The nine ways donors filter your appeals
A few years ago my uncle set up a direct debit to an animal protection charity. He has repeatedly been upgraded and now gives them £60 a month. He doesn’t want to be upgraded any more. He values the work of the charity so has…
Plant a tree with your iPhone
Here’s another example of charities using iPhone Apps. This time it’s to raise funds. It’s called A Real Tree and is a very simple idea. You buy the app for £0.59 in the UK ($0.99 in the USA) and the purchase price is used to…
Secret taping of ad agency working for the RSPCA
I’ve managed to get my hands on some more secretly taped recordings. This time it’s an agency brainstorming some ideas for a TV ad for the RSPCA. You can hear what was captured by clicking here. Not quite sure which agency it is, but i…
The Salvation Army iPhone App
I've found another great example of a charity using the iPhone to engage volunteers. This time its the Salvation Army (over in the US). They are offering people a chance to download a bell (you can get yours here). A downloadable bell on a telephone…
A little housekeeping
Regular readers will notice that there have been a few changes on the blog. First off, I’ve moved the navigation column over to the left. The people at Bluefrog who know more about this than I do have shown me some rather powerful eye-tracking studies…
How not to do PowerPoint
I’ve been both sides of the laptop for a fair number of PowerPoint presentations in my life. I’ve not seen many of these techniques but sadly, I have seen some of them. Instructional and funny video from Don McMillan. Life After Death PowerPoint from EMT…
Show donors what they can do. Not what they can’t
When it comes to creating appeals, there is a natural assumption that high numbers generate high levels of income. If many thousands of people are at risk or in danger, logic would dictate that donors will give more money than if just one person is…
Integrate your media channels
Jennie Yorke and Richard Turner from ActionAid have a great presentation on Slideshare. It shows how the charity’s approach to recruiting child sponsors has changed over time. In the three years up to 2005, 70% of all child sponsors were recruited through three channels. Today…
How to come up with great ideas
Where do great ideas come from? I don’t know. John Cleese gets his from Mr Ken Levinshaw who lives in Swindon. He gets them from Mildred Spong who lives on the Isle of Wight. She refuses to say where she gets them from. I know…
Simplify
Hey Whipple, Squeeze this! is one of my favourite books on advertising. Whether you work for an agency or employ one you should read it. It will point out what you are doing wrong and show you how you can do things better. It was…
Podcast: Recent Episodes
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?