Opening the doors your work has already earned

Imagine the funder replying the same afternoon. The policy team asking if they can share your report with colleagues. The investor who mentions, halfway through the call, that they'd assumed you were a much bigger organisation.

None of that changes the work you do. It changes how far the work travels.

That's what Foundations is for. It's one of Driftime's five services, alongside Strategy, Brand, Digital and Reporting, and it's made for organisations doing serious work on small budgets. We help the right folks take you as seriously as your work deserves.

Why good work gets overlooked

Most of the organisations we meet have already done the hard part. Years of research. Programmes reaching real people. Outcomes they can point to.

What hasn't caught up is how it all comes across. A website from the founding year. A logo that predates half the team. An impact report that runs to 40 pages nobody reads past page three.

First impressions carry more weight than they should. Before a meeting, someone looks you up between two other calls, and the feeling they come away with walks into the room before you do. We've written more about this in the brand credibility gap.

Closing that gap with a traditional agency usually costs £50,000 to £500,000 and takes 3 to 9 months. When every pound spent on creative is a pound not spent on the mission, that's rarely an option. Foundations makes it one. You can read why we created it in a new chapter, built for the work that matters.

People trust you sooner

When a funder or policymaker reads your story and recognises their own priorities in it, the conversation starts further along. Less time explaining why you matter, more time talking about what comes next.

You're taken seriously in bigger rooms

A brand that holds its own next to organisations ten times your size means you're judged on the strength of your work. The size of your comms budget stops being part of the conversation.

Doors start opening

Funding bids stand out from the pile. Partners see a capable organisation they want to be associated with. Reports get forwarded around a department… and sometimes all the way up.

Jasmin Mouflard, founder of Instant Aid, put it simply… "With Driftime's help we're finally able to run with the larger NGOs." Same team, same work on the ground. A very different set of conversations.

Foundations comes in three forms. You choose the one that'll open the most doors for you right now.

Brand Foundations

An identity that matches your ambition. We find your positioning and the story only you can tell, then build a logo mark and visual identity around it. You leave with a 1-page brand guide and mockups showing it all in use, ready for your next pitch, bid or campaign.

Digital Foundations

A website that does the introducing for you. A 3 to 5 page site with a story-led landing page that looks good on any screen. Your team can update it without a developer, it runs on a low-carbon, open-source build, and we stay on hand after launch.

Reporting Foundations

Your evidence, with the audience it deserves. We shape your data into a story people actually want to read: a digital report of up to 30 pages, with up to 10 data visualisations. You keep every working file, so next year's report starts from strength.

From story to handover in one month

Every Foundations project begins with your story. Before we sketch anything, we work out what the people you need to convince have to understand, and in what order. The design grows from there.

Then it moves quickly. Discovery in the first week, concepts in the second, design and build in the third, refinement and handover in the fourth. You see the work at every stage, and the same senior and director-level team stays with you from the first conversation to launch.

We call ourselves the Guide to your Hero. You're doing the work that changes things. Our job is making sure the world sees it properly.

Who is Foundations for?

Foundations is reserved for social and environmental organisations with limited budgets, the ones putting almost everything they have into direct impact. Often they sit close to policy, through research, advocacy, implementation or innovation.

That might be a climate startup preparing for a funding round or COP. An NGO showing funders what its work achieves. A social innovation lab getting research adopted across the public, private and academic sectors.

To be eligible, you'll be a registered charity, non-profit or CIC, or an early-stage social or climate startup. Being a 1% for the Planet Environmental Partner is a plus, though it isn't essential. A short eligibility check confirms the fit.

• What it is: Driftime's fixed-price brand, website and impact report service for social and environmental organisations
• Timeline: one month from kick-off to handover
• Team: senior and director level throughout
• Price: £15,000 + VAT per package, fixed and agreed before we start
• Eligibility: registered charities, non-profits, CICs and early-stage social or climate startups
• Funding: invoicing can follow restricted and unrestricted funding cycles
• Who we are: a B Corp since 2021, partnering with 300+ impact organisations since 2016

How much does Driftime Foundations cost?

Each Foundations package costs £15,000 + VAT. The price is fixed and agreed before work begins, so there's no scope creep and no surprise invoice.

Who is eligible for Foundations?

Registered charities, non-profits and CICs, along with early-stage social or climate startups, working with limited budgets. Being a 1% for the Planet Environmental Partner is a plus, but not essential. A short eligibility check confirms the fit.

How long does Foundations take?

One month from kick-off to handover, for every package. That makes it possible to be ready ahead of a funding round, a conference like COP or a campaign launch.

Can we pay for Foundations with grant funding?

Yes. We understand grant reporting and can structure invoicing around restricted and unrestricted funding cycles.

Do we need technical staff to manage the website?

No. Digital Foundations websites run on a CMS built for non-technical teams, so day-to-day updates don't need a developer.

How is Foundations different from Driftime's full services?

Foundations is a focused, fixed-scope package for eligible organisations that need one thing done well, quickly. Our full Strategy, Brand, Digital and Reporting services suit broader or longer-term work, and they build on anything we create together through Foundations.

Your work already deserves a bigger room. Foundations helps you walk into it.

Contact Us

Check if you're eligible, or drop us a line at newbusiness@driftime.com