Write a soap opera, not a news story
For the best part of thirty years, Eastenders has dominated the TV ratings. The Christmas episode from back in 1986 attracted over 30 million viewers and still retains the record for Britain's most watched TV show. And I bet this Christmas, it will be there…
The secret life of a donor – video evidence
I recently had the fantastic opportunity of appearing on stage in front of an audience of over 900 fundraisers as part of Tony Elischer's amazing experiment – Theatre of Fundraising – at AFP Congress in Toronto. One of the areas that Tony asked me to…
If you want people to read your appeals, remember this…
There's a very common eye condition known as presbyopia that affects about 30% of the population. But it's far more common amongst donors to charity. That's because most charity donors are well over 40 – the age where the lenses in your eyes start to…
Please like the condescending corporate brand page
I couldn't help but recognise the behaviour of a fairly significant number of charities on the Condescending Corporate Brand Page. It's a spoof Facebook page which usefully highlights some of the more annoying things that organisations do on the social networking site. We know that…
Jeff Brooks to speak in the UK
If you'd like to radically improve your DM fundraising, make sure you are free on the 10th of September. Jeff Brooks, blogger at Future Fundraising Now, is running a day-long private seminar where he'll be sharing a host of creative secrets that will help you…
Fundraising advice from Snoopy
Anyone who grew up reading Peanuts, will probably remember the strips where Snoopy is sitting on top of his kennel, about to start writing his first novel. He rarely got beyond the first paragraph, which always seemed to start with the sentence, "It was a…
The impact of peer-pressure on giving (or ask the stingiest people to give last)
Sarah Smith, Frank Windmeijer and Edmund Wright from the University of Bristol have just published an interesting paper on the impact of the 'peer-effect' on giving to charity. We've seen from previous studies that knowing how much someone else has given to an appeal can…
What do we do about face to face fundraising?
Face to face fundraising has been through the mill over the last few weeks. Following on from the revelations in the Sunday Telegraph, the IOF has called the fundraising directors from member charities that use the technique to a summit meeting. Peter Lewis, Chief Executive…
Face to face fundraising from 1910
Many people seem to think that large-scale face to face fundraising was first developed by Greenpeace in the 1990s, but it’s been around far longer than that. ActionAid were recruiting child sponsors in the 1970s by going from door to door. And Oxfam were using…
Another way to measure supporter loyalty
I can't think of many charities that wouldn't want more loyalty from their donors. But as we all know, people can be very, very fickle. Just because someone has set up a small regular gift or responded to an appeal, it doesn't mean that they…
The Essentials
‘Tis Halloween. Keep to the light and beware the Four Fundraisers of the Apocalypse!
Why do people give? The Donor Participation Project with Louis Diez.
A guide to fundraising on the back of a postcard
What does the latest research tell us about the state of fundraising?
How do donors manage their philanthropic budgets?