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…

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…

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…

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…

An organisational case for support might help highlight some of the reasons why people give to you, but it will rarely help you identify why they don't. The reasons are surprisingly complex, but one is quite simple – it's a hassle. It's rarely a case…

I've found a short film of a story that's often attributed to David Ogilvy. David was on his way to work and he saw a blind man sitting on the pavement with a sign that said… I am blind. Beneath the sign was a hat…

I'm rather proud to say that I'm a Colonel. Not just any Colonel. I am a Kentucky Colonel. For people who don't live in Kentucky, let me explain in a little more detail. "A commission for a Kentucky Colonel is given by the Governor and…

Here's another couple of charts that Damian O'Broin from Ask Direct and I shared at IOF London on our international mystery shopping exercise. It gives a few more insights in to how charities are integrating email and postal communications. One of our most surprising findings…

Along with Damian O'Broin of the rather good Irish fundraising agency, Ask Direct, I presented some findings taken from a massive international mystery shopping exercise (270 charities in six countries) at IOF London yesterday. I'm going to post the full presentation online, but I thought…

How to win friends and influence people was one of the first self-help books ever published. Written by Dale Carnegie in 1936, it has been constantly in print and sold millions of copies world-wide. I don't know if Dale ever turned his hand to fundraising,…