Return to Melksham
Just before my short break, I had a very interesting conversation with Helen Reynolds of Sue Ryder Care about their pay what you choose pricing experiment in their Melksham charity shop. This has been one of the most popular topics I’ve covered so I’ve started…
Direct debit cancellations are on the up – so what?
Rapidata has just released a fantastic report on what’s happening to charity direct debits in the UK. If you’ve read the article in Third Sector, you’ve just scratched the surface of what you’ll find in the actual paper. It’s more than a simple document saying…
The true cost of the RBS loss
The Royal Bank of Scotland has just announced the largest annual loss in UK corporate history – 24.1 billion pounds. That's £24,100,000,000. That's $34,200,000,000. That's one brand new classroom for every 80 children living in sub-saharan Africa. That's enough to give clean, safe drinking water…
Why we can afford to be confident
One of the key factors influencing Bluefrog's bullish approach to the impact of the recession on the voluntary sector has been the relatively high levels of economic confidence amongst our key audience. Though the January ICM crisis index indicated that the majority of people (78%)…
Do you want your donors to love your charity?
I remember being at a fundraising conference a few years back where delegates were talking with jealousy about the passion that people had for football teams and rock stars. One person summed up this feeling by saying how he felt when he went to see…
Pay what you choose experiment is a success
I blogged about the Sue Ryder Care charity shop experiment a few weeks ago. For a two week period, all fixed prices were removed from donated items and customers were able to pay whatever they thought goods were worth. In light of the economic downturn,…
I’ve forgotten the Ps
The 4 'P's that make up the marketing mix are over 40 years old. They were originated by Richard Clewett in the 60s, but made famous by Philip Kotler in Marketing Management: Analysis, Planning and Control which was published in 1967 (which was pretty much…
Happy Valentines Day
A cheap and simple ad extolling the virtues of taking your loved one to Wellington Zoo this evening. With a picnic for two at $68 and private dining at $250, Wellington Zoo has solved a problem for men who are in need of a little…
A lesson from history
When I was Head of Fundraising at YMCA England, I had a copy of this ad on my wall. You'll see from the header that it appeared in Punch in the middle of the First World War (the 93rd anniversary of its publication was last Monday)….
Are your donors giving out of fear?
I was de-briefed on some research a while ago. During one of the workshops a female donor had said that she dreaded canceling a direct debit because she knew that she’d get a phone call asking her to start again. This fear was enough to stop her canceling. There was…
