Donors have needs too
There's a polyhedron that is almost as important to fundraisers as the pyramids were to the ancient Egyptians. You'll see it time and time again in books on fundraising and projected on giant screens at conferences. It was proposed by Abraham Maslow in 1943 in…
A new resource
There are a fair few blogs around with a focus on fundraising and a big chunk of other ones that look at management issues. But I haven't seen too many that look at management from a charity perspective. We work in a very special industry. One where people…
What will elite givers do in the downturn?
The Independent has recently published a list of Britain’s 30 leading philanthropists*. Headed up by Sir Tom Hunter (who made much of his fortune from his sports shops, Sports Division, which he sold to JJB Sports in the 1990’s) with an estimated wealth of over…
Build it where they already are
There are some interesting statistics available from Robin Goad on Hitwise regarding a recent RSPCA viral campaign. Simon's Cat creator Simon Tofield, released a new episode of his cartoon series on YouTube on December the 8th. But rather than being about Simon's cat, it was…
Legacy fundraising online research
Last year I was lucky enough to recruit Hugh Stockhill to Bluefrog. For those of you who don’t know him, Hugh is our legacy guru. He ran the legacy operation when I was head of fundraising at the YMCA and continued in that position for another…
Even if you build it, they might not come
If your head has been turned by the success of Kiva and you are thinking about how your charity might set up a similar direct giving product you need to know about FORGE. FORGE was set up by Kjerstin Erickson, a Stanford University student, who…
Results on credit crunch copy vs normal copy test
This is a quick heads up on one of the tests we've been involved with on the effect of directly talking about the credit crunch in DM packs. Same packs, same projects, same asks – but one version placed emphasis on the effects of the economic downturn. The other pack simply…
Less is more
This is an incredibly strong video from Oxfam about the crisis in the Democratic Republic of Congo. But, to my mind, it would have been better had it ended at 1 minute with a call to action. The opening scenes are so moving that it doesn't…
Make your donors feel comfortable
I’ve always made time to visit Leland Maschmeyer‘s blogs and was interested in a recent posting that referred to a comment made by Pierre Martineau, director of marketing for The Chicago Tribune in the 1950’s. He believed “the most important function of advertising isn’t to…
New Research on attitudes to cancelling direct debits
There is another piece of research available on the effect of the economy on giving to charity. This time it’s from Rapp and they have focused on attitudes to direct debits. We don’t have access to the whole report but the top line figures don’t…
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?