SOCIAL MEDIA, THANKING DONORS AND LEGACY MARKETING - WITH A SIDE PORTION OF POSITIVITY

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.