Grants Fundraising System
Built from 24 years of fundraising experience.
The Grants Fundraising System is a practical, structured system for Trusts, Foundations and Grants fundraising for UK registered charities. It includes the slides from my Fundraising Masterclasses alongside a series of templates which, taken together, form a clear system for planning, writing and managing grant applications.
The system is provided as a digital download of five files, plus a one-hour Zoom call to help get you started with using the system. For a full list of what is included, and to download the Grants Fundraising System, visit this link, or click the image below:
To get a sense of some of the themes included in the Grants Fundraising System, have a listen to my interview on the Bright Spots Fundraising podcast episode with Rob Woods, released on 9 September 2025. Click here, or click on the image below, or search on Spotify for Bright Spot, Atul Kumar.
If you have any questions, or are interested in Trusts, Foundations and Grants fundraising coaching, please email: atulsearth@gmail.com
My Fundraising Background
I have 24 years of experience in fundraising, and a track record of supporting charities to raise multiple seven and six figure gifts. Over my career I have helped to raise around £40 Million so far.
None of the information in my Masterclasses is theoretical. It’s all practical and based on direct experience from a fundraiser who’s been working directly on fundraising for over two decades.
My background in fundraising started with environmental, animal and wildlife charities. I now have broad fundraising experience across many different causes, including health, children, poverty, disability, equality, asylum seekers and refugees.
My experience is across all income streams, with particular strengths in Fundraising Strategy, Trusts and Foundations, Major Donors and Lottery fundraising.
I work as a freelance fundraiser and am a member of the Chartered Institute of Fundraising. This means that for consultancy work I charge a day rate rather than commission. This encourages best practice in fundraising, and reflects the collaborative nature of fundraising.
The four main ways I help charities with their fundraising are:
1. Grants Fundraising System. As mentioned above, downloading the Grants Fundraising System of slides and templates can be a quick and low cost way of getting started on your Trusts, Foundations and Grants fundraising programme.
2. Training: Group and Tailored Masterclasses. Group Masterclasses are once or twice per year, for anyone to attend. Tailored Masterclasses are more specific to your charity, and run for half a day, usually in a weekday afternoon. Masterclass attendees also receive the Grants Fundraising System.
3. Coaching: a tailored, six week, one to one coaching programme. Suitable for Fundraisers as well as Trustees, CEOs, and Project Managers involved with fundraising from Trusts, Foundations and Grants sources. This can be confidential where required. Email to ask for further details. Coaching clients also receive the Grants Fundraising System.
4. Consultancy: direct support with fundraising, including prospect research and drafting bids. Flexibility on how many days, ranging from just one, to a more regular arrangement. Consultancy clients also receive the Grants Fundraising System.
To discuss your fundraising needs, please email: atulsearth@gmail.com
Testimonials: Masterclasses
Quotes from some previous attendees of my Masterclasses are below:
“Securing funding for our small marine conservation charity hasn’t been easy so I have been attending different grant workshops in recent weeks.
Atul’s masterclass stands out as the most useful and informative based on his experience, with lots of personal advice and guidance that will help us secure more funds for our research.
The workshop was really engaging and informative with lots of top tips and resources. I would highly recommend this masterclass.”
Gemma Scotts, Marine Research and Conservation Foundation (MARECO), May 2024.
Testimonials: Consultancy
Quotes from some of my current and previous Consultancy clients are below:
“Atul helped the International Care Network to raise £405,136 in just 22 days in 2024, spread out at just under 2 days per month. This represents a Return on Investment ratio of around 67:1. His insights into securing funds from the National Lottery, the role of project managers within the fundraising process, and overall depth and breadth of fundraising experience are particularly valuable for our charity.”
Rebecca Fell, Chief Executive Officer, International Care Network, March 2025
“Atul helped the International Care Network to raise £151,952 in just 20 days in 2020, spread out over 1-2 days per month. This is around 30% of our overall income, and represents a Return on Investment ratio of around 30:1. He also contributes by improving our fundraising processes and knowledge. Working with Atul is an efficient and enjoyable way of raising funds for our charity.”
Rebecca Fell, Chief Executive Officer, International Care Network, January 2021
“Atul worked with me here at the British Liver Trust in late 2022 and early 2023 on three crucial Trusts and Foundations bids, namely a core funding application to the Garfield Weston Foundation, patient support groups funding from National Lottery Community Fund England Reaching Communities and National Lottery Northern Ireland Awards for All to deliver our Love Your Liver events in Northern Ireland. We were thrilled to be successful with all three bids, raising, respectively, £90,000 over two years, £465,098 over 5 years, and £9,798 for 2023. Atul is a total professional, he absolutely knows his way around applications and processes for many of the biggest funders and donors, and is great to work with. Highly recommended.“
Audrey Cornelius, Director of Fundraising, British Liver Trust, October 2023
“Atul is helping Chester Zoo with fundraising from Trusts, Foundations and other grant makers. His support includes drafting applications, implementing new processes and delivering training for staff across the organisation. He has contributed towards successes at all scales of income, from £990,000 for a major new project, through to medium and small unrestricted grants. Most importantly he is a joy to work with!”
Julie Platt, Fundraising Manager, Chester Zoo, October 2021
“Atul has supported Help on Your Doorstep with our fundraising in two stints: as our first ever fundraiser in 2014-15, when he worked part-time to develop our fundraising strategy and to secure grants over £190,000. Atul then supported HOYD again as a freelancer, and in just one day a week on average in 2018-19 this has helped us to secure £482,731, including a multi-year Lottery grant and other, valuable core funding. His knowledge of Trusts, Foundations, Lottery and other funding sources makes working with him an effective and successful collaboration.”
Ken Kanu, Director, Help on Your Doorstep, March 2019
Occasionally I also help charities via fundraising agencies, such as Fundraising Consultants Ltd. A quote from one of my recent clients is below:
“Fundraising Consultants helped us to reassess our fundraising activities and created a new fundraising strategy which is achievable and diversifies our income sources. They rewrote our Case for Support and helped us with a number of bids for grant funding. Within just a few months we were seeing the benefit, with new trusts and foundations supporting our work through unrestricted and project funding.”
Susan Mackirdy, Trust Director, Tyne Rivers Trust, November 2017
Atul's Earth 