How do you ‘sell’ your cause to people?

If you find yourself talking to someone about your charity in the pub or at the school gates, what do you tell them? Do you trot out your vision and mission statement, and those inevitable bullet points describing your main services? Is there a particular story you always tell?

I’ve been involved with many charities as a fundraiser, consultant, mentor and trustee. If you work for one of these organisations then you might want to look away now. Sorry, but when I tell someone about what your charity does, I rarely use your carefully crafted marketing language.

The unavoidable reality is that many causes are hard to explain, particularly in these times of austerity. Multiple disadvantage, multiple services for one beneficiary group, or one particular issue that affects multiple groups.

It’s often tricky to distil this into one concise, meaningful description. That bullet point list might sound ok on paper but it’s instantly forgettable when recited verbally. Staying 'on brand' can sound a bit…bland.

I think there’s a better way to engage people in what you do. Stop trying to tell them everything, and instead look for your ‘diamond in the detail’.

All the charities I really ‘click’ with and enjoy talking about have something in common. Amidst all their services, statistics and slogans, I’ve found a particular thing that for me really captures why they do what they do.

​Often this is a beneficiary story, but it could just be a concept or an idea that’s easy to understand and memorise. I’ll give you a couple of examples.

I spent five years at Link Community Development, a charity working to ensure children in sub-Saharan Africa receive a meaningful education. Link provides teacher training, quality assessments of schools and helps headteachers and district authorities to run schools better. The Millennium Development Goals focused on getting children into school but not what happened when they were there. So Link’s work was vital, but not very ‘sexy’.

Over time, by speaking to teachers and parents in South Africa and Malawi, I understood things better. Children growing up in countries ravaged by HIV/AIDS don’t miss school because they don’t want to be there. They stay at home to look after sick relatives, or work the land to earn money for their family because their parents are no longer with them.

Many people see children not attending school as the biggest problem. But for me, the burning injustice is encouraging children to walk five miles to school because it’s ‘the right thing to do’, meaning they can't perform a critical role in their families, then failing to provide them with an education that makes any difference when they get there.

This was my ‘diamond’ for explaining why Link’s work was so important. As a problem that urgently needed fixing, it meant so much more than saying ‘Link works in five countries in sub-Saharan Africa doing X, Y and Z to improve the quality of education in schools.’

​I’m currently working with a very different charity called The Camden Society, who provide a range of services to people with a learning disability. Among other things, this includes supported living, employment and health and wellbeing.

But if you ask me about The Camden Society, this isn’t what I’ll tell you. Instead I’ll talk about their amazing apprenticeship programme, helping to arrange job trials for people who would otherwise lack the core skills to secure a role in the catering industry.

I’ll tell you about the apprentice I heard speak who knew he would never shine in a formal interview, but proved in a trial that he could prepare food more quickly than any of the regular staff. He secured a job where he could thrive and feel proud of his skills, and he’s not looked back since.

This is just one aspect of the charity's work, but it's the one I feel most comfortable and passionate talking about. 

You don’t need to talk about the whole of what your charity does, or even focus on your main project. By finding your own ‘diamond in the detail’, you'll be able to explain things with more belief and passion. Crucially, this diamond may be different for every staff member or volunteer.

I've heard people find their own engaging ways to talk about their charity, only to be told that it's not on brand - which I think is a real shame.

It can be helpful to think of your charity as a cube. There are many sides to what you do. People can only see one or two sides at any one time, but those sides are still part of the whole shape.

Ultimately, is it better to give someone a concise and complete summary of what you do and hope they remember it? Or tell them one specific memorable thing that can be a ‘hook’ for finding out more later?

You might be willing to try this approach when talking to family and friends, but I’m convinced it can be just as effective with donors, funders or companies. So isn’t it time you found your diamond in the detail?

What particular diamond works best for your cause? Do you have some different advice for engaging people? We’d love to hear from you – please leave a comment below.

This week, after months of planning, my partner Sally and I finally took the plunge and moved to Bristol.

Like many people, we were looking to buy our first house but facing the reality of London house prices. We knew that saying goodbye to North London after ten years would mean more space and a better quality of life. However, uprooting not just our home but our social lives and my growing business has been challenging and, at times, daunting.

Moving house is stressful at the best of times, especially when you’re relocating to a new city. On top of the usual challenges, we’ve got two very anxious young cats and unwittingly scheduled our move at the same time as a prolonged heatwave!

Unpacking boxes and painting walls as the thermometer hit 31 degrees wasn’t a pleasant experience – especially when we had to keep doors and windows closed to prevent our cats making a break for freedom. Even the local Tesco (our one local supermarket) couldn’t cope with the heat as their fridges broke down - so not only did we run out of basic supplies, we couldn't even celebrate with a calming alcoholic drink either.

So how can you ensure 'business as usual' when you're surrounded by mayhem? Plenty of small businesses - including charities - face the same challenge during a major upheaval such as office move, a change of leadership, or even a key staff member facing something big in their personal lives.

