This, in my view, is self-evident. Launched earlier this week, The Commission on the Donor Experience is based on this premise. Its 28 detailed reports are available free online. I hope everyone in the sector Read more…
The basic problem with much of fundraising today is that we fundraise AT people. Should we start by thinking of donors as existing to meet the charity’s needs? Or should we start by thinking about donors’ Read more…
Let me start with a short eulogy, then quote some of what I, and many others, believe are the wisest words ever said about fundraising, before leaving you with a question: How much of this Read more…
“The Daily Mail is not inherently anti fundraising”, I recently and naively posted on a chat forum on Facebook. The response was vigorous, and almost universally in disagreement. I stand corrected. But some of the Read more…
Once upon a time there was a need. A number of people recognised it and wanted to do something about it. They knew this would involve them giving money. That wasn’t a problem. They needed Read more…
In 1960 a 10 year old boy started a school newspaper, helped by some friends. He and his friends sold it in the playground for a penny a copy. They sold 100, and went on Read more…
I have been somewhat dismayed at the flood of criticisms that are now threatening to engulf our great profession. In my fifty years of fundraising, I have never seen anything like it. First, the sad Read more…
You are writing about upgrading, cross selling and cash gifts. Why these three? I covered retention separately in my two blogs (here and here) on relationship fundraising and (here) on recruitment. These three are the Read more…
So what’s the problem? Income – expenditure = profit. This is one of the fundamentals for anyone in business. However, when these same business people come into a charity’s trustees meeting, profit, or net income Read more…
You can’t do that. **** Last week, Olive Cooke killed herself by jumping off the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol UK. The Coroner has not yet established the cause of death, but her family has Read more…
This is the second of two blogs looking comprehensively, and provocatively, at the state of relationship fundraising In the last blog, we defined relationship fundraising, and looked at its implications, strengths and weaknesses. Today, we Read more…
This is the first of two blogs looking comprehensively, and provocatively, at the state of relationship fundraising. In this first blog, we define relationship fundraising, and look at its implications, strengths and weaknesses. In the Read more…
Why?
It is 22 years since Ken Burnett published the seminal book “Relationship Fundraising”. Everyone claims to have read it. Most people now call themselves a relationship fundraiser, yet almost no-one is actually implementing the core ideas in Ken’s book. Why?
Professor Adrian Sargeant has proved beyond doubt that relationship fundraising increases lifetime value. Yet few of us could say how much we are spending on retaining donors. Why? (more…)
