What can a few billionaires teach you about fundraising?
Bill Gates and Warren Buffett have put together a group of 40 billionaires who have promised to give away at least half their wealth to philanthropic causes. That's pretty good news. But unless your charity is in line for one of the resulting gifts, you...
How many times do you have to ask for help?
Many years ago I worked with a charity that used to recruit new supporters through display and insert advertising. At one point they stopped advertising for about six months. When they started again, nothing worked! Banker ads in banker publications were generating a tiny number...
How to make Twitter more effective for your charity
At the end of last month I posted a piece on how charities seemed stuck on broadcast mode when it came to Twitter. Click through and you'll see I tweeted that I was thinking of giving to a few charities but didn't get much response...
Why do we treat donors like mushrooms?
YouGov published an interestingpiece of research last week looking at attitudes to charity performance. They found that just 40% of British adults were interested in a grading system (something similar to Charity Navigator in the USA) that would allow potential donors to assess the relative...
Are twittering charities still stuck on broadcast mode?
A number of people have commented on my increasing levels of generosity over the last month or so. It's not that I've actually given any extra money to charity. It's because I've been thinking out loud (on Twitter) about setting up a new direct debit...
Fundraising as fashion
I was out buying a giant map today and saw this display in a nearby clothes shop. Each bag cost £45 pounds. For each purchase, the World Food Programme receives a donation that will pay for 50 school meals for a child in Haiti. Apparently...
Do you need some help?
Most fundraisers work with tight budgets and to tough targets. It's part of the territory of fundraising. Creative thinking, a focus on the needs of the donor and great database management can only take you so far. Sometimes you need help. But who do you...
Giving is a game
This one's very left field. It's the weekend, so forgive me. It's a thirty minute presentation by Jesse Schell, at DICE 2010, on the future of games. Maybe you should stop now. You're a fundraiser for a charity. There's nothing you can learn about fundraising...
Are your donors simply paying spectators?
There's a great video on Social Hallucinations produced by David Gauntlet from Making is Connecting. David looks at everyday creativity and writes about seeing a cultural shift – from a sit back and be told one to a making and doing one. So what's this...
This is the good stuff
What part of communication actually matters? I'd suggest, What you've achieved by giving to us, might fit in the overlap quite neatly. Thanks to Social Hallucinations, MisEntropy, fffound.
The Essentials
Crack the Code to Regular Giving: Insights, Strategies, and a Special Giveaway!
‘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?