Reminding your staff (and beneficiaries) about the positives of a big transition can reduce anxiety and maximise productivity. Every big change brings opportunity as well as uncertainty, even when it's unplanned. I love this story about Ben Medansky, who used a devastating fire in his studio to launch a new range of ceramics and find the time to reflect on and rejuvenate his business.

4. Count on others

'Business as usual' is only possible when things run smoothly. This means working closely with colleagues, but also not being afraid to ask for help from everyone else in your life.

Sally and I have had to work as a team to overcome the challenges of our own move. When we exchanged contracts on our house, I was in the midst of an intense month of work, so Sally took on the unenviable task of endless dealings with solicitors and mortgage brokers. In return, I've taken extra time off work for the move itself, so Sally could get back to some urgent work more quickly.

We've had help from so many people including our brilliant friends Sam and Jess, who even let our removal men into the house when we took a wrong turn on the motorway and arrived an hour late!

5. Have a bit of patience

While our initial move went smoothly, it wasn't long before we encountered problems - a washing machine that didn't work, a fuse that keeps tripping, and a particularly long afternoon in Ikea.

When we initially made it to Bristol and started unpacking quickly, I felt that the worst part was behind us and everything was working out perfectly. So when things started going wrong, I struggled to stay patient and deal with it.

​Any big move or transition period involves ups and downs. Paradoxically, ensuring business continuity involves accepting that nothing will go completely to plan, and that disruption will linger for longer than you'd like. This helps you to stay calm and keep things ticking along in the meantime. Getting frustrated rarely does any good, so it's better to take a deep breath and just get on with it.

If you've recently survived a big transition period in your work and have your own tips, or if you're based in the South West and would like to find out more about what we do, please come say hi.

This is the first part of a two-part blog by our Director Mike Zywina. Click here to read part two. 

Exacerbated by the huge squeeze on statutory funding, trusts and foundations are more oversubscribed than ever. Sadly that's only likely to increase after Brexit, as funders make less money on their investments - which is often what sustains their annual giving - and charities look elsewhere after becoming cut off from European funding.

The rise of online funder databases and freelance trust fundraisers has made it easier for charities to churn out more applications, but often with a focus on quantity not quality.

Consequently, success rates are on the decline. I've seen several funders openly advertising that they fund less than 5% of the applications they receive. One funder said that by late January, they've often received far more applications than they could ever dream of funding in a whole year.

With so many letters arriving on your desk, just imagine how picky you can be about what makes the cut.

There's no guaranteed method for writing a successful application - and you should probably be suspicious of anyone who tells you there is. However, there are some sure-fire ways of making sure your application gets thrown out at the first stage. Here are my top ten:

1. Taking a punt with a 'circular appeal'

Don't get me wrong, I can see the temptation. We've heard that we might get a 10% success rate from cold applications, and we've already written a decent general appeal. So if we send out 20 more requests for £10,000, that should mean two successes and another £20,000 in the bank. Easy, right?

Except it doesn't work. Most funders hate receiving a 'circular appeal' with nothing personalised beyond the name and address, and they can see them coming a mile off. In this competitive climate, tailoring your application is a must.

You might enjoy a brief sense of anticipation and satisfaction that you've 'covered a lot of ground', but you probably won't bring in any cash. Worse still, you could find yourself blacklisted by a few funders.

Try this instead: Of course, this isn't to say you shouldn't box clever and re-use content where appropriate. Strong template applications are the bedrock of a good trusts and foundations programme.

However, you must take the time to research and understand a funder's interests and priorities, show you've done your research by tailoring what you write, then crown it with a personalised cover letter.

​People often claim trusts fundraising is a numbers game - that's rarely true, and ten high quality applications will do much better than a hundred mediocre ones.

2. Making basic mistakes

Getting the funder's name wrong, mis-spelling a trustee's name, assuming that someone is a 'Mr' when you could have easily checked and found they're a 'Mrs'. The administrator is probably looking for an easy way of quickly reducing their pile of applications, and you've just provided it.

Try this instead: Check all the basic details, check them again, and check a third time to be sure. Ideally, use the funder's website - or a database like Trustfunding - rather than your own database or spreadsheet, in case your records are out of date.  

If you've spent a whole day drafting applications, your eyes have probably lost all ability to spot mistakes. It's a great idea to do any final checks the next day, with a fresh head. You could also create a simple checklist to always run through before pressing print or sealing that envelope.

3. Getting your budget wrong

Catastrophic budget mistakes are surprisingly easy to make, but hard for a funder to forgive.

This can happen when multiple people are involved with working on the figures but don't document their workings, or when you change one figure in a column at the last moment and haven't set the total to auto-calculate. Suddenly your numbers can be way out, which is a big red flag for a funder being asked to trust your charity with thousands of pounds.

Try this instead: Triple check your numbers, because they're arguably even more important than what you write.

​If several people are involved with creating the budget, make sure they leave a 'paper trail' of their workings, and ideally put in formulae rather than just numbers. Create a budget calculator tool in Excel that automatically calculates totals - this may take some time at first, but will make things much easier in the long run.

