What to include in a first charity consultancy enquiry

Try describing the question in one sentence. For example: ‘We want to agree which priorities our organisation can realistically carry forward next year.’ That gives the enquiry a practical focus while leaving room to explain uncertainty.

If several questions are connected, say which needs attention first. A building question might also involve funding, organisational priorities and everyday operations. You do not have to settle all of those questions before making contact.

Keep the message short enough for the main question to be easy to find. The following information helps frame a first conversation.

• Your organisation and role: what the charity or faith organisation does and your involvement.
• The current situation: what is happening and why you are considering it now.
• The question or decision: what needs attention and anything already agreed.
• What you hope to make clearer: the next decision, options or information you need.
• Information already available: relevant notes, plans or evidence, plus known gaps.
• Timing and people: a relevant meeting or deadline, who would consider the next step and whether the timing is fixed or preferred.

For strategy, explain what has prompted the review and which priorities or choices feel unresolved. For operations, describe one recurring task and where it becomes delayed or duplicated. For a building, describe its current use and the opportunities or constraints you see.

For a possible funding bid, outline the need, intended outcomes, available evidence and any opportunity you have identified. Mention documents without attaching a full archive. Where something is an assumption, label it as such; avoid including personal or sensitive information in an initial outline.

This example is entirely fictional. It does not describe a Charity Egg client or completed engagement.

Subject: Enquiry about planned strategy support

Hello Charity Egg, I am a volunteer with a community charity. We are preparing for our next planning period and have several ideas for new activities, alongside commitments that already take most of our team's time.

Our main question is how to compare those ideas and agree a manageable set of priorities. We have notes from our last planning discussion and an outline of current activities, but have not yet considered the options together.

The trustees hope to discuss the next stage in six weeks. Could you let us know whether this question fits the planned strategy support and what its current availability is? Kind regards, [Name and role].

Charity Egg is developing support around strategy, operations, organisational questions, buildings and grants. An enquiry helps establish whether suitable support is available. It does not arrange an engagement.

If there is a fit, the next step would be to define the scope. A written proposal would set out the approach, deliverables, timescale and fees. Paid work begins only after the scope, fees and engagement terms are agreed. Organisations retain their own decisions and responsibilities; any specialist input needed would remain part of scoping.