There's a very common eye condition known as presbyopia that affects about 30% of the population. But it's far more common amongst donors to charity. That's because most charity donors are well over 40 – the age where the lenses in your eyes start to…

Sarah Smith, Frank Windmeijer and Edmund Wright from the University of Bristol have just published an interesting paper on the impact of the 'peer-effect' on giving to charity. We've seen from previous studies that knowing how much someone else has given to an appeal can…

A report has just been published that adds to the growing body of evidence that shows many charities are still getting something wrong when it comes to donor communications. The study, commissioned by the REaD Group, asked 1,500 UK adults about their attitudes to charity…

One thing that the Kony 2012 phenomenon has created is a renewed interest in viral advertising amongst charities. Seth Godin and Jeff Brooks have some words of advice on your chances of achieving the same sort of impact as Invisible Children, but if you are…

Rapidata has released their August direct debit cancelation figures and they don't look particularly good. At 4.58% they are the highest seen for August since the monitoring of regular giving trends started back in 2003. In a worrying commentary, Rapidata's Managing Director, Scott Gray, says…

Following my post on the general downturn in DM response rates experienced at the time of the Royal Wedding in April, we have more evidence that this might be the start of a more pronounced trend. Rapidata has released details of direct debit cancellations for…

Interesting use of mobile / QR codes to turn a press ad into a multi-media experience.  The original inspiration looks like it came from this idea used to spice up a CV.

Take any mainstream charity and you'll find that a significant number of people on the supporter base regularly attend a place of worship. But does that mean religious people are nicer than everyone else? After reading Deepak Malhorta's study on religious salience, it seems the…

Data Mining for Fund Raisers by Peter B. Wylie is one of the best introductory guides to the effective use of data that you'll get your hands on. It's pretty hard to track down in the UK, but you can get it from CASE in…

We have another chance to quantify the effects of the recession with the publication of the PFRA Face to Face Attrition Survey. The study shows us what happened to those donors recruited on the street and door to door during 2009. The figures look good….