Gathering your evidence
Your answers carry most of the weight in a Self Audit. Documents add a second source. They let us check what's written down against what you describe, and they make your scores more secure.
Every document is optional, and you can submit without any. Each one you add gives the report more to stand on.
Why missing documents still count
If a document doesn't exist, that tells us something about the system. It isn't a mark against you.
Our method only gives a positive score when the thing it describes actually exists. You can't score well on fundraising strategy without a fundraising strategy. An organisational strategy is a different document, even when it covers fundraising.
Where evidence is thin, a score is capped at plus or minus 10. The report shows which scores were capped and what was missing. That list is often one of the most useful pages, because it tells you what to write down next.
So don't create a document the week before just to fill the gap. Send what exists today.
The documents, one by one
Fundraising strategy or annual plan. The document that sets out what fundraising is for and how it will get there. It mainly informs Strategic Coherence. If yours is out of date, upload it anyway and say so in your answers. An old strategy that's still on the shelf is real evidence about how plans are used.
Organisational strategy. The charity's overall plan. It helps us see how well fundraising lines up with the wider organisation, which is also part of Strategic Coherence.
Your last three years' annual accounts. These show how income has moved over time and how it's spread across streams. They mainly inform Income Architecture. If you only have one or two years to hand, send those. Your published accounts are fine.
A recent supporter communication. A mailing, an email, a thank-you letter or a newsletter. Pick something typical of what supporters usually receive. It informs Donor Value Creation.
A campaign planning template. Whatever your team uses to plan a campaign or appeal. It shows how work moves from idea to delivery, which informs Operational Flow. If there's no template and each campaign is planned differently, that's worth knowing.
A CRM document. You'll be asked for this at the question about your database. It might be a data guide, a field list or a process note. It informs Capability Infrastructure and Insight and Intelligence. Please check it holds no supporter records.
Fundraising risk register or a recent board fundraising paper. Either shows how fundraising is seen and governed at the top. It mainly informs Leadership and Governance.
Anything else useful. An organisation chart, a campaign brief or a supporter journey map can all help. Send them if they exist.
Removing supporter data first
Please don't upload names, contact details or giving records of individual donors. That includes screenshots of your CRM, appendices to board papers and example letters with a real name in the greeting.
Before you upload, open each file and look for these. Delete the rows, cut the page or swap in a placeholder like "Dear [name]". If a document can't be cleaned easily, leave it out and describe it in your answers.
File types and sizes
You can upload PDF, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, web pages and XML. We read the text in them. Each file can be up to 40 MB.
What happens to your documents
Your documents are used only to prepare your report. We delete them 30 days after your report is released.
Printable checklist
Tick each one as you find it, or note that it doesn't exist.
- Fundraising strategy or annual plan (date: ______)
- Organisational strategy (date: ______)
- Annual accounts, year 1
- Annual accounts, year 2
- Annual accounts, year 3
- A recent, typical supporter communication
- Campaign planning template
- CRM document (for the database question)
- Fundraising risk register, or a recent board fundraising paper
- Anything else: org chart, campaign brief, supporter journey map
- Every file checked for donor names, contact details and giving records
- Every file under 40 MB
Your next step
Print the checklist, or copy it into an email to yourself, and spend 15 minutes finding what you already have.