Application Guide

How to Apply for Fundraising & Partnerships Manager

at Friendly Food Club

🏢 About Friendly Food Club

Friendly Food Club is a unique charity that tackles food insecurity through hands-on cooking skills development, focusing on vulnerable groups in Dorset and BCP. Unlike traditional food banks, they build long-term resilience by empowering communities with practical cooking confidence. Working here means directly impacting families' health and wellbeing while being part of a growing, values-driven organization.

About This Role

This part-time remote role involves developing and executing fundraising strategies to secure sustainable income for Friendly Food Club's community cooking programs. You'll identify values-aligned partners, write compelling funding proposals, and steward relationships to support the charity's mission of breaking cycles of food insecurity. Your work directly enables cooking workshops that transform lives across Dorset.

💡 A Day in the Life

A typical day might start with reviewing funding opportunities and drafting a proposal for a local Dorset trust, followed by a virtual meeting with a potential corporate partner about a values-aligned sponsorship. In the afternoon, you might analyze income performance data for the CEO and prepare for an in-person networking event with BCP community organizations to build new partnerships.

🎯 Who Friendly Food Club Is Looking For

  • Lives in Dorset or BCP area with ability to work remotely while occasionally meeting local partners in person
  • Has proven experience writing successful funding applications for UK charities or community organizations
  • Demonstrates genuine alignment with Friendly Food Club's values of care, inclusion, and community health
  • Shows creative, resilient approach to fundraising with examples of building long-term partnership relationships

📝 Tips for Applying to Friendly Food Club

1

Mention specific knowledge of Dorset/BCP communities and local funding landscape in your application

2

Include concrete examples of how you've built 'values-aligned' partnerships, not just transactional fundraising

3

Demonstrate understanding of food insecurity solutions beyond emergency food provision

4

Show how you balance remote work with local community engagement

5

Reference Friendly Food Club's specific programs or impact reports to show genuine research

✉️ What to Emphasize in Your Cover Letter

['Your personal connection to their mission of building cooking skills for long-term food security', 'Specific examples of successful fundraising for community health or inclusion initiatives', 'How you would approach building local partnerships in Dorset/BCP while working remotely', 'Your understanding of measuring impact beyond financial metrics for a charity like this']

Generate Cover Letter →

🔍 Research Before Applying

To stand out, make sure you've researched:

  • Friendly Food Club's specific programs and locations in Dorset/BCP communities
  • Current UK funding landscape for food insecurity and community health initiatives
  • Local businesses and organizations in Dorset/BCP that align with their values
  • Their impact reports or case studies showing how cooking skills transform lives

💬 Prepare for These Interview Topics

Based on this role, you may be asked about:

1 How would you develop a fundraising strategy specifically for a cooking skills charity in Dorset?
2 Describe a time you built a values-aligned partnership that went beyond financial support
3 How would you measure and report the impact of Friendly Food Club's programs to funders?
4 What local organizations in Dorset/BCP would you approach for partnerships and why?
5 How do you balance remote work with being an effective local ambassador for the charity?
Practice Interview Questions →

⚠️ Common Mistakes to Avoid

  • Generic fundraising experience without connection to community health or inclusion causes
  • Focusing only on large corporate partnerships without understanding local Dorset context
  • Treating fundraising as purely transactional rather than relationship-building aligned with values

📅 Application Timeline

This position is open until filled. However, we recommend applying as soon as possible as roles at mission-driven organizations tend to fill quickly.

Typical hiring timeline:

1

Application Review

1-2 weeks

2

Initial Screening

Phone call or written assessment

3

Interviews

1-2 rounds, usually virtual

Offer

Congratulations!

Ready to Apply?

Good luck with your application to Friendly Food Club!