4. Ignoring the guidelines

Funders often take the time to provide a wealth of useful information in their written guidelines and on their websites, yet too many fundraisers don't use this to their advantage.

Skipping the guidelines is a bit like going on a treasure hunt without reading the clues. You're very likely to waste your time on an application that doesn't make the grade, and you might even damage your future application prospects by frustrating the funder too.

Try this instead: Before starting work on an application, take stock of how much information the funder has published. Some just provide basic guidelines about the length and format of your application. Others have a detailed FAQs page, examples of projects they've previously funded, and even in-depth advice about answering specific questions.

Whether there's a single paragraph of info or a comprehensive website, make sure you read it in full before you start writing. You should also refer back to the guidelines as you proceed, making sure you demonstrate your knowledge and understanding of their criteria as you answer the questions.

5. Missing the all-important deadline

Not all trusts and foundations set specific deadlines - but when they do, they mean them. While a day late may not seem much to you, it makes a bad impression and offers a good reason to throw out your application.

Try this instead: Research deadlines meticulously in advance and work backwards to set key dates and milestones for the different stages of your application: gathering the raw information to go in it, producing a first draft, reviewing with colleagues and getting it signed off. All of these stages take time, especially when colleagues are busy, so build in an extra margin just in case!

Of course, avoiding a last-minute rush is easier said than done. But it's vital if you want to avoid wasting effort on an application that never gets read. You can make things easier for yourself by prioritising your time and skipping applications that you don't have time to do properly, or where there's only a tiny chance of success.

If you’re a parent, there’s every chance you spent the weeks after Christmas encouraging your children to write their thank you cards. Once you finally convince your child to put down their new toys and pick up a pen, it doesn’t take *that* long. It’s a nice gesture and (provided the envelope doesn’t shower the recipient in too much glitter) always welcomed.

If you’re a fundraiser, the chances are you returned to work after the Christmas break and set about writing your own thank you notes.

We know that offering the right thanks is as important as making the right ask; a well-crafted thank you is one of the best fundraising tools out there. So, writing thank you letters is something we do regularly. Right? Maybe not…

A few years ago, I heard philanthropist Dame Stephanie Shirley speak at the launch of a new fundraising book. Having gone back through her paperwork she discovered 40% of the donations she has made have never been acknowledged. Can you imagine?

Let’s be honest; we all can. It’s no excuse but fundraising generates a *lot* of admin and we’ve no doubt all had that sinking feeling when we realise a gift has been missed. If this happens more frequently than you would like, why not forget the never-going-to-happen New Year’s resolutions of giving up chocolate or going jogging five times a week and stick to a much more achievable aim: ‘get better at saying thank you’.

I spoke to three very different donors to find out what matters to them when it comes to being thanked (I’m really not spoiling the ending if I tell you that a generic letter isn’t going to cut it).

1. Time is of the essence  

Rosie, who has organised several charity balls and made personal donations to good causes, says the single most important thing is speed:

"I really notice when I receive a thank you from a charity a few days after the event; hand-written would always be the most impressive.

"I recently organised a gala and the excellent development manager at the charity rang the people who made substantial donations the very next day to say a huge thank you. She explained she would be writing but wanted to say thank you immediately. It was clever because it enabled her to build a personal relationship and to use it as an opportunity to get direct feedback about the event. Then she followed up in writing."

This development manager’s approach reminded me of something Charity Water did. The video is more than five years old but as a concept, it feels fresh and current:

Next time you’re thanking donors after a big event or campaign, could you do something similar? As well as giving them a warm fuzzy glow and an opportunity to speak directly with you about your work, it’s a great team-building experience.

2. The personal touch

Gary has raised thousands of pounds for two charities through the products he sells online. He receives regular emails, rather than letters, from both organisations:

"I very much appreciate reading kind comments in a personal email. I enjoy fundraising and don't do it for thanks but it’s nice to know my efforts are appreciated and that funds are going where they are most needed."

Some of us might baulk at the idea of emailing, rather than writing, to a donor but if that’s what your supporters prefer then it’s the right thing to do. It’s worth remembering that among younger people email is already seen as ‘old hat’. In fact, for 16 to 24 year olds, instant messaging is now considered the single most important means of communication [source: Ofcom].

What might this mean for your organisation’s donor communications in the future?

3. A multi-channel approach

Jenny understands this move away from ‘formal’ communication. She supports three charities, including Moorview Animal Rescue, by way of monthly direct debits and enjoys watching the impact of her gifts online:

"The sums I give are modest and the way I look at it, rather than a proportion of my donation being spent on stationery, ink and postage, it’s better off being used in another way. I appreciate the gesture of a thank you but I follow the charities’ Facebook pages so I can see for myself the difference donors like me are making."

Rosie, Gary and Jenny are three donors out of many tens of thousands, but their experiences and preferences give us something to think about. So, let’s kickstart our New Year’s resolution by learning from children and their Christmas thank you letters.

First, let’s get them out as soon as possible. Let’s make them personal and include comments that mean something to the person reading them. And last of all, if it’s appropriate let’s have a bit of fun with our thank yous. But please… no glitter!

