. The highly cost-effective annual appeal to water industry customers will remain the foundation of WaterAid's supporter recruitment programme.
WaterAid's success will be dependent on its continued ability to take an innovative approach to fundraising and engender loyalty from its supporters. As the organisation grows there will be new challenges in the increasingly competitive area of voluntary fundraising. New initiatives will be researched and developed to ensure that growth will continue to support the demands of WaterAid's programme and advocacy work.
Public / institutional income
WaterAid will adapt its public funding base by increasing core income from institutional donors and by diversifying its funding sources - developing new government partnerships and broadening the funding lines from existing donors.
As there is an increasing trend for institutional grants (such as those from the UK Government's Department for International Development, European Union etc) being made directly from donors' developing country offices to those of non governmental organisations or their partners, WaterAid will expand the capacity of its programme staff to solicit these funds. This will involve investing in fundraising capacity at a programme level, in addition to providing specialist support to specific partners and local community organisations seeking to attract their own institutional funding.
International alliances
WaterAid will increasingly work with other like-minded organisations in order to raise awareness of the need for water and sanitation for the world's poor. Through new partnerships, WaterAid will increase funding into water and sanitation work and generate new interest in WaterAid's proven ways of working. Some partners may work in countries outside WaterAid's focus areas and will therefore expand WaterAid's influence and contribute different experiences to its programme activities.
WaterAid will seek to extend its fundraising into a limited number of new countries over the coming years, building on WaterAid America and Australia which opened in 2004. Return on investment and performance bench-marking will be applied to maximise fundraising opportunities in each country.
Communications
Increasing awareness of WaterAid among its key target audiences is vital to the organisation's continued success. WaterAid will continue to raise its profile to gain more financial support; work closely with its local partners and communities to influence and inform decision makers on the importance of water and sanitation for poverty reduction and develop awareness through education resources.
WaterAid's strength lies in its clarity of purpose and focus on practical solutions. WaterAid will develop its corporate identity to reflect these strengths with an aim of being recognised throughout the world.
Professional communications skills and coordinated messages will be developed within country programmes, partners and UK departments to support the promotion of the organisation and influence water and sanitation provision in the 17 countries where WaterAid works.
Learning
WaterAid will seek to maximise learning from both its own work with partners and that of others. It will therefore develop its information management and communications systems throughout the organisation, with partners and communities.
Organisational development
WaterAid does not underestimate the implications of the growth envisaged within this strategy. Additional resources will be required for staff, partners and volunteers to continue their high standards of work. Throughout the period of this strategy WaterAid will ensure that the pace of change remains manageable by ensuring it has the right staff with the necessary resources to undertake their roles, supported by appropriate policies, standards and systems.
Planning, monitoring and evaluation
WaterAid will invest in planning, monitoring and evaluation processes to ensure this strategy is implemented in a focused manner. WaterAid teams will develop their own long-term plans which will be monitored at regular intervals for their contribution to this strategy.
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