What can you do to make your ad go viral?
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...
The battle of the sans-serif versus the serif font
If your communications director won't allow the use of a serif font in an appeal letter because the brand guidelines demand you use sans-serif Frutiger, here's a piece of research that might help you win them round. Daniel Oppenheimer and two colleagues, Connor Diemand-Yauman and...
The day George Smith showed me the finger
I've not always been the all knowing guru that I shamelessly pretend to be on this blog. It may be hard to believe, but I was once a fundraising cretin who thought that putting a good appeal together was simply down to listening to your...
Value Vs cost
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...
How to raise $65,000 in a day without spending a penny. Like a boss
Reddit.com is a social news website where users (called redditors) submit content. Other redditors then give each post an upvote or a downvote depending whether they like it or not. A post with plenty of upvotes will find itself on the front page where thousands...
Why giving to charity can be like buying a Polaris submarine
My dad was a printer. When he worked night shifts on the national newspapers I always went to bed very excited. That's because I knew he'd come home with a gift for me. As soon as I woke up, I'd rush downstairs to find a...
Online donors have letter boxes too
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...
Who sends your emails?
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...
The case against the case for support
On the face of it, the case for support should be the key organisational tool for fundraisers, but having seen a fair number over my working life, I'd question how many are actually fit for purpose. Tim Seiler, Director of the Fund Raising School at...
How to win donors and influence them
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,...
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?