Charities should be less squeamish and see private sector as an agent of change, not the enemy. There’s a distrust of business, big business in particular, that I’ve experienced in my time in the “for Read more…
Is this a tasteless headline or attention grabbing? Does it matter if it’s tasteless? Let’s get legacy giving noticed How many legacy campaigns are noticed? In focus groups it is truly frightening to discover that Read more…
I have been having one of those ongoing conversations with Atallah Kuttab, the founder of Saaned, an organization devoted to growing philanthropy in the Middle East. In addition to being a charming person, I find Read more…
Despite humanity’s best efforts, through technology or divination, we are yet to master the art of forecasting the future. This article has no ambition to improve on that record. The commentary to follow is a Read more…
Jenny Santi is a philanthropy advisor to some of the world’s most generous givers, celebrity activists, and leading financial institutions in Europe and Asia, helping them channel their wealth, power and search for meaning toward Read more…
Budweiser is bringing friends together. Chevy is keeping America rolling. And we’re all trying to keep up with the Kardashians. For-profit brands just get it. Driving big sales is all about telling us on the Read more…
For far too long, supporter services teams were considered to be a mere “back office” function, perhaps an extension of the individual giving department, and consigned to processing and administration. But a major transformation of Read more…
While my work is focused almost entirely on helping social impact organizations create cultural transformation, it’s surprising how much comfort and insight can be found in the fundamental laws of physics that I learned in Read more…
May 2015 was a watershed month for our sector. The tragic death of Olive Cooke, and the subsequent media mauling, forced us (or at least some of us) to re-examine our “best” practise. In the Read more…
Anyone who knows me, or has seen me speak at conferences, will probably be aware of my ongoing love/hate relationship with Audi. I feel the same way about a visit to the garage as I 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…
It should be resisted, vigorously and comprehensively. Here’s why. I’m no enthusiast for small print or screeds of regulations. Put the two together and I quickly lose the will to live. So, my response to Read more…
The basic problem with much of fundraising today is that we fundraise AT people. Should we start by thinking of donors as existing to meet the charity’s needs? Or should we start by thinking about donors’ Read more…
Here we are, folks… the first Top 10 of 2017. Great stuff, as always! Looks like there’s a lot of interest in digital — as it should be! (1) 2017 Digital Outlook Report: 62 percent of Read more…
Neichute Doulo, CEO of Entrepreneurs Associates, was named India’s 2016 Social Entrepreneur of the Year by the Schwab Foundation for Social Entrepreneurship. The Naga movement, one of the oldest unresolved armed conflicts in the world, Read more…
It seems kind of staggering, no? Nonetheless, that’s the finding from the third annual Digital Outlook Report, a joint effort of Care2, hjc, NTEN and The Resource Alliance. The theme of this year’s report is Read more…
Here’s five ways charities can address out-of-hours social media work.
No doubt, the power of consumer spending is undeniable. Aliza “Alice” Napartivaumnuay, co-founder of Socialgiver, has harnessed that power to create a movement to support social change around the world. Socialgiver is an online giving Read more…
A while back, Seth Godin wrote about there being plenty of room on the island. He observed that authors regularly recommend other authors even though an MBA program would call them “competitors.” It’s a great Read more…
When I was a kid I had the fortune to grow up in the deserts of the Middle East. A place that was brilliantly interesting, but not particularly hospitable to life — especially the life Read more…
I made eye contact with an armadillo the other day. Well, I was staring at it, and I admit it might have been folly to think it was doing anything more than looking past me Read more…
“Organizations face internal and external actors and influences that make it uncertain whether, when, and the extent to which they will achieve or exceed their objectives. The effect this uncertainty has on the organization’s objectives is Read more…
It’s not easy being a fundraiser at the best of times. But in the current market, the pressures and expectations on fundraising organisations can have a huge impact on our workforce at all levels. What Read more…
Let me start with a short eulogy, then quote some of what I, and many others, believe are the wisest words ever said about fundraising, before leaving you with a question: How much of this Read more…
A new piece of research from Birkbeck/LSE highlights major issues with the “broken” contract between donor and humanitarian NGOs such as Oxfam, Save the Children and others. It asks big questions of fundraisers and calls Read more…
