communication
A Brief History of Fundraising
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…
campaigns
Fishing for P2P Fundraisers
As professional fundraisers we often feel like fishermen. We dangle our best case messaging like bait over a pool of potential donors and wait patiently (or not so patiently) until they take it and make Read more…
campaigns
The Future of Fundraising is Organising. Because Together, We Can …!
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…
campaigns
How to DIY a digital strategy that actually works
Wouldn’t you like to relax and have a digital strategy that works, rather than chase the latest new social media channel and always wonder if you’re spending your time in the wrong place? You can Read more…
acquisition
British Fundraising Is in a Crisis – of Courage
As a fundraiser from the UK it has been really upsetting for me to watch how many UK fundraisers have been reacting to the negative press that is focused on charity fundraising. Fundraising consultant Mark Read more…
communication
Is asking the only way to fundraise?
“But we need to ask!” That’s always been the assumption. The golden rule of fundraising. Ask more people, or ask people for more, is how to raise more money. So we need to ask. In Read more…
Latest posts
Rebecca’s First 47 Days
This Monday, March 28, I’m reporting to work in my new role as Chief Development Officer for Save the Children Canada. It’s been more than a year since I left my last full-time staff position. Read more…
acquisition
The Pursuit of Stardust Solutions
~Numerous Jedi Masters have translated this post from Yoda’s unique way of speaking to improve reading ease.~ Small spoiler alert, friends, if you have not seen new Star Wars movie. Many watched Star Wars: The Read more…
donors
Stop talking about ‘stewardship’ – start doing it
Sad though it is to admit, you do get to a certain point in life where you start to notice certain themes, dynamics, characters and scenarios you’ve come across many times before – sometimes over Read more…
communication
Bring back the joy of giving – it’s time to make donors smile
Stop for a moment. Forget any fundraising crisis. This might be hard considering recent blogs which have included headlines such as: “When fundraising hurts” “Relationship fundraising: It’s complicated” “Have we reached boiling point?” “The price Read more…
acquisition
Donor centricity is easy, but it’s not
It’s really unfair. Like any fundraiser, you’ll eventually discover the concept of donor centricity, just like any marketeer discovers customer experience optimisation. You’ll love the concept, because your gut tells you it’s the Truth. You’ll Read more…
high value donors
What does major gift excellence require?
I don’t mean what you need to get the job or even how to keep it. Too many nonprofits are willing to settle for less than the best. There are more available positions than there Read more…
donors
I can’t get no (remuneration based on donor) satisfaction
My previous blog on 101fundraising earlier this week outlined some of the key theories from social psychology that Rogare’s project to review relationship fundraising had suggested might be usefully applied to the discipline. I now Read more…
campaigns
Will you help make 2016 the year of the donor?
The year just passed will probably get, and deserve, some colourful descriptors from fundraisers, most of them uncomplimentary. In Britain particularly it was uncomfortable, to say the least. But as the year ended a number Read more…
acquisition
Let’s shake up this year’s Christmas appeal!
Christmas is coming and during the next month or so the final edits of this year’s TV appeals will be finished, cold mailings will be sent to fulfilment houses and telephone banks will be priming Read more…
acquisition
Trust, Confidence and Impact
Please turn yourself into your Grandmother. This might be hard if she is no longer with us. I only met one of my Grandmothers and she was run over and killed by a Rolls Royce Read more…
career
5 Tips to survive the insanely busy fundraising season
It’s the busiest time of the fundraising year. We’re leveraging the giving spirit of the holiday season and the tax benefits of the end of the calendar year, and we’ve got appeals and asks coming Read more…
acquisition
Have we reached boiling point? – Why we need fundraising to change
Apparently if you put a frog in a pot of boiling water it will jump out. Yet put a frog in a pot of water and gradually heat it up the frog will not jump out Read more…
campaigns
This Christmas there is a #manonthemoon
On the real and virtual high streets of the UK, John Lewis – an employee owned UK department store – owns Christmas. The launch of the John Lewis Christmas advert has become an important part Read more…
campaigns
How we Raised the $ to Sponsor a Large Refugee Family from Syria
We’re The Ripple Refugee Project, a group of private citizens in Toronto who’ve come together because we want to help refugee families start new lives in Canada.And under Canada’s Private Sponsorship of Refugees Program, that Read more…
individuals
Your Inner Fundraising Voice
~Numerous Jedi Masters have translated this post from Yoda’s unique way of speaking to improve reading ease.~ There is much Dark Side fundraising being done in our sector. Yet no one fundraiser is to blame. Read more…
acquisition
Four Things from #IFC2015 That Will Help You be a Better Fundraiser
The Resource Alliance’s International Fundraising Congress is hands down the best investment a fundraiser can make in their career and themselves. Every year, some of the best minds in fundraising gather in Noordwijk to elevate Read more…
communication
Ice bucket a year on…
What a difference a year makes – last year I was in Malaysia working with a brilliant Buddhist charity that helps orphans and elderly people sadly neglected, when the ice-bucket challenge hit and all the Read more…
governance
Apples and Pears: The Curse of the ROI Fundraising Ratio
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…
acquisition
Look Outside
One of my long term mantra’s has been to ‘use windows, not mirrors’, a simple way of reminding myself that truly to move forward, be in line with the market place and to have any Read more…
