The New Lexicon of Fundraising: Part 6 Greek word: ‘philanthropos’ = Humanity loving There has never been so much interest, focus or activity around what we have traditionally called ‘major donors’.The Sector has a new Read more…
It’s pretty much impossible to be a fundraiser these days and not be thinking an awful lot about retention. As a sector, we’re losing more donors than we’re bringing in, and it’s getting scary to Read more…
The New Lexicon of Fundraising: Part 3 “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.” Buddha So having looked at the very core Read more…
The New Lexicon of Fundraising; Part 2 Change your words, change your mind, change your outlook, change your actions and change the world. In this second challenge piece on the words we use to describe Read more…
At the IFC this week I will be presenting a completely new session on changing your mind-set, changing your words and changing the way you think about fundraising. A powerful set of challenges to begin Read more…
When on holiday recently in Iceland on a remote, deserted road I saw two sheep being hit by a truck. I stared aghast as one twitched and quivered in its death throes, paralysed on its Read more…
“Everybody who donates to our organization is a friend to us. We make no difference in how we treat our donors.” It’s about a year ago when Eveline Aendekerk, executive director of dance4life, said this to me. At first I thought she shared this as her ‘vision on fundraising’ to me, as a lot of fundraisers do. But she went on and told me about the friends4life concept. And I learned that when Eveline talks about her donors as her friends, she means it literally. (more…)
There are statistics and numbers that stay on your mind for months and constantly challenge your assumptions. One of the numbers that keeps me awake at night (seriously!) is the ratio 6 vs. 59. Yes, you know, or you should know, this is the % of customer attrition in the commercial world vs. the nonprofit sector, according to Bloomerang. (more…)
The one thing we didn’t guard well was the treasured book itself. There’s a lot that I recall with affection from my first fundraising job. But one thing I remember particularly fondly – the good Read more…
What’s not to like about our donors?
Sally Field is almost as famous for her 1985 Academy Award-acceptance speech for Places in the Heart as she is for her entire acting career: “I can’t deny the fact that you like me,” she gushed. “Right now, you like me.”
Flash forward to 2013 and thanks to Facebook, we all get a chance to be Sally Field on our very own stage nearly every day. (more…)
‘Donor (or supporter) journeys’ is all the buzz in the nonprofit world, with prominent thinkers peddling the virtues of mapping out the donor experience. But as a fundraiser actually working on the front-line of income generation in a difficult financial climate, I’d like to add a critical voice to the discussion. (more…)
Today 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…)
It’s tragically ironic that ‘Relationship Fundraising’ comes of age in a year when donor retention is at an all time low. When Ken Burnett published his book 21 years ago his definition read: “Relationship fundraising Read more…
Last week, a friend of mine queued for more than one hour to get me a surprising present: a soft drink! Since then, I’ve been thinking how this could be an inspiring idea for us Read more…
I think that if I was writing fiction instead of remembering something that happened, I would never have given her that dress. – Alice Munro, “Voices” We’re in the high holy days of Ontariocottaging right Read more…
When did thank you become so difficult?
For years, the top 250 charities in the UK have been receiving over 90% of donations made, and yet donor attrition rates are holding steady between 15 and 35 per cent annually.
To combat this, they have developed more and more ways to say thank you, to create ‘touch points’ with their donors, to explain what £3 a month could do — but they should take the lead from some of their small charity cousins who, instead of a donor development strategy and a ‘contact chart’ simply respond back with a simple but heartfelt “THANK YOU so much for your donation, with it we can keep doing good work on your behalf.” (more…)
As the Institute of Fundraising, UK, celebrates thirty years of championing excellence in fundraising, I have created a new presentation with fresh thinking on what we have learnt in thirty years and which learning people Read more…
Everyone in the sector is trying to tell their story. The power of storytelling was showcased earlier this month when 20 well known fundraisers shared tales that had inspired them at SOFII’s ‘I Wish I’d Thought of That’ (or, in my case, ‘I Wish I’d Gone to That’!)
But if everyone does it how’s yours going to stand out? (more…)
By the time you read this, Commander Hadfield (@Cmdr_Hadfield) and his rather handsome moustache will have been back on our blue planet for a good few days. I was one of millions charmed and moved Read more…
In February I met with fundraisers in Amsterdam to brainstorm how we could engage our various supporter relationships (‘leads’ or prospects) to move them to become donors to our organizations.
And while I suspect that most came to the session “Turning Likes into Cash” to hear the closely held secret to raising donors via social media (spoiler: there isn’t one), I would like to think that most participants left with at least one practical idea that they didn’t have before the session. (more…)
At =mc we’ve been working a lot recently on fundraising and income growth strategies with a range of agencies- from global ones like UNICEF to national ones like AIDS Fonds/Stop Aids Now! in Holland. We’re also helping a number of local museums in the UK cope with local government cutbacks.
The strategies we were discussing for these agencies were obviously very different and were designed to deliver very different outcomes. (more…)
My last blog was a bit of a rant. It was a rant because I was really cross with a charity that I had supported for over 12 years that hadn’t been in touch with me to:
Last week was one of the UK’s largest small donation programme spectacles… Comic Relief. This annual campaign, now in its twenty fifth year has raised over £800m for use in the UK and abroad tackling social injustice and improving the lives of millions. Capturing the heart and imagination of the UK, it has grown from a single day event into a sustained build-up of programming, activity and fundraising that culminates in over seven hours of televised entertainment and fundraising pleas. (more…)
This is not leap, a hop maybe but definitely not a leap. Fact One: Scientists discovered and recently reported in www.wjs.com that smiles reduce stress.
Who knew? (more…)
I had my first fundraising experience when I was a kid. I supported an animal welfare organization as a member of their youth program and collected money door to door. After a few years I Read more…
