We're taking a break from some of our heavier writing topics to bring you another edition of Unconventional Wisdom: our round-up of the more unusual and outside-the-box recent thinking from other brilliant fundraisers.

Huge thanks as always to our Trusts Fundraising Consultant, Rachel Cross, for putting together this selection. Let's dive in...

Legacies through the lens of faith 
Written by Naomi Collinson and published by SOFII
As we’re in the midst of Ramadan, and heading towards Passover, Easter and Sikh New Year (Vaisakhi) in April, faith and philanthropy feels like an important topic to cover. The UK is increasingly multicultural, and faiths of many kinds continue to play a huge role in the identities and worldviews of many.

Philanthropy is a key part of many religions, but it’s important to understand the nuances – both across belief systems, but within them too. As this sensitive article highlights, regardless of religion, no two people are the same. When it comes to legacy giving, relationships are pivotal, and there’s a lot we can all learn.

Do rebrands tend to suppress fundraising success?
Written by Mark Phillips and published by Queer Ideas
You may have seen several major charities undergo a brand refresh in recent years, sometimes with eye-watering budgets! But, if rebranding helps to boost your reach and income, surely it’s money well spent, right? This article looks at what the data actually says, tracking the voluntary income via individual giving for six charities for two years following their rebrand. The result – five out of six saw a drop in income, with a combined fall of over £10 million!

Mark highlights some of the donor-informed reasons why this may be the case – rebrands are distracting, expensive, and often reek of a corporate odour. This is just a small sample in a challenging funding climate, but it’s certainly food for thought.

Elite Status-Seeking and Class Reproduction in Civil Society: An Analysis of Corporate Elite Appointments to Charity Boards
Written by Tom Mills and Narzanin Massoumi and published by The British Journal of Sociology
This analysis of the governance of 31,000 charitable organisations in England & Wales shows that the UK’s corporate elite are more likely to join the boards of high-status charities that support traditional upper-class cultural and political ideals, and much less likely to get involved with smaller organisations providing frontline welfare and social services.

For many, this won’t be a huge surprise – but it’s not all doom and gloom. Increasingly, major funders are recognising the need for people with lived experience serving as board members, and seeking explicit evidence of co-designed services and active user involvement. With this increased scrutiny, having a corporate elite on your board could actually end up harming your chances of securing funding in future!

How to spot a major donor in disguise
Written by Caroline Danks and published by The Nest Egg
This golden nugget of wisdom from the wonderful Caroline Danks is for any fundraisers that often find themselves trawling through the Charity Commission’s records, wondering how some charitable trusts can get away with being governed solely by what appears to be a husband and wife. Learning to spot when a major donor might be masquerading as a trust might seriously help you refine your approach to prospecting and targeting potential funders for your charity.

Thank you, Caroline, for doing a detective deep-dive into this often overlooked phenomenon and for sharing these useful tips.

Do charity CEOs need to be more vocal?
Written by Naomi Croft and published by NFP Research
Now for some empowerment. As mentioned in our recent blog post, we need to start talking about what’s going on in the world. Charities don’t exist in a political vacuum, and can’t afford to pretend to. With the harrowing rise of far-right narratives asserting dominance across the West, our sector needs to speak up. CEOs, be encouraged – your voice is more powerful that you think it is.

CEOs of charitable organisations play a fundamental role in thought leadership – for their cause, the values they stand by, and the issues facing civil society. As Naomi’s piece clarifies, we not saying there aren’t risks involved that you should be aware of. But, it’s just as important to be aware of the opportunities here.

Is Social Media Worth the Time and Investment for Small Charities
Published by Third Sector Network
Last but not least, we work with a lot of small charities, and we know many of our readers do too. And one thing small charities have very little of? Time. You may feel pressure to be on social media, but with such restricted capacity, it often feels like an add-on, with posts going out ad-hoc and given little thought.

We think this article is a really helpful and balanced approach to understanding the pros and cons of investing in social media for small charities and deciding what the right approach is for your organisation’s needs and current level of resource. Remember, nothing that takes time is free!
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Have you seen or written an article that you think we should include next time? Comment below and let us know ⬇️

Welcome to Unconventional Wisdom - where we trawl the Internet for some of the more unusual, challenging and progressive articles out there, and serve them up in a periodic digest for charity leaders and fundraisers. With the odd podcast link thrown in for when you need a screen break.

