Here's a quick round-up of our favourite blogs and articles from 2017 so far…
Maria Healy: 'Crafternoon': How Mind is crafting its way to fundraising success Published by Charity Choice It seems like every charity is searching for that 'next big thing' with their fundraising campaigns, but sometimes success takes longer than you might imagine. Here, Mind's Community Fundraising Manager describes how this perfect combination of fundraising and mindfulness came to fruition. However, there were plenty of lessons to learn along the way, including the value of canvassing your supporters, involving your whole staff team and learning from failure. Elizabeth Chamberlain: The Road Ahead: What Will 2017 Mean For Charities? Published by NCVO We're not sure there's ever been a greater period of ongoing uncertainty and change for charities – politically, socially, economically and in countless other ways. We know this something that many small charities struggle to keep abreast of, but fortunately the NCVO have published this very handy summary paper looking at some of the key challenges for 2017, covering the impact of Brexit, regulatory changes, ongoing austerity and even increased automation. Dr Kiki Koutmeridou: The use and abuse of emotions in fundraising: a behavioural science point of view Published by SOFII Emotion plays an important and often underestimated part in our everyday decision-making – and that goes for donors' decisions too. Knowing how to elicit the right emotional response makes a proven, quantifiable difference to how much you can raise – but tapping into the 'wrong' emotions such as guilt, or over-stating your case, can backfire. Grab a cup of tea and enjoy this fascinating in-depth article, because it'll give you some brilliant insight for your next fundraising campaign. Lizzi Hollis: It's time for charities to focus on their staff as well as beneficiaries Published by Flight of the Fundraiser Do you look after your employees as well as your beneficiaries? With dwindling funding and charitable expenditure under scrutiny, it can be too easy to neglect the people who make your organisation tick. But, as Lizzi argues, failing to provide things like staff development opportunities and maternity pay can cost you more in the long run and – depending on your cause – leave you open to accusations of not practising what you preach. Her excellent blog also contains some handy tips about finding your own development opportunities. Austin Clark: Charities miss out on more than £80m a year by only accepting cash donations Published by Charity Digital News Do you collect cash donations only at your events? You probably won't be surprised to know that 42% of people carry less cash than they used to, but you may be more alarmed to hear that 15% of people admit to walking away from at least one donation opportunity in the past year because they were unable to donate by flashing the plastic. Last time we wrote about contactless donation boxes, they were furry and four-legged – but with or without the dog, you need to embrace the future!
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Here's our latest selection of blogs and articles written by others that we really enjoyed - featuring 'tap dogs', a celebrity returning from the dead to lead a fundraising campaign, and a unique and powerful way to re-imagine charity overhead costs...
Curtis Klotz: A Graphic Re-visioning of Nonprofit Overhead Published by Nonprofits Assistance Fund We've previously shared our frustration about the focus on charity overheads, and Thomas Muirhead's excellent TEDx talk highlights how harmful it can be. So we were delighted to read this article encouraging charities to take a different and powerful visual approach to articulating how and why they spend their money. Operating efficiently is important, but it's time to stop apologising for investing in the core and the quality of our organisations... Aimee Meade: Tap dogs: four-legged charity fundraisers with a difference Published by The Guardian This week we made our annual trip to SOFII's sold-out IWITOT event and returned with some inspiring new fundraising ideas. We'll be blogging on this soon but, in the meantime, here's our favourite idea of the day, which saw the Blue Cross turn two dogs into irresistible walking donation magnets! Contactless donations are the future and, with handsets costing less than £100, even smaller charities can start thinking creatively about how to make this part of their fundraising efforts. Rob Hayter: Five ways your brain stops you choosing the right candidate Published by LinkedIn Pulse You know all those rational, impartial decisions you make? Well they're not actually so impartial after all. Courtesy of the charity recruitment agency TPP, here's how cognitive bias can make us jump to decisions too quickly, defend our decisions over-zealously and unconsciously ignore any evidence to the contrary. This particular article explains how cognitive bias can harm a staff recruitment process, but it's a thought-provoking read with much wider implications. Tom Ahern: 20 Questions: Free downloadable test re: best practices in donor communications Published by Ahern Donor Communications How long will an average donor give to a specific charity? What’s the best length for a fundraising letter? What works best for fundraising - stats or stories? This invaluable guide answers these questions plus 17 more, backed up by evidence and the views of top fundraisers from around the world. Kudos to Tom Ahern - and everyone who contributed - for making this freely available to all. Now fill your boots. Emma Halls: Prostate Cancer Research Fund: fundraising from beyond the grave Published by SOFII Inspired by IWITOT, we were taking a cheeky look through SOFII's archive of fundraising campaigns and came across this innovative gem. Check out how Prostate Cancer Research Fund brought back Bob Monkhouse from the dead to raise a huge amount of awareness and support for their cause. This is a really innovative combination of the celebrity factor, humour and technology - enjoy the video! Charity fundraising has been under the microscope lately and we've written plenty about the challenges. So this month's selection of thought-provoking blogs and articles is all about good news and celebrating the potential and power of fundraising...