“We really want to create the next Ice Bucket Challenge / No Makeup Selfie / <insert high-profile viral campaign here>.”
 
In my experience, this is one of the most common aspirations voiced by well-meaning staff and trustees. But here's the truth: almost every attempt to emulate this kind of campaign is destined to fail. It's not just that creating a viral campaign in such a busy market is difficult. It's that most people miss the very thing that makes these campaigns successful in the first place.
 
The best campaigns aren’t dreamed up in a boardroom or on flipchart paper. They begin organically - someone shares a personal update which resonates with a few other people who share it. If it's simple, seems genuine and, crucially, doesn’t have any obvious branding or marketing message, then it might gain traction from there.

It’s the organic messages, the simple supporter stories that aren’t put through a brand filter, that really have the potential to capture people's imaginations. So when charities are eager to raise awareness about their organisation and “get their message out there”, all too often they manage to achieve the complete opposite.
 
Of course, I understand the urge to tell your message and story in your own voice. It's definitely a trap I’ve fallen into myself. Particularly for small charities, the chance to shine in the public eye is all too rare. So if you ever get an opportunity, you feel the need to “polish” your message as much as possible. If you’re anxious about measuring the return on your efforts, you're naturally keen to link to your website, ask for a direct donation etc. The problem is, it very rarely works.

​​When your clever marketing people - or staff with expert knowledge of your work - get their hands on your message, they can inadvertently make it sound much drier, and strip away that all-important authenticity.

Most people aren't actually very passionate about specific charities, they're excited by causes and by stories of the people they want to help.

So when you try to reframe your message using the words that matter to you, and put your charity front and centre, you usually miss out on those all-important shares as a result.
 
A couple of weeks ago I went to SOFII's I Wish I Thought of That, an annual event where 17 experts showcase the best and most inspiring fundraising campaign they wish they'd come up with. This year, one theme kept popping up again and again – charities can really gain from being braver about taking a backseat, instead letting the people they help 'own' their own voice.
 
One amazing example of this is Emmy and Jake’s tandem fundraising challenge for The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity. When Emmy Collett received the heartbreaking news that she had thyroid cancer, she embarked on a 2000km tandem cycling challenge with her childhood sweetheart Jake.

Their poignant, inspiring and authentic personal story quickly gained publicity, but The Royal Marsden Cancer Charity made a conscious decision to remain in the background and let the young couple speak freely to the media and ‘own’ their story. People wanted to give these two amazing people, but it was the charity that really gained - to date, Emmy and Jake have raised over £100,000.
 
And this wasn't a one-off, as shown by the unique fundraising efforts of Paul Trueman, inspired by a hard-hitting domestic abuse storyline in BBC Radio’s long-standing The Archers:

​This unique fundraising campaign – using a fictional storyline to highlight the plight of real women – captured the imagination and empathy of the public. Refuge, the beneficiary charity, could have jumped on this and taken the opportunity to tell their organisational story, sell their work and 'polish up' the message. Instead, like Royal Marsden, they trusted the creator of the story to be its best ambassador. £170,000 later, it seems like a pretty good decision.

Christmas 2016 provided some great inspiration too.
 
The festive adverts were a great reminder of the power of storytelling, lingering longer in our minds than the leftover turkey. We’re all familiar with the heart-warming Christmas advert stories by John Lewis and Sainsbury’s – but have you stopped to think about how little the companies feature in their own adverts? By deliberately staying out the limelight, they make their adverts feel less 'salesy' and more authentic, so people are far more likely to share them.
 
My favourite Christmas 2016 advert actually came from Poland, in the form of this lovely tale about a man learning English so he can visit his new family:

​​It’s been viewed nearly 13 million times and widely shared by countless people have fallen in love with the simple, human story. The people behind it, an online auction company called Allegro, barely feature in it at all – yet they’ve gained loads of column inches and seen a big spike in searches and website hits as a result.

So why not enlist others to help tell our stories?

In today's world of spontaneous online interactions, I think that too many charities underestimate how well others can tell their story for them.

I was listening to a social media expert answer questions from charities recently and one of her answers really stuck with me. She was asked how to balance the need to be nimble and react quickly on social media with the need to have ‘brand control’ and sign-off procedures for less experienced staff.
 
Her view was simple: when you take on new staff, they automatically become your ambassadors. You trust them to represent your organisation to their friends and family, to talk about you at parties, in the pub, or over a cup of coffee, and often this leads to really useful introductions – so why not do it online?
 
As you consider your New Year’s Resolutions for 2017, do you think your organisation is brave enough to take a step back and let your supporters tell their own story too?
 
This undoubtedly requires courage, faith in the people who represent you, and a willingness to relinquish control. But get it right, and maybe someday people will be talking about your viral campaign and wondering how they could replicate it.

Fundraising events are a great way to raise money and awareness for your cause and really engage with your supporter base. But with so many charity fundraising events out there – not to mention thousands of profit-making events also competing for your supporters' cash and attention - it's never been harder to stand out from the crowd, especially on a limited budget.
 