If you'd like to receive this regularly, along with our monthly fundraising and strategy blog, click here to subscribe.

Navigating the guilt of finding joy when the world feels like crap 
Written by Vu Le and published by Nonprofit AF
As the post-Christmas blues hit and we’re thrust back into the oppressive realities of the world in which live and work, this darkly comical yet poignant piece feels like a relevant place to start. Vu Le is based in the US, but gives all of us working in the non-profit sector a timely reminder that being grounded in joy, love, hope and laughter is a vital tool for driving systems change. If you’re feeling particularly guilt-ridden this month, Vu reminds us that the tension between the joy we experience and the injustices in the world can provide us with the fuel we need to keep fighting for a more equitable world. 

Reimagining Impact: Afrofuturism, Imagination, and Traditional MERL Practices
Written by Jessica Oddy and published by Design for Social Impact (DSFI)
Monitoring and Evaluation are words that rarely fill us fundraisers with joy and inspiration, but they really ought to. This article is the latest in a series by DSFI on challenging the inherent inequities built into normalised practices in the social impact sector. We love Jessica’s observations from Afrofuturism, applied with radical insight into the limiting tick-box nature of the traditional monitoring, evaluation and research practices we tend to rely on. She demonstrates the immense value of imagination in designing projects which truly support community-driven solutions and transformative change. We hope this piece challenges and inspires you as much as it did us.  

What’s in store for the sector in 2025?
Written by Tamsin Anderson and published by Mills & Reeve
From imagination and innovation, to an area of charity operation where it’s crucial not to use a creative license. Mills & Reeve Charity Law specialists provide a helpful roundup here of the important changes and predictions which will legally affect charities in the year ahead. For many this won’t be the most exciting topic, but remaining on top of regulations and ensuring you are operating responsibly is crucial for the sustainability of your organisation. This article also gives us some important movements to look out for, such as the new Civil Society Covenant and a revised Charity Governance code. 

Do White Saviour perceptions reduce charitable giving? Evidence from five online studies
Written by Swee-Hoon Chuah et al. and published by Kyklos International Review for Social Sciences
Next up, after Band Aid 40 contentiously hit our headlines last month, this recently published empirical study investigated what impact appeal photos that depict typical White Saviour perceptions have on donations to international aid charities. The ‘White Saviour’ narrative (i.e. Caucasians helping those in the Global South) has been increasingly called out for being problematic and exploitative. Putting its use to the test, Chuah et al. found that charities using images of poverty porn not only do not raise more donations, but can actually lower someone’s likelihood of donating. The study concludes that there is “no case for international NGOs to use such imagery.”

The Future is "AND" - not "OR"
Interview with Richard Watson by Alex Andreou, featured on the Quiet Riot podcast
Lastly, we’re giving your eyes a break and sharing something compelling to listen to. This recent episode of the excellent politics podcast Quiet Riot features Richard Watson, a futurologist (what a job title!) who helps organisations create better strategies by anticipating and responding to big societal trends. In just 35 minutes, this fascinating interview unpacks the art of making predictions in such a volatile landscape, the big trends we ought to be paying attention to, and why we should spend more time thinking about how to shape our "preferred future", rather than just assuming things are set in stone. It’s given us plenty of food for thought for our strategy work in 2025, and we think you'll enjoy it too.

A big welcome to Rachel Cross, our new Trusts Fundraising Consultant, who has written this latest edition of Unconventional Wisdom: our periodic round-up of the most interesting perspectives and ideas published recently by charity specialists, fundraisers and other experts.

Sleep quality and sleep duration are associated with charitable donations
Written by Allison E. Nickel and Michael K. Scullin and published by Science Direct

We’re hearing more and more about the health benefits of good night’s sleep, with a number of popular science books, TV and radio shows dedicated to giving us advice on improving our sack time. It turns out that we might also want to be sharing shuteye advice with our donors, as a national study released in Sleep Medicine online just this month reveals positive correlations between sleep quality and charitable donations.

