Starting a charity? Why a monthly retainer can beat your first hire

Many new charities begin with one person, one idea and one big question:

Who should we hire first?

It is a reasonable question. If you are serious about building a charity, employing someone can feel like the natural next step.

But in the early days, that first hire is not always the smartest first investment.

That is because most new charities do not need just one thing. They need several things at once.

They may need help defining their charitable purposes, shaping a business plan, setting up a website, creating marketing materials, establishing governance, recruiting trustees, planning fundraising and putting the right financial support in place.

That is a lot to ask of one employee – and even more to ask of a founder trying to do it alone.

The early-stage trap

Founders often take one of three routes.

They do everything themselves.
They lean on helpful friends and family.
Or they hire one person and hope that person can cover strategy, setup, fundraising, operations and communications.

The problem is obvious once you say it out loud: very few people are genuine experts across all those areas.

So what looks like a practical solution can quickly become a bottleneck. The organisation still needs outside help, the founder still ends up coordinating everything, and progress slows.

A better way to get started

At 9 Mountains, we offer a different model.

Instead of asking a founder to decide which single role to recruit first, we provide access to a wider team through a monthly retainer. That means the charity can draw on the right expertise at the right time, without rushing into permanent hires too early.

For one recent client, that meant a £2,000 monthly retainer.

The founder had strong business experience and a clear non-profit idea, but needed help turning that idea into a functioning organisation. Rather than recruiting too soon, they used the retainer to access coordinated support across the key areas that mattered most.

That included:

• business planning
• website development
• marketing materials
• fundraising planning
• organisational structure
• operational setup
• specialist input, including accountancy support at the right stage

In short, they did not have to build everything alone – or gamble on one person being able to do it all.

Why the retainer model works

It gives you broader expertise

A new charity often needs support across several disciplines, not just one. A retainer gives you access to a range of skills rather than tying your whole budget to a single appointment.

It helps you do things in the right order

Many organisations waste time by building the website before clarifying the offer, starting fundraising before the case is strong enough, or setting up structures before governance is properly thought through.

Joined-up support helps avoid those false starts.

It stays flexible

In one month, the priority may be strategy. In another, it may be fundraising, communications or trustee recruitment. A retainer allows support to shift as the charity develops.

It reduces founder overload

Founders should lead the vision, not carry every technical and operational detail on their back. A good support model gives them breathing space while still moving the charity forward.

The hidden cost of doing it piece by piece

Some founders assume it is cheaper to go separately to a lawyer, a designer, an accountant, a fundraiser and a consultant.

Sometimes it can be. But often it creates fragmentation.

Each adviser sees only their own piece. The founder becomes the one trying to join it all together. That coordination takes time, energy and money – and it often delays momentum just when the organisation most needs it.

What early-stage charities usually need is not just advice, but coordinated delivery.

A smarter first investment

If you are starting a charity, the first question may not be “Who should we hire?”

It may be:

What support do we need around us to build this properly?

For many organisations, a monthly retainer is the better answer. It gives access to the right expertise, at the right time, under one umbrella – helping good ideas become credible, functioning charities.

At 9 Mountains, that is exactly what we help founders do.

If you have a strong not-for-profit idea but are unsure how to turn it into a functioning charity, book an exploratory conversation with 9 Mountains.