It’s not about the gift; it’s about the impact of their cumulative contribution. I’ve been pondering supporter recognition recently, and wondering whether we do this nearly enough, never mind well enough. And by recognition, I’m Read more…
I recently had the chance to join a couple of The Resource Alliance’s IFC Pop-up conferences in South Africa to discuss putting your supporter at the heart of your fundraising communications. (By Skype, I hasten Read more…
Who’d have predicted the events of 2016? We’d all love a crystal ball to see what the next few years hold for us all. In relation to fundraising, here’s the next best thing. In autumn Read more…
Only a few years ago a senior UK fundraiser was quoted in an article about staff development. He talked of getting his female staff mentors, to help them behave in a more ‘feminine’ way in Read more…
“What the heart knows today the head will understand tomorrow.” – James Stephens, Poet, 1880 – 1950 When I was a kid coming to terms with the insignificance of self, it was the infinity of the big Read more…
What is success in fundraising? And what is failure? That might seem a ridiculously simple and binary question with a ridiculously simple and binary answer: it’s what works, and what does not. And yet it Read more…
The future of fundraising will no doubt be something we don’t even know about yet. You know, the next Big Thing. Of course, it’s going to be digital, isn’t it? Probably. Maybe. Or it could Read more…
I once had a rather nice Italian linen suit. Back in the day when a rather baggy disheveled look was cool. Or so I thought at the time. One day when I went to collect Read more…
Some years ago, I had a charity Board insist that my fundraising programme should deliver a return on investment, or fundraising ratio, of 4:1; that is, not cost more than 25% of gross income. On Read more…
You’ll have to be my age or older if you know the name of Harold Sumption. And even then, you probably won’t. But you should. Harold was there at the beginning of modern fundraising. He Read more…
“Show a people as one thing, over and over again, and that is what they become”, said author Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie in her thought-provoking TED talk on the danger of telling a single story. She Read more…
Integration: such an easy word to say, such a wonderful idea. But such a difficult thing to do. A Utopian dream or the latest thing that just makes our jobs harder? It’s not the first time I’ve used this classic quote from Confucius, but he does nail it: “Life is simple, but we insist on making it complicated”. (more…)
Give donors more choice over where their money goes. It sounds like a no-brainer, doesn’t it? If we want to be supporter-focused, and help them feel genuinely close to the mission, why wouldn’t we let Read more…
Well, there’s a provocative question or two. But I’d suggest the answer is yes, it probably is. It all started with a throw-away comment from a client, that a year after working out their ideal Read more…
Where do most non-profits tend to start when it comes to telling their story? They start with themselves. “Who We Are”, or on their website “About Us”. And then they move on to “What We Read more…
“An organiser’s job is to help ordinary people do extraordinary things” – Cesar Chavez, US Farm workers’ Leader
The first time I met my fundraising guru Ken Burnett (and I mean, the first time he actually spoke to me), was in Heathrow baggage hall after an International Fundraising Convention, many years ago (my days of being a young up-start are over). Star-struck I introduced myself. “So you’re the one doing great things at Oxfam”, he said to me. Well, as part of a great team of others, yes, I suppose I was. Because we were. What a moment. I didn’t wash my shaken-hand for a week. (more…)
What’s the difference between a fundraiser and a con-man? There could be a joke there, but I think I’d be asking for trouble, and anyway, I can’t think of a funny punch line. It’s a Read more…
Yeah, yeah, crowd-funding is the new big fundraising idea. Nothing new there. But I recently did something through Kickstarter. It got me thinking about why it is so exciting. It is simple, tangible, direct, involving Read more…
Fundraisers do talk a lot about their donors, relationships, the need (and right) to ask, the importance of saying thank you. The challenge of retention, and the importance of making supporters feel special. But we Read more…
