I can’t remember where I found this story, but it sums up a particular characteristic of donors… A man goes into a pet shop looking for a parrot. “I want a parrot that can talk,” he says, “I don’t care what he looks like, but…

In my efforts to keep this blog dynamic and useful, I’ve taken to late night and early morning posting (It’s the only chance I get as I’m running Bluefrog during the day). At about half-past seven on Friday evening, I put up the preceding post…

I’ve posted about FORGE in the past (A US based charity that works with displaced communities in Africa). They tried to implement the Kiva model (without the lending part) and it didn’t work too well. As a result, Executive Director, Kjerstin Erickson, went public about…

There are a great couple of video clips on tacticalphilathropy.com First off is an interview with Peter Singer, author of The Life You Can Save. In case you didn’t know, Peter is a professor of bioethics at Princeton University and his new book combines a…

Rapidata has just released a fantastic report on what’s happening to charity direct debits in the UK. If you’ve read the article in Third Sector, you’ve just scratched the surface of what you’ll find in the actual paper. It’s more than a simple document saying…

I remember being at a fundraising conference a few years back where delegates were talking with jealousy about the passion that people had for football teams and rock stars. One person summed up this feeling by saying how he felt when he went to see…

The 4 'P's that make up the marketing mix are over 40 years old.  They were originated by Richard Clewett in the 60s, but made famous by Philip Kotler in Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning and Control which was published in 1967 (which was pretty much…

A cheap and simple ad extolling the virtues of taking your loved one to Wellington Zoo this evening. With a picnic for two at $68 and private dining at $250, Wellington Zoo has solved a problem for men who are in need of a little…

If you support Kiva, you'll probably know that kivafriends.org is a great resource.  (If for some reason you haven't yet heard of Kiva, can I recommend that you visit their site – hopefully lending a few quid whilst you're at it – or check out this…

After sharing a few thoughts on the impact celebrities can have on appeals on Conor's fundraising blog, I've spent some time thinking about the recently announced NCVO celebrity-laden campaign aimed at encouraging people to donate £2 a month (or possibly volunteer a few hours). You…