Missing You
How do you support an organisation that radiates warmth but lacks the resources to increase its impact? This was the challenge we faced when Missing You came to us. The organisation supports children, teenagers and young adults who are experiencing grief. From fundraising to policy influencing, we looked beyond the initial question and worked with Missing You to build strong foundations for the future.
The client
Grief is not something you have to face alone. Missing You provides a warm, welcoming space for children, teenagers and young adults who have lost someone they love. Through bereavement groups, camps and a close-knit community, it ensures that no one has to navigate grief alone. Missing You also helps schools open up conversations about grief by providing educational resources and tailored training.
The question
Missing You is an organisation with a heart of gold—but it did not have the financial resources to increase its impact. It lacked reliable core funding and a structured approach to fundraising. Despite having a dedicated volunteer team, strong media coverage, activities across several provinces and even its own book, the organisation was operating at the very limit of what it could sustain. Minimal resources, maximum impact: remarkable, but not sustainable in the long term.
The impact
Fundraising was the obvious place to start. Potential supporters had little clarity on how they could donate to Missing You, so together we defined the target audience more clearly. But making real progress would require a significant investment—not least of time. We therefore decided to go beyond the initial brief and help the organisation strengthen its policy-influencing work and build greater influence.
Through our training, Missing You learned which policymakers to approach and how to develop the relationships and trust needed to influence them effectively. We helped the organisation sharpen its pitch and apply for grants, even though its work did not fit neatly into traditional funding categories. With this knowledge and capability, Missing You was able to professionalise its operations, resulting in more weekend programmes and gathering days. The most important result was a more stable organisation, no longer facing constant uncertainty about its funding.
The challenge
During our work with Missing You, we quickly reached an important insight: its initial request did not address the heart of the problem. An organisation needs a strong financial foundation before it can grow sustainably. We therefore broadened the question: what other sources of income and funding could Missing You draw on? From public funding to corporate sponsors, we reviewed its entire funding strategy. Fundraising takes time, and lasting progress required every part of the financial picture to work together.
The collaboration
Working with Missing You was a real joy. From day one, its board was closely involved and placed its full trust in us. Board members joined the conversations, helped drive the work forward and gave us the backing we needed to go beyond the initial brief. The volunteer team showed the same level of commitment. That openness and trust created the ideal conditions for building something bigger together.
Missing You had support of these team members
Does this case appeal to you?
We would be happy to discuss your organisation’s specific needs. Two of our consultants will meet with you to explore your request and develop an initial proposal. Based on your feedback and further co-creation, we will then prepare a final proposal.