Laura Croudace: Humans of New York - the power of storytelling for social fundraising Published by SOFII Laura is a rising fundraising star and an ever-inspiring blogger. Here she shows how building an engaged online community can produce unbelievable fundraising results, inspired by Brandon Stanton's famous photoblog. This blog is based on Laura's talk at SOFII's IWITOT event last year. IWITOT is always full of amazing fundraising ideas and will come to London again on 30 November 2016 - we recommend saving the date! Joe Sutton: Thanking – my goodness it really works Published by 101Fundraising So much has been written lately about how to thank your donors, but it doesn't have to be complicated. Here's Joe's story about how Hope and Homes for Children decided to do it by handwriting 1,500 thank you notes. It cost £2,000 and took 14 days to do it, but the results were well worth it - and Joe has the proof to back this up. 16 Must-Know Stats About Online Fundraising and Social Media Published by Nonprofit Tech for Good Online fundraising is huge already and it's going to keep growing. Return on investment figures are steadily climbing and the global internet population is forecast to triple in the next four years. But social media is constantly changing, with Facebook in decline, Twitter facing uncertainty and Instagram and Snapchat on the up. This article provides a snapshot for charities - you won't want to miss these 16 fascinating stats. Eifron Hopper: ‘Behind the clock’ legacy marketing – if you aren’t doing it, perhaps you should be Published by SOFII Many smaller charities don't know where to start with legacy fundraising, or are put off because it takes so long to yield results. However, it has statistically the best return of any type of fundraising and there are a few easy things you can do now that could produce an income windfall later. We love Eifron Hopper's concept of "behind the clock marketing", as he explains how charities used to get legacy fundraising wrong and what they're doing now to inspire their supporters to leave a gift. Ice Bucket Challenge funds gene discovery in ALS (MND) research Published by BBC News Finally, the ALS Association has recently announced the discovery of an important gene as a result of the much talked-about Ice Bucket Challenge, which raised £87.7million in summer 2014. This could enable scientists to develop a new therapy for ALS, helping thousands of people. Ice Bucket Challenge attracted plenty of scepticism so, at a time when charities and fundraising are facing so much scrutiny, it's nice to share a good news story about what the money raised can achieve. Our latest selection of unique perspectives, innovative ideas and inspiring insights from across the charity sector has a real digital theme...