Having been involved in promoting charity events for well over 10 years, we thought it'd be handy to compile a list of marketing ideas for smaller charities all in one place.

If your event marketing needs a boost or you're struggling to hit recruitment targets, or even if you just want a handy checklist to make sure you haven't forgotten anything, try these ideas for size…

First things first - visual is everything

1. Make it look nice – these days people are more and more turned off by text and increasingly skip over the copy that you so carefully craft. On social media, websites and even in print, your visual assets are everything. Beef up your event with exciting imagery, inspiring short videos and fun animations. Check out Canva – a great programme for easily creating professional graphics even if you’re no designer.
 
2. Get creative with new events – if you haven't run your event before, you'll inevitably be limited by a lack of real imagery, but it's vital to get around this. Rope in volunteers to take posed photos, create animated graphics or get hold of stock images if needed. Pixabay is a really useful site for free stock images.

​
We know it sounds obvious but...

3. Maximise your contacts – so many people could help you spread the word if only you took the plunge and asked them. Make sure you ask all your colleagues and your trustees to lend a hand, even if their role doesn't usually involve any fundraising. Make the effort to sit down with each person for five minutes and prompt them to think about what help you need and who they know - you'll be amazed by the results. Personal contacts - family and friends - can be a big help too.

4. Don't bury the key info – it's amazing how often charities hide away key details of their event like the date, time, location, entry fee and fundraising target. People will get frustrated if they can't find this information or have to click several times to see it, so keep things clear and simple.
 
5. Website – have you listed your event on your website, made it easy to navigate to, and made the key info easy to find (see above)? If it's a big event that you want to launch with a splash, more people will see it if you unveil it with a news story on your homepage.

6. Social media – with so many different channels to potentially post on, it can be hard to decide how to use your time wisely. Think about the type of people that are likely to sign up for your event, and which channels they use most regularly, then prioritise them. Make your content fun, exciting and interactive so people are more likely to respond to it and share it with their friends. Try to reach key 'influencers' with big followings – their retweets could be like gold dust. Consider trying pay-per-click advertising to reach new people or boost posts if you have the budget.
 
7. Email marketing – email newsletters are often still the best way for smaller charities to engage with their supporters. Include regular plugs about your event – keep text to a minimum but always include a strong image and link to a webpage. To really drive ticket sales, send a short stand-alone email only about your event to supporter groups that are likely to be particularly interested.

Still worth a go...

8. Telemarketing – if you use software like MailChimp, the advantage of including links in your emails (see above) is you can track who's clicking on them. These people will be curious about or interested in your event, so pick up the phone to them (if you have permission) and have a chat bout it. In today's digital-dominated world, don’t underestimate this as a recruitment tool.
 
9. Flyering – another traditional but effective method, flyers and posters of course get a low response rate but are cheap to produce and distribute. Flyering can also gives you an opportunity to talk to people about your event and build a local buzz. Try to be strategic, focusing on areas which fit your target demographic. Ensure your flyers are well designed, engaging and contain all the key info.
 
10. Paid advertising – if the free approach isn’t working, you could pay to place adverts on websites or in printed publications. This can be expensive so do your research first, find affordable options that are most likely to help you reach your target audience, and be sure your advert is good quality.

Think outside the box...

11. Free messages that reach everyone – you may not realise it, but you're broadcasting messages to people every single day that you could use to shout about your event. Add a line about your event to your email signature, out of office message, social media profiles and even your voicemail message - loads more people will hear about it and you'll barely have to lift a finger.

12. Free online publicity – many websites provide local event listings that you can add your event to for free. Try googling “free event listings” to find the best local options for you. You can also search for online forums for people with relevant interests (for instance cycling forums for your sponsored bike ride) and post in them. Even better if you're active on any forums already – you're less likely to see your post removed as spam!

13. Press coverage – quirky and visual events can attract interest from local or even national media. Use any press contacts you have and consider working with a PR company to secure that all-important coverage. You can find some extra tips in this blog.
 
14. Corporate support – companies can support your event by sponsoring it, promoting it to their staff and providing freebies for participants, particularly if you have a prior relationship with them. Have a think about who your best corporate contacts are and what benefits they would get from being involved in the event. For more ideas, check out this previous blog.
 
15. Student support – if your event is suitable for students, a discounted student entry rate could be really appealing. However, inside support is always very helpful, so consider approaching university RAG societies or recruiting student 'reps' to work with you.

Good luck with your fundraising events and if you’ve got any other great event marketing tips, please do share them in the comments below!

This time of year is an unwanted wake-up call for millions of people. You remember the feeling. Six weeks ago, the long summer holiday felt like it could almost last forever. Suddenly, the lazy summer days were all but over and you faced the looming prospect of going back to school.
 
Digging out your uniform to check whether it still fits. The trauma of setting the early morning alarm clock again. Fighting with other family members for ten precious minutes in the bathroom.
 
Across the UK, kids and parents are gearing up for this annual struggle. We’ve thought of a few things that fundraisers could learn from them:
 
1. Summer is over – so make the most of it
 
The end of the summer holiday always feels deflating. Memories of ice creams in the park, summer camps and days at the beach are suddenly cruel as you face the prospect of lessons, airless classrooms and homework.

