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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…

Are we asking for the right things?

img (2)We all know what we want from companies, right? Cash, lots of it, for our fabulous and vital work. And because just about every charity in the world (apart from the likes of Greenpeace who are too pure to sully themselves in this way…) is wanting corporate $$, we charities scrap like very scrappy things to secure the dosh for our cause.

Which often leads to disappointment. Corporate cash giving is actually pretty small whichever way you measure it. Whether as a proportion of corporate revenues, profits or charity total income, donations from companies are really not that significant. Few companies give away as much as 1% of their post tax profits and the majority give much less than this. (more…)

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…)

Quit with the gratitude

economic-crisis-1I’m tired of hearing about the ‘economic crisis’ as a reason for not achieving fundraising targets. It’s what it is. It’s the new normal.

The charities that are achieving and exceeding targets today are the ones that accept this new normal and are responding to the needs of their supporters.

This is especially true in corporate partnerships. Companies no longer have budgets for making donations to charities in the same way that they did 5 or ten years ago. Their world has changed. They have to work smarter and leaner. (more…)

Fundraising Insights from India

Bollywood actress Mukerji with India's national flag is seen on set of her new movie in AmritsarToday is the 67th Independence Day of India. Such milestones are good time to reflect on the past and forecast the way forward. Hence I will focus on fundraising insights from India, one of the countries that are generating tremendous fundraising interest globally. These reflections are based on my ‘on-the-ground’ experiences working with non-profit leaders, fundraisers, corporate decision makers as well as donors and philanthropist in India and across Asia. (more…)

Hot potato!

Corporate funding is a hot potato within many NGO’s: lively debates filled with emotion. But how do you judge the (valid) sensitivities and define whether or not corporate support may harm your charity in any Read more…