Across two national surveys of a total of 2837 responders, they found that better sleep quality was associated with a greater likelihood of donating to local charitable organisations and places of worship. However, they also discovered something interesting about a happy medium when it comes to sleep duration. Sleeping for too long or too short a time actually reduced respondents’ likelihood of giving charitably.

The Future of Gift Aid project
Published by Charity Tax Group

Untapped funding, is there even such a thing in the current climate?! It turns out that there is! The Future of Gift Aid Project is a cross-sector project, led by Charity Tax Group, that is working towards automating the Gift Aid process in the UK, helping to unlock over £500m for UK charities each year.

The collaborative project spans stakeholders in the legal, financial, government and charity sectors to help reduce what goes unclaimed, reduce the £180 million claimed in error, and help over 126,000 charities that currently do not benefit from Gift Aid finally take advantage of the valuable tax relief, all whilst operating within the current Gift Aid policy. We sincerely hope this hard work quite literally pays off! 

Fundraising Regulator invites sector to have its say on the new draft Code of Fundraising Practice
Published by the Fundraising Regulator

In more regulatory news, the Fundraising Regulator is currently in the process of updating its Code of Fundraising Practice and is inviting fundraising professionals to have their say. The Code of Fundraising Practice is the Holy Grail when it comes to carrying out public fundraising ethically and responsibly.

Informed by a first public consultation last autumn, fundraisers are now being given the opportunity to review and give feedback on the new draft code before the launch of the final publication next year. This is an important step in making sure the new code not only responds to the needs of donors and the public, but works to support the needs of charities, too. But you’ll need to act quickly if you’d like to respond to the consultation, as it will only remain open until 1st November 2024.  

Harnessing the power of age diversity
Written by Maya Bhose and published by ACEVO

Diversity is a hot-topic in every sector right now, and we applaud it when organisations seek to engage with integrity and flexibility in their approach to racial, gender and socio-economic diversity. But one variable we hear less about within the diversity conversation is age, often only raised in HR incidents where it’s clear someone has been discriminated against due to their age. This issue is highly intersectional and like all questions of diversity, highly intertwined with power imbalance.

In the non-profit sector, sadly it’s not uncommon for the average age of a board of trustees to be two decades (or more) above that of its staff members. However, a recent guest blog for ACEVO by Maya Bhose explores the immense value of age diversity on every level of a charity’s operations, enabling organisations to strategically marry fresh thinking with experienced leadership and make more balanced and informed decisions.

Boost Gift-Giving with These 5 Donation Page Improvements
Published by Clairification

I’m sure we’ve all had experience of trying to make an online donation to a charity we care about, only to find ourselves frustrated over a fiddly process that is disproportionately time-consuming and inefficient. A recent blog post by Clarification provides some solid tips on improving the accessibility of your online donation page, making the process easier and hassle -free for donors and hopefully encouraging them to give larger gifts, more often.

Is there a UK non-profit meltdown?
Written by Alex Evans and published by Barely Civil Society

We can’t possibly end this without mentioning the dire state of financial affairs we’re currently facing in the charity sector. We particularly loved this extended article, which delves honestly into the messy and multi-stringed web of the funding crisis we find ourselves in.

In one swoop, Alex wittily takes on charity closures, pausing grants programmes, power dynamics, the Victorian model of charity governance, voluntarism, the Tories and ultimate accountability, recognising that “the situation is far more nuanced than an us vs them dynamic can capture”. We thoroughly recommend sitting down with a nice cuppa to properly appreciate this piece – we guarantee it’ll have you laughing and crying at the same time.

If you'd like to receive this regularly, along with our monthly fundraising and strategy blog, click here to subscribe.

Welcome to Unconventional Wisdom: our periodic round-up of the most interesting perspectives and ideas published recently by charity specialists, fundraisers and other experts. If you'd like to receive this regularly, along with our monthly fundraising and strategy blog, click here to subscribe.

British Mus­lims are the most gen­er­ous group in the UK – how can fundrais­ers engage them?
Written by Jasmine Miah and published by SOFII
A recent report showed that last year, UK Mus­lims gave FOUR times more to charity than the aver­age British per­son - a staggering average of £708 per person, compared to £165 for the UK population as a whole. That's an incredible level of generosity - but how many organisations are thinking tactically about how to engage Muslim donors and meet them where they are? When planning our fundraising strategies, we all get excited about finding untapped fundraising opportunities - this might be one that is all too often overlooked.

