THINK DIFFERENTLY ABOUT DONOR RELATIONSHIPS, CORE FUNDING AND CHARITY TRADING

Beate Sørum: Losing the donor relationship
Published on Beate In English
In our recent blog about 'Public Fundraising 2.0' after GDPR, we wrote how donor data was getting harder to come by, and choosing the right platforms would become vital. Beate takes this even further - we might soon have very little donor data at all! The rising use of digital channels could be the biggest cause of 'disruption' to fundraising, by causing us to lose ownership of our relationship with donors. So should we fight to keep our current business model and risk our sector's very own 'Kodak moment', or find ways to adapt?

James Clarke: The Civil Society Strategy - what it says about funding and finance
Published on NCVO
You might've seen that the Government has just published its long-awaited Civil Society Strategy, setting out how it plans to improve the ways in which public sector bodies interact with the charity sector in future. It's a crucial document but 120 pages long, so handily NCVO have published a series of blogs on what it means for the sector. This part is all about funding, including how charities will be encouraged to take ownership of community buildings, and unlocking money from inactive charitable trusts. Grab a cup of coffee and enjoy...

Rob Preston: Paul Streets: ‘Grant-givers should fund core costs’
Published on Civil Society
This just missed the deadline for our July round-up, but it's so good we just had to include it now. Sound the trumpets! There are funders out there that genuinely trust and value smaller charities, and want to empower them with core funding. Paul Streets, who is always a brilliant advocate for the sector, explains the thinking behind Lloyds Bank Foundation's new five-year strategy and takes aim at 'projectitis' - in other words, the obsession with funding 'innovation' over tried-and-tested vital community work.

Ikhlaq Hussein: Actively listening helps to discover donors’ passion and raise more support
Published on UK Fundraising
Here's one for those of you who spend ages preparing for meetings with potential major donors, but aren't unlocking those big donations you dream about. You might be telling them what feels like important information, but are you asking the right questions? For those big meetings, curiosity and listening might be your most important skills. Ikhlaq explains how to build a picture about a potential donor's background, and their motivation for giving, before you even start thinking about making that all-important ask.

Marcus Missen: It's time for business unusual
Published on Third Sector
Encouraging different thinking and 'breaking the rules' is basically what our Unconventional Wisdom series is all about, so this article by Marcus Missen is just the ticket. Here are his thoughts on what innovation and 'trusting your team' are really all about, and how WaterAid did away with its fundraising strategy and developed a whole new vision in order to keep raising money in a tough environment.

Sophie Hobson: Do’s and don’ts of trading for social enterprises & charities
Published on Good Finance
And finally, here's another way to survive and thrive when funding is disappearing: turn to trading. Moving towards an earned income model can feel pretty daunting, so these ten tips from Sophie on how to get started could make all the difference. They include bringing your Board along on the journey, developing trading ideas around your existing expertise, and not expecting ​people to buy from you just because you’re social...