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…
Not another bloody graph!
Yep. Another graph. But hopefully the last one for a while. I'll try to get back to humorous videos, anecdotes and lovely qually research as soon as possible. I'm not sure how useful this one is going to be, but it's pretty interesting all the same. Bill…
I think Kiva needs some fundraisers
If you support Kiva, you'll probably know that kivafriends.org is a great resource. (If for some reason you haven't yet heard of Kiva, can I recommend that you visit their site – hopefully lending a few quid whilst you're at it – or check out this…
Pay what you choose
It seems the downturn in the amount of goods being donated to charity shops is continuing. David Moir, head of policy at the Association of Charity Shops, is reported in The Guardian as saying:
How do donors differentiate between charities?
Donors often struggle to describe what makes one charity different from another. I've seen people in research groups trying to prise child welfare organisations apart by talking about levels of "seriousness" or average age of beneficiaries. I've seen healthcare charities being discussed in terms of bedside manner….
Test results: Recession based copy reduces appeal income
I blogged about the effects of directly talking about the credit crunch in appeal copy in early December. I’m now able to share details about the test. It was undertaken with The Prostate Cancer Charity as part of their Christmas appeal. We mailed two packs that were virtually identical….
The lure of celebrity
After sharing a few thoughts on the impact celebrities can have on appeals on Conor's fundraising blog, I've spent some time thinking about the recently announced NCVO celebrity-laden campaign aimed at encouraging people to donate £2 a month (or possibly volunteer a few hours). You…
What interests your donors?
Do you know what really interests your donors? How about this list? Do your donors care about any of these issues? How efficient you are. How green you are. How thrifty you are. How you monitor the effect of appeals and campaigns, whether TV ads…
The trouble with The Guardian
Polly Toynbee in The Guardian on Saturday painted a grim picture of the current state of philanthropy. Read her article and you could be forgiven for pulling the duvet over your head and hibernating until spring 2010. There's Tom Hunter changing his mind about giving…
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?