Impact of the gut microbiome composition on social decision-making
Study by Marie Falkenstein, Marie-Christine Simon, Aakash Mantri, Bernd Weber, Leonie Koban & Hilke Plassmann, published in the PNAS Nexus journal
Now for the type of niche scientific study that we created this feature for! Human decision-making is incredibly complex - what we think and decide to do in different situations often seems irrational, because it's influenced by countless factors that we still scarcely understand. Well, here's a fascinating new factor to consider: the mix of bacteria in our gut microbiome. This study shows how changing people's diets influenced their decisions when given a social dilemma, with fairness becoming more important when deciding to accept or reject monetary payoffs. Unless you're deciding what your donors have for breakfast, this might not be an easy lesson to put into action, but it's an illuminating reminder of how complex our decision-making is.

The Impact of Large, Unrestricted Grants on Nonprofits: A Five-Year View
Written by Kathleen Fleming, Anthony Michael Abril & Jeff Bradach and published by The Center for Effective Philanthropy
We've long been huge advocates of the need for more core funding in our sector - but what actually happens when organisations receive large, unrestricted grants? Perhaps unsurprisingly for those of you who know the frustrating limitations of restricted project funding only too well, this recent report found that the five-year impact of long-term unrestricted funding was "dramatically and profoundly positive" - with organisations investing in strengthening their infrastructure and resilience, and leaders becoming less fearful and more strategic in their thinking. It's so important to see this kind of thing measured and documented - here's hoping that more funders take note.

The Bezos Earth fund has pumped billions into climate and nature projects. So why are experts uneasy?
Written by Patrick Greenfield and published by The Guardian
Now for a less positive aspect of philanthropy. Ultra wealthy donors have long been scrutinised for their motives - what does their version of social change really look like, and are they in it to improve the world or impose their own priorities? While Jeff Bezos has attracted praise and accolades for his $10bn climate and biodiversity fund, there's also growing concern, especially around his focus on carbon offsets. This is a textbook example of a growing issue: “Bezos Earth Fund’s enormous presence in the climate and conservation space [looks] less philanthropical, and more like an attempt to take over the corporate governance system for its own interests and agenda. The projects of the Bezos fund do not address the key issues of the fundamental climate crisis we are facing."

Treading on eggshells or a bull in a china shop? A primer for how to respond to news about organisational closures
Written by Iona Lawrence & Zoe Stanton and published by The Decelerator
With the voluntary sector in crisis, it feels like every day brings news of another charity closure. So often, these are framed as defeats or failure - and while the impact can often be disastrous for people who depend on that organisation's services, it's also important to see the alternative perspective. Closures also provide an opportunity to celebrate achievements, learn lessons and embrace new beginnings. While much has been written about how to be a good friend to people who have lost a loved one, this blog explores how to have better conversations with people who are facing, navigating or processing the end of an organisation’s life.

Welcome to Unconventional Wisdom: our periodic round-up of the most interesting perspectives and ideas published recently by other charity sector experts and fundraisers. If you'd like to receive this regularly, along with our monthly fundraising and strategy blog, click here to subscribe.

Charities losing their radical identities, foundation chief warns
Written by Emily Burt (quoting Paul Streets) and published by Third Sector
First up, here's a brilliant rallying call from Paul Streets, outgoing Chief Exec of Lloyds Bank Foundation, who warns that charities have lost their "radical identities" due to over-dependence on state funding and contradictory guidance from the Charity Commission. If, like many organisations, you don't have time to properly weigh up when to speak out and what the risks are, or make sense of the ever-changing regulatory guidance, it's easy to end up staying too quiet and too cautious about the big issues that really matter. So here's Paul's moving plea: "Go forth, advocate, be stroppy, be proud and be proud of being woke. The country needs this sector more than any of you could possibly believe."

Should charities be civil? Why?
Written by Andrew Purkis and published by Directory for Social Change
On a similar note, and echoing something we've been talking about a lot this year, this two-part blog explores how charities should go about approaching their public statements and campaigning, and whether there's really a need to be respectful and civil, as the Chair of the Charity Commission suggested. Particularly interesting is Andrew's reflection that the concept of civility may be rooted in elitism - the idea that there's a "correct", respectable and educated way to respond to injustice, and that you'll achieve more if you meet people halfway - whereas in reality there's little evidence that this is true.