But all good things have to come to an end. And there are things to look forward to. Seeing your friends and again and sharing your holiday stories. Playing for the football team again. Not having to keep finding new things to do to stave off the boredom (admit it).
 
Many charities enjoy a golden period, with a supportive multi-year funder bringing rare financial security or a big annual event that keeps delivering. Planning ahead for the harsh wake-up call is crucial. Come to terms with the fact that the money will dry up – maybe sooner than expected – and embrace the opportunities that come with this. Make sure you’re developing other sources of income and building relationships with new funders before it’s too late.
 
2. Stock up your pencil case
 
Coloured pens. Calculator. Compass. There’s something exciting about rocking up on the first day of term with a shiny new set of everything, even if you know it won’t last a week.
 
For fundraisers, there are various vital things that you need in your metaphorical pencil case. A case for support. Regular content for the website, newsletter and social media. A ‘shopping list’ articulating what different donation amounts will buy. You could be a great fundraiser, full of creative ideas and great at talking to donors, but you won’t get far without these things.

​As you come back from your summer break, spare a moment to take a step back and consider whether you’ve got everything you need to do your job properly. If you’re missing a key piece of the jigsaw, have an honest conversation internally about why it’s so important for fundraising, and how it’s holding you back.

3. It’s time for a new pair of trousers
 
Nothing marked the end of the summer quite like trudging to the school uniform shop. Nobody really likes school uniform, but we have to keep buying it because kids don’t stop growing.
 
Charities sometimes outgrow their clothes too. Many smaller charities embark on a new fundraising strategy where one person is responsible for trying a few activities. Some don’t work, but a few things start showing promise at the same time. Suddenly it takes much longer to support twice as many volunteers, or process three times as many event enquiries. What used to take 20% of your week now has you staying late two nights a week. The processes initially set up are now inadequate. Cue fundraiser burnout.
 
This can sneak up on you, particularly if your staff don’t feel confident about raising problems or if you’re not monitoring their work. It’s important to embrace the challenges of growth and realise when it’s time for new pair of trousers, before you’re bursting at the seams.
 
4. Get organised before the chaos begins
 
If your family home was anything like mine, the end of summer marks the onset of bedlam. Angry banging on the bathroom door. Squabbling at the breakfast table. A lost book bag and a misplaced shoe. Car horns and traffic jams. It’s like everybody has forgotten everything they ever knew about working together in six short weeks.
 
Most people come back to work after a holiday with good intentions. They’ve had a chance to gain some perspective and make a list of everything they want to achieve, but this can quickly fall away when the emails and calls start coming in.
 
It takes having a routine and being organised to prepare for chaos. For sowing name labels into shirts, read putting all your funder re-application dates clearly into your calendar. For writing your lesson timetable, read planning your calendar of supporter emails and social media updates. Get organised ahead of time, because it won’t take long until the chaos arrives!
 
5. Success depends on having the right environment
 
My parents always struck a good balance with me. They encouraged me to get my homework done in good time, but they weren’t overbearing and they let me make my own mistakes. They praised me when I got good marks, but punished me if I came home with a detention slip. This helped create the right environment for me to do well at school but grow up at the same time.
 
Plenty of great fundraisers fail because the right support isn’t in place. It’s essential for charities to create the right culture for fundraising:

• Encourage all staff and trustees to recognise the importance of fundraising and support where they can.
• Supervise and invest in fundraising so that it’s done properly and in line with regulations.
• Celebrate your donors as central to your work. Never pressurise or harass them to give money.
• Provide staff with adequate training, support, information and targets.
• Encourage staff to periodically step back and look at the bigger picture – and give them time to do it.
• Accept that fundraising and innovation carry an element of risk and not everything will succeed.

And finally…if your summer isn’t over yet, don’t forget to make the most of it!
 
Working in the charity sector can be extremely demanding, with little time to stop and think. Holidays are a rare and vital opportunity to recharge your batteries and gain some much-needed perspective. If you’re lucky enough to have a holiday any time soon, please make the most of it! Check out our top tips on taking a step back.

​​Just when many charities were wondering how things could get any worse, along came the decision to leave the EU.
 
There were already plenty of worries to keep people up at night. Sustained media scrutiny of fundraising practice and charity governance. A disillusioned public with decreasing trust in the sector. The need to get to grips with new fundraising responsibilities for trustees and a new Fundraising Regulator. Further clouds on the horizon in the form of the much-discussed Fundraising Preference Service and incoming EU Data Protection law.
 
Brexit has now added a load more challenges into the mix. It's confirmed a growing belief that the values of many charities are out of step with a large part of the general public, and emphasised the need to win back public trust. Another financial crisis would mean that your beneficiaries need you more than ever but funding would be harder still to find. The huge uncertainty may make many trusts, corporates and high net worth individuals more reluctant to hand over money in the short term at least.

Are you feeling depressed yet? Believe it or not, the aim of this blog is to make you feel more confident and positive about these challenges so bear with us for a bit longer!
 
