It’s how you show it that counts
Information is Beautiful have produced their first animations. As we've seen, statistics can bog down and destroy an appeal, but that is often because of the dull way they are presented. By focusing on the context and the relationship between facts, it's possible to add…
Have a great christmas
I've a couple of posts that still can't get from my brain to the interweb and, quite honestly, it looks like I'm running out of time. But it's christmas! I hope yours is a fantastic one and that santa brings you everything you could wish…
Whatever Jumo is, it isn’t magic
I'm sure people sometimes confuse me with Harry Potter. They invite me in to discuss a new piece of work and the conversation goes a little like this… Hopeful fundraiser: We need to raise (insert very large sum of money of your choice here) urgently….
Online donors are old-fashioned too
A particularly interesting report has just been published by Network for Good andTruesense Marketing. It looks at online giving in the US. It’s a massive study that covers $381 million in online giving through Network for Good’s platform including 3.6 million gifts to 66,470 different…
Taking protesting from the streets to Facebook
There are many ways to protest and with things like Facebook around, you don't neceassrily have to pick up a placard or loud-hailer and march the streets. PETA proved this when they staged an anti-fur protest on DKNY's Facebook page last Monday. Sixteen different users…
What makes a good banner ad?
I can't think of any areas of fundraising where simple and engaging propositions don't work – and that includes online display ads. And here's an example to prove it. You've probably seen the recent fundraising campaign on Wikipedia, where they have tested a number of…
Fundraising isn’t a matter of life and death. It’s much more important than that
When fundraisers get together and start dreaming of which organisations they'd like their charities to emulate, it's not long before football clubs are mentioned. The passion, the adoration, the following, the commitment, the income! Wouldn't it be great? It might well be, but considering the…
Are you Luke or Yoda?
Donors need motivating, and great storytelling is a rather effective technique to cut through jargon, bringing visions and missions to life. Through using great stories, we get people giving and doing. And if you’d like to improve your storytelling skills, I’d recommend you addResonate by…
You cannot not communicate
“You cannot not communicate. Every behaviour is a kind of communication. Because communication does not have a counterpart (there is no anti-behaviour), it is not possible not to communicate.” Paul Watzalwick’s First Axiom of Communications. Everything you do to a donor communicates something: If you…
What’s the point of branding?
So you've got a brand. You've brainstormed with stakeholders, you've paid many thousands of pounds for a sparkling new logo, a corporate identity and a list of adjectives that are going to help you change the world. And what's the result? Has it increased response…
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?