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Rob Woods

Rob Woods (@woods_rob) is an author and award-winning fundraising trainer. Initially at the NSPCC, he has been giving courses that lift financial results for eleven years. He is a tutor for the IOF Academy in the UK and his clients include CRUK, Oxfam, Tate and UNICEF. If you found this blog useful you can check out Rob’s courses, blogs and more free resources, including How to influence supporters when you speak - the six common mistakes and how to avoid them at www.brightspotfundraising.co.uk

Focus is power

‘Two weeks of my time, completely wasted!’ The frustration was evident on the face of the corporate fundraiser. She had been telling me she had known from the start that the partnership she’d been told Read more…

Rob Woods

Win that Pitch

Woman speakingSeven Scarily-common Mistakes that Harm your Chances of Winning Valuable Partnerships

When several years ago, Alix Wooding and her then team at Alzheimer’s Society won the partnership (worth £7.5 million) with UK retailer Tesco, it was the second time her charity had won the Tesco partnership in a decade. For the same charity to be selected again so soon was unprecedented. And it was not through luck.

Though the pitch included some fabulous touches, more importantly, they did not make the fundamental errors of pitch design that happen in 95% of corporate fundraising pitches.

I’ve spent 14 years as a fundraiser, pitch coach and trainer to fundraisers. And after conducting interviews with some of the most successful pitchers on the planet, I have noticed fascinating patterns in how the regular winners approach pitch design. Their habits are different from those who work hard but usually fail to get through. (more…)

Rob Woods