Intergenerational wealth transfer - a golden fundraising opportunity
Post & video by Mark Phillips and published on LinkedIn
There's plenty of turbulence and scarcity in our sector at the moment, so it's very refreshing to see the phrase "a long, golden period for fundraising" being used! Here's the good news: over the next two decades, an estimated £5.5 trillion of inheritance is expected to pass from older Boomers to people in their fifties and sixties who have already paid off their mortgages and put children through university. Your current supporters and mid-value donors may be about to become significantly wealthier - Mark's video is worth a listen so you can start thinking about how to prepare for this.

Paused, Closing, Under Review - how funders are changing their giving
Post & video by Jo Jeffery and published on LinkedIn
While it's encouraging to see funders reflecting on contemporary issues such as racial justice and wealth-hoarding, it means that an increasing number are taking a strategic pause or spending out - limiting the funding options of an already squeezed sector. There's not much we can do about this, but knowing which funders are out of action is vital if we want to avoid wasting time and energy on lost causes. Huge thanks to freelance fundraiser Jo Jeffery for creating and sharing this free collaborative spreadsheet that tracks the current status of nearly 100 funders - if you haven't seen it yet, it's a fab tool for any trusts fundraiser.

Philanthropy and benchmarking reports and more
Written by Richard Sved and published on 3rd Sector Mission Control
Over to someone else who has been very generous with their time - Richard Sved has kindly compiled this list of over 30 recent reports that explore the current state of UK philanthropy and provide benchmarking data that you can use for your own work. If you're currently working on your fundraising strategy or financial forecasting, there's some brilliant research and data here to take advantage of, including recent publications from the likes of NCVO, CAF and Justgiving.

The Sand­cas­tle Trust: Christ­mas appeal and fundrais­ing film
Written by Danielle Singleton and published on SOFII
When you're a small charity with just two part-time staff, creating a fundraising appeal that makes a splash can feel like a daunting task. So it's brilliant to see examples of small charities not only succeeding, but sharing their process with others. SOFII's website contains hundreds of brilliant fundraising case studies and this recent addition caught our eye - Danielle Singleton, Founder of The Sandcastle Trust, shares how she developed a number of new skills, including co-creating a fundraising film and designing a landing page, to pull off this campaign that smashed its fundraising target.

With so much going on, it's easy to miss many of the brilliant resources out there that provide information, inspiration and help make your work easier. Unconventional Wisdom is our periodic round-up of the best blogs, articles and guides that we've seen published by other fundraisers and experts.

We share many of these on LinkedIn as we find them, so connect with us there to stay fully up to speed.

Why your voice is important in 2024, and how NCVO can help
Written by Sarah Vibert and published by NCVO
We're gearing up for a pretty massive year in 2024, with a General Election and a potential change of Government on the horizon. Our recent blog explained why we think this is crucial for the charity sector, and how everyone can play a role in bringing about change. One of our rallying calls was "Add your voice to those championing the sector." So it's great to see this guide explaining what NCVO will be focusing on in 2024 - including small charities, sustainable workforces, volunteers and a greener future - and how the sector can work together to campaign for change and amplify our voices.

Labour leader outlines ‘society of service’ in major speech on civil society
Written by Jay Kennedy and published by the Directory of Social Change
That said, a common reason why people feel disengaged and unenthusiastic about a General Election is a belief that a Labour Government will change very little, at the least in the short term. Again, check out our blog for some thoughts on this. While we're unlikely to see much new money flooding into the sector quickly, it seems encouraging at least that Keir Starmer is actively engaging with civil society and setting out a vision for how a Labour Government would work with charities. This appears to have been cautiously welcomed by charities so far - and this article provides a helpful summary of the current state of play.

