How to avoid the misuse of emotion in fundraising
Earlier this year I wrote one of my longest ever opinion pieces on fundraising. It's on the use and misuse of emotion and was written for the Commission on the Donor Experience. You can find the full-length version on SOFII by clicking here. But...
Heritage branding. A great opportunity for charities.
Here’s my prediction for charity brands over the next few years. They will go back to their roots. They will revert to their old logos and names. The ones they used in the 60s, 70s and 80s. They might be slightly tweaked, refreshed or produced...
Change the future of fundraising by sharing your best practice
I’m currently working with Ken Burnett who has asked me to identify the best global fundraising practice to be featured in the final report of the Commission on the Donor Experience. Our goal is to demonstrate what can be achieved over the long-term by focusing...
The fundraising paradox
Keep your communications in the purple zone and you won't go far wrong.
The fundraising decision making flow chart
At the heart of any fundraising programme lies a plan. That plan identifies an audience, details what they will receive, through what communication channels, timings and what actions the recipients will hopefully take. They can be hefty documents akin to a telephone directory or something...
This is not fundraising
Over the last fifteen years or so, we've seen a fundamental change in how we raise money. For most of the twentieth century, fundraising was about engagement. It was about recruiting new donors, nurturing them, getting a second gift, then a third and then moving...
This is not a strategy
Nor is this... Great fundraising isn't about reducing the amount you ask for until it means so little to the donor that they simply don't care about handing it over. Nor is it about asking again until the donor feels uncomfortable saying no. It's...
Mobile giving – it's easy to stand out in a crowd of one
This is a guest post from Bluefrog's new Head of Donor Engagement - James Waring. In the first couple of weeks after you start a new job (as I have done this January) you often find yourself looking for things to do, or waiting around...
Jeff Brooks to speak in the UK
If you'd like to radically improve your DM fundraising, make sure you are free on the 10th of September. Jeff Brooks, blogger at Future Fundraising Now, is running a day-long private seminar where he'll be sharing a host of creative secrets that will help you...
What do we do about face to face fundraising?
Face to face fundraising has been through the mill over the last few weeks. Following on from the revelations in the Sunday Telegraph, the IOF has called the fundraising directors from member charities that use the technique to a summit meeting. Peter Lewis, Chief Executive...
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?