The sheer volume of bad news for charities recently can make it tricky to absorb everything, understand how it impacts your organisation and decide what to do next. Every day brings new articles and concerns. But if you can cut through the noise and work out how to identify what really matters to you and what you can do about it, you can feel a lot more confident about the future.
 
Last month we ran a workshop at JustGiving about how to future-proof your fundraising efforts in the current climate. We worked with a range of small charities to explore the biggest current challenges are and how to move forward. A big part of this focused on what tools you can use to understand the impact of external factors on your charity and plan for the future.

Here are four great tools for future-proofing your fundraising in the current climate:
 
1. Horizon scanning
 
There's a big difference between being broadly aware of the challenges facing the charity sector and being able to decide and prioritise what's most relevant to your charity.
 
Doing a horizon scanning exercise is a great first step. Start by brainstorming a list of all the different possible issues and trends that you're aware of. Be as specific as possible – for instance don't write 'Brexit' but focus on individual factors like 'corporates less likely to make donations in the short term due to uncertainty'.
 
Next, estimate the likelihood of these things actually happening and the size of the impact they would have on your charity. Plot them on a grid as follows:

This is a great warm-up exercise to get your staff and trustees thinking more clearly about things and prioritising what requires further attention, because trying to react to everything as a small team is impossible. In the graphic above, the issues in the top right quadrant are likely to be the things to discuss further, as they're most likely to happen and will have the biggest impact on your charity.
 
2. Play to your strengths and win back trust
 
With public opinion in charities at an all-time low, there's a clear need for charities to win back trust and engage with their supporters as positively as possible. Many small charities have a natural advantage here, so it's important to think about how you can make the most of this.
 
While larger charities are currently re-evaluating how they fundraise, most smaller charities that we know are in a better position because they:

• Have never sold or bought supporter data to/from third parties
• Don't work with external fundraising agencies
• Naturally have a personalised approach to communicating with their supporters, driven by a small team of passionate fundraisers.

This distinction isn't very well understood by the general public, so there's a risk that smaller charities get associated with the bad news stories affecting some bigger charities. So what can you do to play to your strengths and communicate them more confidently to your supporters?
 
Developing a public supporter promise is a great way to set out your fundraising values and demonstrate how you're different from the 'bad' charities that your supporters may have read about. This is a chance to explain how you treat donors, how you use their data and how you ensure that any other organisations that you work with uphold your high standards. Here’s a great supporter promise developed by Mind.
 
By all means look at supporter promises developed by other charities for inspiration but it's important to avoid just copying them. You need to decide what values are important to you and how you're going to work behind the scenes to honour your promise. This may require you to review your training, induction and administrative processes.
 
When your promise is finished, publish it prominently on your website and make all your supporters aware of it by shouting about it in your newsletter, emails and on social media.
 
3. Review your organisational culture and governance
 
The Board of Trustees plays such an important role in defining a charity’s approach to fundraising, especially in smaller charities. The Board must collectively understand fundraising, engage with it and care about how it's done. Together with your senior management team, trustees should now:

• Review the new guidance on fundraising responsibilities for trustees and make sure that you understand and can comply with them. This may include evaluating what skills or experience are missing and considering whether to recruit new trustees to cover the gaps.
• Ensure that the Board makes time to periodically take a step back and review your fundraising efforts. When the Board only has time to deal with urgent governance duties and be reactive, fundraising often suffers.
• Develop a whole-organisational approach towards fundraising where every staff member and trustee supports fundraising where they can, even just by sharing key campaigns and making use of their contacts. So many smaller charities are limited by the size of their supporter base and this can put real pressure on fundraisers. Sharing responsibility can help you to reduce your reliance on 'the same old donors' and grow a healthier fundraising portfolio.
• Develop a culture of compliance and transparency in fundraising. Make sure that everyone respects the importance of good fundraising and understands legal requirements and sector best practice. Create an environment where staff feel comfortable raising concerns and queries if needed.

4. Review your fundraising strategy
 
We don't know exactly what the future of fundraising will look like, but we do know that now is as good a time as any to do a proper review of your fundraising strategy and evaluate whether you're setting yourself up to succeed in a changing climate.
 
An initial horizon scanning exercise will have helped you to explore the possible impact of various issues on your fundraising activity. A strategy review will now enable you to identify where you are over-reliant on certain fundraising activities, such as individual giving, and what you can do to diversify your fundraising and reduce your vulnerability over time.
 
Diversifying your fundraising and investing in new areas isn't easy because fundraising growth takes time. However, a strong fundraising strategy will allow you to decide where to invest resources, forecast how long it will take to achieve results and justify the business case for investing now.
 
If you need some help with your fundraising strategy, join our mailing list to access our strategy helpsheets and look out for our upcoming workshops and webinars.
 
We explore all these tools for change and many more in our “Fundraising in a changing climate” workshops. We're planning another one this autumn, so please get in touch with us if you’d like to find out more or provisionally reserve a place.

