Catch Up is a UK charity that provides literacy and numeracy interventions for struggling learners. It has trained over 20,000 teachers and helped over 500,000 learners since 2003. Catch Up relies on a sustainable funding plan with a mixture of grants and earned income from selling training packages to schools. It does not chase money but rather plans products and markets strategically. Catch Up has experienced growth through loan funding, strategic grants that align with its mission, and marketing initiatives like hiring a consultant. Its funding approach of balanced income streams along with relevant products has allowed it to support many learners over time.

1. Creating a sustainable
funding plan that works
Sponsored by:
Julie Lawes: Catch Up
Olof Williamson: NCVO

2. Overview
• What is sustainable funding?
• The income streams – big picture…
• Scanning and planning
• NCVO Kite – structured thinking
• Catch Up’s experience
• What will you do?

3. What is
sustainable funding?
• A principle
• An approach
• An ever-moving target?

5. Scanning and Planning
• What is going on out there?
• How do you plan for it?

6. Funding strategy kite
1. Where are we?
2. Where do we want to be?
3. How do we get there?
Vision
Mission
Values
Income Spectrum options
Sun Tool improvements
Focused actions
Delegation and
responsibilities
Funding goals

7. An independent charity:
Working to address the problem of underachievement
that has its roots in literacy and numeracy difficulties
www.catchup.org
Catch Up is a not-for-profit UK registered charity: 1072425
Catch Up is a registered trademark
Catch Up Ltd is an endorsed charitable institute ABN: 62154644498

8. • Background to Catch Up
• Creating a sustainable funding plan:
• Mixture of grants and earned income
• Not chasing the money!
• Planning products and market
development

9. Catch Up was established in 1998
Mission:
‘To address the problem of underachievement that has its roots
in literacy and numeracy difficulties’
Sustainable Funding Plan

10.  Structured one-to-one interventions for struggling readers
and for learners who struggle with numeracy
 Centred on 15 minute sessions delivered twice a week,
targeted to the needs of the individual
 Grounded in rigorous academic research and shown to be
effective in schools (and other settings)
 Realistic, practical and inexpensive
Catch Up Literacy
Catch Up Numeracy
Sustainable Funding Plan

13.  offers integrated training and resource packages to support
the management and delivery of the Catch Up interventions
 provides ongoing support, through the Catch Up Community,
for those who deliver the Catch Up interventions to struggling
learners
 undertakes research into the development and enhancement
of the Catch Up interventions, and into extending the support
it provides to struggling learners
Catch Up is a not-for-profit
charity that:
Sustainable Funding Plan

15. Number of Catch Up trainees and learners
Sustainable Funding Plan
0
100000
200000
300000
400000
500000
600000
0
5000
10000
15000
20000
25000
2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013
Estimatednumberoflearners
Numberoftrainees
Number of trainees trained by Catch Up and estimated number of
learners supported by Catch Up
Number of trainees
Number of trainees - cumulative
The numbers given for trainees
are based on the lowest number of
session attendees at each L2/N2
course.
The numbers estimated for
learners are based on the
assumption that each trainee
works with 5 learners per year
(this is a conservative
interpretation of numbers reported
at L4/N4 sessions)

16. Trainees
Grand total?
20,000!!!
Sustainable Funding Plan

17. How many learners have
been helped?
.........over half a million
struggling learners
helped over the last 11 years!!
Sustainable Funding Plan

18. A Sustainable Funding Plan
Catch Up is a not-for-profit UK registered charity: 1072425
Catch Up is a registered trademark
Catch Up Ltd is an endorsed charitable institute ABN: 62154644498

19. • Mixture of grants and earned
income
• Not chasing the money!
• Planning products and market
development

20. Mixture of grants and earned income

21. The most important general principles are as follows:
 The majority of our income has always come from sales of
training and resources to schools and local authorities, in
England and Wales.
 In many ways we operate like a medium sized business with
some commercial advantages in being a charity: some
schools have said they prefer to buy training from a charity
rather than a company; and all surpluses are reinvested in
the charity core costs rather than required for dividends.
Sustainable Funding Plan
Sustainable Funding Plan

22.  The price of the integrated training and resource packages is
set in order to cover core costs after direct costs of providing
those packages have been met, with most future
developments being funded from other external sources.
Sustainable Funding Plan
Sustainable Funding Plan

23.  The demand for training is hugely influenced by government
initiatives and corresponding funding. The annual variations
in numbers of trainees can, therefore, be greater than might
be expected.
 We control trainer costs and manage peaks of demand for
training by the use of freelance staff (Catch Up Accredited
Trainers) rather than permanent payroll employees.
Sustainable Funding Plan
Sustainable Funding Plan

24.  In 2010-11 we were affected by changes in school level
expenditure and in government spending at a local
government level and demand for training fell
 We made cost reductions 2011 (staffing, premises and
resources)
 We also extended our training resource package and
increased its price in 2012
Sustainable Funding Plan
Sustainable Funding Plan

25. Not chasing the money!

26.  Grant funding from organisations with an overlap of mission
and goals
Not chasing the money!
Sustainable Funding Plan

27. Catch Up developments have relied largely upon:
 Loan funding from Charity Bank and trustees (eg the
amalgamation of age-related Catch Up Literacy programmes
into one integrated training and resource package, creation of
Digital Games).
 Grant funding from organisations such as the Esmée
Fairbairn Foundation (eg the creation of Catch Up Numeracy)
Sustainable Funding Plan
Sustainable Funding Plan

28. Grant funding has also helped:
 Accelerate the growth of Catch Up. For example, the
Charles Dunstone Charitable Trust has provided a series of
grants to help fund our marketing and communications.
 Facilitate further research into Catch Up Literacy and
Numeracy. (Two grants from the Education Endowment
Foundation)
Sustainable Funding Plan
Sustainable Funding Plan

29. Planning products and market
development

30.  Ensured that products remain relevant within a changing
national context
 Appointed a lead marketing consultant – development of
marketing plan
Planning products and
market development
Sustainable Funding Plan

31. Next steps

32. Exploring potential partners to help further growth of Catch Up
through:
Grants/loans and also consultancy expertise
……so that we can support many more learners who struggle with
Literacy and Numeracy
Next steps??
Sustainable Funding Plan

33. An independent charity:
Working to address the problem of underachievement
that has its roots in literacy and numeracy difficulties
www.catchup.org
Catch Up is a not-for-profit UK registered charity: 1072425
Catch Up is a registered trademark
Catch Up Ltd is an endorsed charitable institute ABN: 62154644498

34. Your sustainability
Group work
• Current biggest source of income
• Vulnerabilities
• Opportunities
• What action do you need to take?

35. What works
and what doesn’t
• Early action – advocate
• Sound planning
• Taking opportunities
• Planning for skills
• Ambition
• Realism
• Wait and see approach
– year after year
• Disinvesting – it’s taken
up enough time already
• Chasing the money
• Wild targets

36. Zoology returns