Fundraising 1880s style
Another treat from the archives from Gary Shearin at the YMCA. This time it’s an appeal letter from the 1880’s and It’s a cracker. The goal is the construction of a new YMCA in Newcastle-on-Tyne. In effect, it’s a very early version of face to…
You reap what you sow
Having spent a few days in Cornwall, I had an opportunity to get on the delivery end of some of the charities I support. The National Trust were absolutely great at Bedruthan Steps, asking me about places I've visited and handing over a map featuring…
Those young men knew how to fundraise
Gary Shearin from YMCA England has discovered a couple of great examples of YMCA fundraising materials in their archives. I was particularly impressed with this feedback piece produced in 1916. Before the days of computers and spreadsheets, the clerks at the YMCA were able to…
Who makes the final decision about what you send to donors?
I’ve always loved research. It lies at the very heart of Bluefrog. We channel a large part of our tiny profits into filling knowledge gaps in the charity sector by undertaking research that gives insight and guidance on tackling some of the biggest problems that…
Do you need some help?
Most fundraisers work with tight budgets and to tough targets. It’s part of the territory of fundraising. Creative thinking, a focus on the needs of the donor and great database management can only take you so far. Sometimes you need help. But who do you…
Great logo, shame about the work
Another interesting piece of research has just been released by nfpSynergy. This study looks at how a charity's size can influence the way in which it is perceived. Perhaps the most important finding is that over half the people surveyed saw big charities as being…
How I learned to stop worrying and love financial overheads
The debate about the relaxation of rules controlling comparative charity advertising continues (the Fundraising Detective has the best links on his site). Much of the discussion seems to be about the impact of charities putting the public boot into each other regarding things like…
So donors are rational are they?
A study by academics from East Carolina University, the University of Chicago, the University of Maryland and the University of Nevada-Reno came up with some interesting results that showed that it’s not always what a charity says or does that influences a gift. The research…
The Twelve Tweets of March
The tradition continues with a round up of my favourite things found via Twitter over the last month. The rules stay the same. Everything has something to do with fundraising and everything is credited to the tweeter who found it. Here we go… Every big…
How to make sure your ideas will work
People often ask me about how we do such great work at Bluefrog. The answer is simple. Years ago, we bought ourselves an OkiDoki 30007 ideas checker. Every idea that we come up with goes into the hopper (1). Computer science then gives it a…