Beate Sørum: How to DIY a digital strategy that actually works Published on 101 Fundraising Social media and digital technology offer great opportunities to charities, but knowing how to use your resources effectively is tricky. It seems like there's a new channel popping up every month and it's hard to measure success. We love this blog from Beate, who's a real digital expert, on how to develop a digital strategy to start raising money and awareness online. It's ideal for smaller charities. Thomas Muirhead: Beyond Giving (TEDx talk) Published on YouTube The world has just committed to achieving 17 very ambitious Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. To do this, the UK will need to spend the equivalent of 5% of gross national income every year, yet charitable giving is static at 0.8%. How on earth can we do this? Thomas Muirhead, Managing Director of the innovative charity Child.org, argues that we need to go "beyond giving" and rid ourselves of "the overhead myth" that's paralysing the growth of our charities. This brilliant talk is well worth watching. It's a compelling argument that we'll be looking at more in the coming months. Richard Sved: Ten reasons your charity should consider crowdfunding Published on LinkedIn Pulse More and more charities are talking about crowdfunding, inspired by some brilliant and creative campaigns that have really succeeded. With more than three billion people online, and average online donations increasing, the potential is clear but the challenge is standing out from the crowd. Richard gives ten reasons why it's worth considering a crowdfunding campaign now. Convinced? Then we also recommend checking out this guide to crowdfunding by Funding Central. Rory Green: Don’t let 1,835 Cats KILL Your Fundraising Published on 101 Fundraising Cats. We love them. Then Rory popped up and told us that they might be killing our fundraising?! It's ok though, because we know exactly what she means. Rory argues that while some charities view thank you letters as an afterthought or a necessary bit of admin, a great thank you letter that a supporter can really wrap their mind - and heart - around can make all the difference. Turns out that Rory does love cats after all, just not 1,835 of them at once. Mike Zywina: Launch of eSolidar Provides an Opportunity for Smaller Charities Published on Good News Shared Ok we're cheating a bit as we wrote this one, but it's not about us. Our founder Mike Zywina recently went along to the launch of eSolidar, a platform that enables people to raise money for smaller charities by buying, selling and bidding on items online. eSolidar is worth checking out if you're looking to tap into new audiences and the launch event got us thinking about how to really disrupt online fundraising. Thanks to our friends at Good News Shared for publishing this! We like to bring you a regular selection of unique perspectives, innovative ideas and inspiring insights from across the charity sector. Here are some of our favourite recent blogs and articles from 2016 so far... Karen Barker: Media scrutiny of charities is going to continue – and what to do about it
Published by nfpSynergy 2015 saw a major shift in how charities are being covered in the media. There does indeed seem to be a ‘new normal’ – whereas charities were once seen as trustworthy institutions unless they did something badly wrong, it now feels like we’re going to have to work to win the trust of a sceptical public. It’s not all bad news though – have a read of the more positive stats from a survey of journalists’ attitudes and some practical suggestions for media and communications staff. Richard Turner: A new approach to fundraising – why you should be accessing your donors’ networks Published by SOFII Our current fundraising model is broken because it ignores the way that marketing has changed over the last 10 years. So says Richard as he argues that we shouldn't just analyse our fundraising activities as separate units with their own return on investment. We all have ‘social capital’ and the ability to influence our friends, family and colleagues. No matter how much your supporters donate, they could open a valuable door to a company or foundation or champion you to their friends. Shouldn't we all be making more of this? Don’t Miss Your Chance - Brand Messaging Makes People Eat Insects Published by PSFK / The Guardian Here’s a fascinating insight into how companies get people to buy and use their products – including highlighting their own weaknesses, telling us what our peers do (spot the link to ‘social capital’) and making us feel like we’re missing out. Charities could definitely use some of these ideas to inspire their appeals and event marketing – after all, it’s got to be an easier sell than eating insects! Mark Walker: The Ultimate Guide to Free Event Promotion Ideas Published by Eventbrite If you’ve created a great fundraising event but don’t have much budget for promoting it, we bet you could benefit from a few free marketing ideas. Well how about 58 of them? Mark, an expert at Eventbrite, has produced the most comprehensive guide we've seen for a long while. Be prepared to supercharge your efforts on social media and beyond in no time! We're excited ourselves to check out some of the great recommendations for free tools, including SocialBro, Sumome and Wisestamp. Nisha Kotecha: 5 free tools to use to share your organisation's story Published by Localgiving Regular readers will remember our Christmas blog about the power of storytelling. Charities are increasingly harnessing the power of storytelling to stand out in a world filled with good causes, as they enjoy the natural advantage of having powerful and inspiring stories to tell. If you've already created a compelling story then Nisha – founder of Good News Shared – has some top tips for sharing it with the world. ‘Unconventional Wisdom’ brings you a regular selection of unique perspectives, innovative ideas and inspiring insights from across the charity sector. This second edition features a failed marketing campaign, an enlightening house move and a very simple question. So here’s some of the best recent blogs about charities and fundraising that you may have missed...