Will you give like BP this year?
Written by Marina Jones and published on www.marinajones.uk
Our favourite articles are those which encourage us to think differently about something - but we didn't have "be more like BP" on our list for 2024! However, there's a fascinating comparison here between the ask we make to individual donors (focused on a small amount each month) and the way that big corporates frame their giving (a headline amount donated over several years, even decades). We often deliberately minimise the financial value of a donation by equating it to "just the price of a coffee." What if, instead of asking someone to give £10 per month, we asked them to pledge £1,000 over 10 years? How might that enable us to inspire them more about the transformational impact of their support, then later celebrate what they have achieved?

Which verb tense in appeals do you think contributes to increased giving?
Written by Cherian Koshy and published on LinkedIn
More intrigue and inspiration here about how to ask for money - this time focused on language, rather than the amount. Which tense do you use - past ("Your gift made a difference"), present ("Your gift is making a difference") or future tense ("Your gift will make a difference") - when asking for a donation? Do you make a conscious choice? Scientific research seems to show that there's a clear best option, and it might not be the one you expect. Click the link above to see Cherian's summary of the findings, or click here to dive into the study itself.

The truth about Andrew Tate’s charity work
Written by Steve Boggan and published by UnHerd
In April 2023, shortly after his release from a Romanian prison, Andrew Tate announced his intention to give away $25million per year via a new foundation - becoming the latest in a long line of people to turn to philanthropy as a way of rehabilitating their image. This report investigates what has happened since, and unsurprisingly finds plenty of problems - lack of transparency, unevidenced claims about impact, reluctant recipients of funds, and use of imagery that perpetuates harmful stereotypes. More than just a case study in how not to be a philanthropist, this is a reminder of how cynical and disingenuous philanthropy can sometimes be, why we are right to query donor motives, and of course the importance of having a robust donation acceptance policy.

A series of innovative charity campaigns
Written by Henry Rowling and published on LinkedIn
2023 hasn't been the easiest year for charities, with the cost-of-living crisis and seemingly non-stop bad news stifling our ability to be creative and innovative. But Henry Rowling, Founder of Flying Cars Innovation, has come up with the perfect antidote. Every day in December, Henry has been sharing one brilliant and eye-catching charity campaign from 2023, starting with the "1,071 Bad Apples" campaign by Refuge linked above. Henry's daily posts have been a much-needed reminder of the power and creativity of campaigning - and much more wholesome than a chocolate advent calendar.

Oblivian starring Oblivia Coalmine
Created by Make My Money Matter and published on YouTube
Speaking of brilliant charity campaigning, we LOVED this video published a few weeks ago, highlighting the serious issue that £88 billion of UK pension savers' money is invested in fossil fuels. If you haven't seen it yet (and let's face it, it's been everywhere), the video features the brilliant Olivia Colman as a smug, latex-clad oil exec who has made her fortune from your pension contributions. Satire is an under-used technique in charity campaigning, but this proves how effective it is - a campaign destined to go viral, but with a very serious message. While we're at it, here's a handy guide from NCVO for charities looking to divest from fossil fuels.

Beyond words – how thank­ing can trans­form your rela­tion­ship with your charity’s supporters
Written by Mark Phillips and published by SOFII
Back on more conventional ground here - the topic of thanking your donors well feels as old as time, but that doesn't mean there's not room for improvement for a lot of organisations. Writing thank yous is still often seen as an admin task, but - done well - it's arguably your number one tactic for securing more donations and building better relationships with your supporters. So over to Mark for some interesting stats about the power of thanking donors, and some great tips for upping your thanking game.

​How National Lottery funding has changed
Written by Joe Lepper and published by Charity Digital
2023 saw a big development in the UK grantmaking landscape, with National Lottery Community Fund announcing a new strategy and a major overhaul of its funding. The headline news is a new set of funding priorities, increased support for small charities, and a 100% increase to the Awards For All maximum funding amount. But there are lots of changes to get your head around, and this handy article from Joe Lepper provides a fab overview.

What Donors Want - The Legacy of MacKenzie Scott With FRIDA, SAGE & Panorama Global
Created by Rachel Stephenson Sheff and Emily Collins-Ellis and published by IG Advisors
And finally...imagine getting a call out of the blue to offer your organisation a totally unrestricted, no-strings grant of $10 million, and having only two days to decide whether to accept? That's the position that two not-for-profits found themselves in when MacKenzie Scott came calling, and this podcast tells the story of their experience. The unusual case of MacKenzie Scott's donation to FRIDA - and FRIDA's brilliant response - features heavily in our regular talks about ethical fundraising and problematic philanthropy, so it's no surprise that this podcast is firmly on our Christmas listening list.