It’s been just over two years since I waved goodbye to full-time employment and turned Lime Green Consulting from a twinkle in my mind into a bona fide consultancy for small charities.
 
Since then, I've met some incredible people, worked on amazing projects and made a few mistakes along the way. Setting up and growing a small business has many things in common with running a small charity, and many of the lessons I've learned will resonate with charity directors, staff and trustees. Here are my top five tips:
 
1. Be clear on your core purpose
 
If you want to get noticed, it’s so important to distil everything that you do into a simple, clear message.
 
When I started out as a consultant, it took some time to understand how to articulate exactly why charities should work with me. I had pretty broad fundraising experience and wasn't sure what was most relevant. I had a naive belief that I could sit down with a charity, discuss their challenges and find a way to make myself useful.
 
In reality, if you’re not clear how you can help someone, most people will be way too busy to take the time to work it out for you. It was only when I developed a really clear proposition and a small range of headline services that I was really in business.
 
Charities must distil their often complex projects and sometimes technical work into a crystal clear message. Get the what and why right and people will ask about the how and with whom later. Don’t throw everything at people immediately – have the confidence that if you give people enough information to remember you and start a conversation then they’ll want to come back and find out more over time.
 
2. Collaborate and grow your universe
 
When I first started out, I was given some wise advice I've never forgotten: “The most important thing is to meet people and make yourself useful. Don’t worry immediately about making money, it will follow.”
 
This is a great motto if you want to meet amazing people, find brilliant opportunities and grow your influence. I always embrace opportunities to meet and help like-minded people, whether at a networking event or over a coffee, without worrying about whether there’s a quick win.

Some people think "I don’t want to spend time chatting to someone if there’s probably nothing in it for me – it’s a waste of time." Instead I always ask myself: “What if I turn down the chance to meet someone and it could've been the next big opportunity or introduction?”

These days we’re always under time pressure so it’s tempting to evaluate everything in terms of the immediate return. However, it's so valuable to take the time to discuss challenges and share problems with people in a similar position at another organisation - this can give you a new perspective and help you to solve your own internal challenges.

I believe that charities can gain a lot from collaborating with each other, sharing ideas and teaming up for joint projects - there can be too much of a tendency within the sector to view other organisations only as competitors.
 
3. Develop your expert voice
 
If you run a small charity, there's usually so much to do and so little time. We’re naturally inclined to focus mostly on urgent short-term goals, yet we also expect to be capable of thinking big and staying relevant. In reality, we can only do this if we keep one eye on what’s happening outside our organisation.
 
I try to dedicate time every week to keeping abreast of wider issues in the charity sector – reading articles, sharing ideas on forums and social media, and writing blogs. It’s sometimes difficult to fit this in alongside other work. However it means that more people notice me and also helps me to develop my voice and opinions on key issues that people expect me to know about.

Always be on the look-out for key developments and conversations that you can contribute to. This is challenging because you can’t control when things pop up, for instance as the result of a news story, so you often have to make time at short notice. However, get this right and over time people will come to see you as an expert and this brings lots of opportunities.

Being the "go to" authority on a particular topic will make your charity more visible - this can open up fundraising opportunities, attract the people that need your charity's help and enable you to better represent the needs of those beneficiaries as a credible expert voice.

4. Make your content work harder
 
So you’re developing your expert voice and publishing great content, but who’s listening?
 
I read a great tip from Alex Swallow who said that you should spend 20% of your time generating content and 80% sharing it.

With limited time, it’s so tempting to publish something, tick it off the list and move on. However, publishing content is the tip of the iceberg. If blogs are our shop window, then promoting them is the billboard or TV advert that gets people to visit your shop in the first place.
 
When I publish something, I make a big effort to schedule posts about it on LinkedIn, Twitter and Facebook and send personalised emails to people who would find it particularly interesting. Sharing all your content via your mailing list is another great way to keep reminding people that you exist and builds familiarity, credibility and trust over time. Check out our email marketing tips here.
 
I know many charities who could be better at promoting their content and successes to the right people. The next time that you win an award, produce a great impact report or write an insightful article, be sure to share it via all your channels, because it’s no use to you in a dusty drawer.
 
5. Listen to people and don’t be afraid to ask for help
 
It's easy to think that you know what people want, but harder to ask and be led by others. We’re all guilty of something called confirmation bias, where we sub-consciously listen out for information that proves our existing beliefs and ignore anything that contradicts them.
 
So often I hear charities pondering how often to send people a newsletter or fretting about which new event their supporters would like best. Often I say ‘Have you tried asking them?’
 
We often feel the need to present a polished, professional side to people, but involving our supporters in our problems can be a great way to engage people and win trust. Small charities have a natural advantage here as people won’t always expect you to get everything right and will value your ability to be friendly and human. Social media has also made this much easier.
 
If you can ask people for help and make them part of the solution, you create ambassadors who have a natural interest in seeing you succeed, even if this is partly so they feel part of that success themselves!

This blog is based on a version that was first published on The Influence Expert by Alex Swallow in April 2016. If you've enjoyed reading it, please sign up to our mailing list for more blogs and advice.