Nicole Bradfield: The backlash over charity's awareness campaign made us rethink our work Published by The Guardian Ice Bucket Challenge was the charity viral marketing phenomenon of 2014. A campaign to tap back into that energy on behalf of the Motor Neurone Disease Association should be simple, right? Nicole explains what her agency got wrong and why it caused a major backlash. A great insight into how people view campaigns and the current public fatigue with charity asks. Admitting your mistakes isn’t easy, but they can be inspirational for others. Rachel Hunnybun: Let’s keep in touch Published by SOFII What happened when one charity sector professional and loyal donor contacted three national charities to tell them that she was moving house? The results were worrying, and Rachel thinks that many charities could learn a lot from the commercial world. Thanks to Rachel for a useful and timely reminder about the importance of treating donors like people. Derek Humphries: Simple questions drive fundraising success Published by 101Fundraising In July this year, Derek climbed six mountains in three days to raise £13,000 for Lessons for Life Foundation. It all started with a simple question. Derek believes that fundraising is simple, but organisations make it complicated. His challenge to charities is: “What’s the simple question that your cause seeks to answer?” Define your core question and everything else flows from there... Laura Croudace: Lessons from a charity shop Published by SOFII We try to showcase a broad range of views here, but make no apologies for featuring Laura for the second time. This blog touches on a topic we’re really passionate about – how charities can professionalise and develop great products to ‘earn’ income as well as attract donations. Smaller charities may not be in a position to open shops but the entrepreneurial principle behind it is worth thinking about, especially in today’s ultra-competitive landscape. Ross McCulloch: Six successful Google AdWords charity campaigns Published by JustGiving Did you know that all registered charities can get almost £78,000 worth of free AdWords advertising and many other benefits from Google for Nonprofits? You may be unaware of this or, like us, not always sure how to run a successful AdWords campaign when there is so much charity competition and you are restricted to a maximum cost-per-click bid. So here are six success charity campaigns that raised money, helped beneficiaries or boosted trading income. Our new 'Unconventional Wisdom' series is a regular digest of the best blogs and articles published recently by other fundraisers and consultants. Our aim is to point you towards some unique perspectives, innovative ideas and inspiring insights. Even if you don't enjoy or agree with everything, there's bound to be something that gets your brain ticking!
Check out the summaries below and click the green links to view the articles where they were originally published. Richard Sved: Charities - think like a Hungarian! Published on Third Sector Mission Control We're huge fans of Richard's colourful blogging style and seeming ability to turn anything into a metaphor for fundraising. This time it's his Hungarian roots which provide the inspiration. Turns out that charities can learn a lot from these brilliant Hungarian proverbs. 'Don't be a spoon in every soup' is definitely a phrase we'll be using in future! Lucy Gower: What has the story of Kodak’s demise got to do with the Third Sector? Published on LinkedIn Pulse Usually we're all aware of the cost of failure when it comes to innovation, but what about the cost of not innovating? Using the demise of Kodak and rolls of film as an example, Lucy says that charities aren't putting enough investment and energy into how to thrive in the fast-changing future. There's no easy answer to this one, especially for smaller charities, but it's certainly worth thinking about. Margaux Smith: Believe the hype (cycle) Published on 101Fundraising We love a good discussion about online fundraising almost as much as we love a good diagram! Margaux's blog contains both as she explores how charities can strike a balance between 'the next big thing' and proven fundraising methods, which is perfect if you're feeling under pressure to come up with the next #icebucketchallenge. Throw in phrases like 'the trough of disillusionment' and 'the slope of enlightenment' and you've got a great read! Laura Croudace - Why I support 12 different charities Published on SOFII We think that this is a great (and cheap) way of getting some valuable fundraising inspiration. Laura explains why, as a fundraiser, she donates to so many charities herself. It's not only to get that warm and fuzzy feeling, but to ensure she has a steady stream of good and bad direct mail pouring into her inbox that she can learn from. Alex Swallow: My One Top Tip For Small Charities This Small Charity Week Published on LinkedIn Pulse Alex is one of the go-to authorities on small charities and his advice is always worth listening to. To coincide with June's Small Charity Week, he offered one surprisingly simple but effective tip to small charities - and it's all about getting deserved support for free. We're always banging the drum about knowing where to go for advice and not being afraid to ask, so when Alex recommended three organisations to join for free it was music to our ears! |
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