Twitter (sorry, X...) might be on a rapid downhill spiral, but it's still good for some charity sector inspiration. Here's our latest round-up of the best blogs and articles published recently by some ace fundraisers and sector experts...

Chapter Mental Health: Conversational trust funding application
Written by David Burgess and published by SOFII
Trusts & foundations is commonly seen as one of the fundraising areas with the least room for innovation, but it might be time to reconsider thanks to this brilliant example of bid writing from our friends at SOFII! Although this approach might not work for every funder, this example of a conversational format definitely stands out the from the crowd. David's article showcasing Matt Zeqiri's work provides a new perspective on how to make your case for support, and contains some really useful tips for you to take away.

How can charities centre lived experience in a meaningful and impactful way?
Written by Charlotte Lamb & Daniel Seifu and published by ThinkNPC
Increasingly, funders expect to see how charities demonstrate lived experience in their work and projects. While there are some fairly straightforward ways to collaborate with service users to shape activities, meaningfully embedding lived experience throughout your organisation is more challenging. This helpful blog from ThinkNPC outlines what they are doing internally, and includes guidance for charities on where to start, how to resource and fund this work, and how to adapt your organisation’s culture and processes.

How Does a Four Day Work Week Work for Charities?
Written by Karen Harlow and published by CharityJob
We've recently done some work with the brilliant 4 Day Week Campaign, who are campaigning for the introduction of a four-day, 32-hour working week with no loss to employees' pay. Research increasingly shows that this can bring benefits for staff, employers, wider society and the planet. So we were thrilled to read this article, which looks at how three charities have been getting on with implementing a four-day week, the changes they've tried to make to their working culture and processes in line with their employees' needs, and the benefits felt for both the organisations and their people. There are sure to be more organisations trialling this soon - could you be one of them?

The Inefficiency Myth - debunking a damaging small charity stereotype
Written by Mary Rose Gunn and published by The Fore
Times are already tough enough for small charities, without having to deal with perennial myths about their efficiency, overlapping services and use of resources. To celebrate Small Charity Week 2023, The Fore - a specialist funder of small charities - put together this list of seven common myths that small charities face, with some pretty compelling arguments to debunk them and explain what the real issues are. We're fortunate to work with some brilliant small charities and know just how much time, energy, and hard work goes into sustaining their work and supporting their service users every day, so this was a great piece to read!

Charity Benchmarks 2022: the results
Written by James Briggs and Alex Srivastava and published by Open
Every year, Open publishes an ambitious fundraising benchmark study, gathering donation data from a broad range of charities to equip fundraisers with some key insights and trends to help them raise more money for their cause. This year's report is as interesting as always, and contains some encouraging news about income growth that we could all do with right now. Have a read of their summary article now, plus download a copy of the full report to learn more about the biggest current challenges and opportunities that fundraisers should know about.

How to involve supporters in campaigning
Written by Kirsty Marrins and published by Charity Digital
MPs should listen to and act on their constituents’ needs. However, this isn’t always the reality, and this article delves into what charities can do to ensure that MPs not only engage with their campaigns but take meaningful action. Find out tips on why personalisation is key, how technology can be used to drive offline actions, and how you can change up your tactics in order to help achieve your organisation’s campaigning objectives.

ChatGPT and fundraising - what do you need to know? (part two)
Written by Cherian Koshy and published by SOFII
In our last round-up, we shared part 1 of SOFII’s article on ChatGPT and fundraising. Part 2 looks in more detail at what fundraisers need to know before using ChatGPT, and whether it poses a risk to the charity sector. Our key takeaway is that ChatGPT is developing not to take your jobs, but to make them easier and faster - read on to find out how ChatGPT can be a tool for your organisation.

Unlocking restricted funds: our top tips
Written by Laura Soley and published by Bates Wells
It’s a difficult economy for charities right now, and the cost-of-living crisis is leading to many charities looking at whether they can cover core operating costs by unlocking restricted funds and endowments. Bates Wells recommend that all charities review their restricted funds and endowments from time to time to make sure they are still fit for purpose - this article includes a jargon buster and tips to help charities in the same position.

Fortune Favours The Brave: The case for better endings
Written by Iona Lawrence and published on Medium
Where charities and social enterprises are already underfunded and running over-capacity, it can be difficult to justify taking a step back to reflect on what is working, what isn’t, and what difficult decisions need to be made. This blog tackles the important but under-discussed topic of closures, mergers and programme terminations, and shares a vision for a civil society that embraces better endings.

How to make operational changes
Written by Christine Chiu and published by Charity Digital
On a similar theme to Iona’s blog above, Charity Digital have published this article for organisations who might be considering making operational changes as a result of the current climate. Find out why organisation leaders need to be clear about why the change is happening, and how to address these difficult issues, including reduction of costs, redeployment, and, at worst, redundancy.

Ethical Storytelling -10 tips
Written by Rachel Erskine and published by Fundraising Everywhere
Most funders expect applications to include a balance of data and relatable stories to demonstrate the evidence of need and bring your organisation’s work to life. However, there are implications in taking service users’ stories and experiences as property, with the potential to cause harm through reductive storytelling which centres the charity rather than the contributor. This blog, on the other hand, offers 10 ethical tips to make meaningful and sustainable changes to your storytelling.

With so much happening at the moment, it's hard to keep abreast of the many interesting things being written, researched and pondered in the sector. This is why we're resurrecting a popular Lime Green feature called Unconventional Wisdom: a periodic digest of some of the more interesting perspectives and niche ideas being published by fundraisers, experts and other bloggers.

If you haven't got time to trawl Twitter on a regular basis then Charlotte, our Fundraising Consultant, has done the hard work for you...

How Can We Ensure Dignity in Our Delivery?
Written by Ben Roberts and published on NFP Research
The impacts of the pandemic and the cost-of-living crisis have resulted in record levels of people accessing food banks, hygiene banks and other charitable services. Often, accessing these services goes hand-in-hand with social stigma and feelings of shame, particularly for those who might already be using extra services, or turning to charitable support for the first time. At a time when more and more people are having to turn to extra support, this blog outlines the need the need to encourage dignity of beneficiaries, and how certain charities are already doing this.

Charities can flourish by putting sustainability at the heart of their work
Written by Harriet Lamb and published by the Directory of Social Change
More and more funding applications now include a tick box or one-sentence answer on how/whether your organisation will be including environmental sustainability in the project or services. Whilst it may be tempting – particularly with a lengthy application - to fob this question off with a simple pledge to replace plastic plates with paper ones, this article offers more ideas and demonstrates how it can benefit your organisation long term.

ChatGPT and fundraising – what do you need to know? (part one)
Written by Emily Casson, Deniz Hassan & Matt Smith and published on SOFII
There’s been a lot of media attention recently on what ChatGPT can do, not only good and bad, but odd too (ever wanted to read a modern sci-fi story in Shakespearean language?!) Three knowledgeable fundraisers give their opinions on what ChatGPT could mean for the future of fundraising, and how it can be a useful resource. Reassuring hint: we’re not all about to lose our jobs to AI!

What disintermediation means for the charity sector
Written by Ben Roberts and published on NFP Research
After a trying few years with one crisis after another, one positive has been the response from the general public, and their willingness to help through volunteering, donating physical items, or raising money via personal appeals. This method of fundraising, by cutting out the middle-person (or charity) and donating directly to an individual/cause, is known as disintermediation. The dangers of disintermediation, however, have significant implications for the charity sector, as outlined here.

The Ultimate Mobile Giving Guide For Non-profit Fundraising
Written by Lindsey Baker Bower and published by Donor Box
You may have recently attended one of our fundraising training courses (excellent choice!) but mobile giving isn’t particularly an area we cover. Whilst difficult to predict the success rate for each organisation, mobile giving can be an easy and efficient way to generate income. This guide explores how and why to start a mobile giving fundraising initiative in your organisation. Please note this article is US based, so not everything will be the same for the UK sector (for example, some stats may be different), but an interesting read regardless!
Seen or written a good article that we should feature next time? Let me know.

Seen or written a good article that we should feature next time? Get in touch to let us know.