Charity at the Checkout

January 3, 2011 5 Comments

I read Paul Vallely’s article in The Independent with interest.  In it, he talks about the coalition government’s latest ‘Big Society’ type initiative to encourage philanthropy – by making it easier for shoppers to add a donation to their purchases through the credit card PIN machine.  And it made me wonder whether I would consider adding a donation to my bill at the end of the usual frantic shopping at Tesco experience.  And I’m a professional fundraiser.  All the, who gets the donation, how much should I give, will I Gift Aid it – is that not expecting a bit too much of shoppers who really just want to get out of there as quickly as possible (preferably with all the children, bags, keys etc. they arrived with)?

And then, of course, there’s the point of view of the charities themselves.  The article made the valid point that PIN machine donations don’t give donors the opportunity to really connect to the charity itself – as those charities benefitting from the donations will have been chosen by the retailer rather than the person making the donation.  It also means, in all likelihood, that the large well-known and already well supported charities will benefit while small, local or less appealing causes will be unlikely to make it onto any list of potential beneficiaries chosen by the likes of Waitrose, Tesco or HMV.

And so, where is the potential for donor engagement; encouraging future possibly larger donations; and increasing the sustainability of fundraising for these organisations.  And how likely is this initiative in helping to fill the gap left by the inevitable government cuts to the sector – both direct and indirect? 

Of course, encouraging philanthropy and making it easier for people to give to charity can only be a good thing – perhaps it might get people thinking about how they can support charities close to their own hearts.  However, the cynic in me suspects that this is yet another PR exercise.  And that, while taken as a whole, the entire level of donations may sound impressive at the end of the first, second or third year of this scheme, it is unlikely to have made that much of a difference to individual charities – and even less likely to have helped those smaller, leaner and often highly effective grassroots charities that our society really needs.

Would you consider adding a donation onto the end of your shop at your local Tesco’s?  Or are you so busy rounding up children, filling up bags and trying to find your car keys that charity is likely to be the last thing on your mind?

PIN philanthropy, fundraising ideas

by Flickr user Mark Hillary

Filed under fundraising ideas Tagged with , , , , ,

We Wish You a Merry Christmas…

December 23, 2010 Leave a comment

Final day of Activate Fundraising’s Top 10 Fundraising Tips – and here are the final two.  This is by no means the definitive list on everything you need to consider when fundraising but it should give you an idea of the different aspects you need to consider and help you to focus your ideas. 

9. Use trustees effectively.  Who has the best networks?  Who is happy to ask for money (because not all will be)?  Who is most knowledgeable or passionate about your organisation (hopefully, all of them!).  It is vital that trustees lend their support to fundraising.  They may not all be comfortable asking for money but they don’t all have to be – as long as they will introduce your organisation to their networks and be an ambassador for your work (which they should be anyway).

10. Say Thank You.  It may be obvious, but you’d be surprised how often donors aren’t thanked.  You can’t say thank you enough.  Provide the personal touch – a scanned signature is unlikely to make anyone feel their gift meant much.  £20 may be a small donation to you but it could mean a lot to the donor.  And you never know how much could follow on from the smallest gift.  If you don’t thank people you are closing the doors to future support and wasting all the effort put into getting that initial donation.

I hope that these tips have given you some food for thought over the past few days and that you implement some or all of them when you come back into the office in January.   And if you’d like some help with your fundraising, please get in touch.

Merry Christmas and a Happy 2011!

by Flickr user Frits Ahlefeldt-Laurvig

Filed under fundraising ideas Tagged with , , , , , ,

Christmas Countdown Giveaway: 22nd December

December 22, 2010 Leave a comment

Like me, you probably only have another couple of days in the office, so make them a productive couple by using them to think about how you’re going to come into the office in January and kick start your fundraising with a few new ideas – or maybe just visit some old ones from a different perspective:

Tip 7. Stay ‘on message’.  Fundraising is another way of communicating to your audience and, while the methods of delivery may be different, they should still reflect your core messages.  If you’re fundraising for a programme that doesn’t fit with your overall vision, you need to ask yourself why.  If you don’t, potential donors will.

8. Fundraise within resources.  Regardless of how many fundraisers you have (or don’t have) you need to be realistic about what you can deliver.  How much time can you allocate to fundraising?  What tasks need to be delivered e.g. research, applications, meetings, planning?  Who will deliver these tasks?  Often fundraising focuses solely on target but if it’s unrealistic within current resources, you need to either reduce the target or devote more resources to fundraising.

Check in with us tomorrow for the final two in our top 10 Fundraising tips series.

Filed under fundraising ideas Tagged with , , , , , ,

Christmas Countdown Giveaway: Day 4

December 21, 2010 Leave a comment

A few more free advent tips from Activate Fundraising:

5. Research your donors.  You need to identify who is likely to support your organisation – and being wealthy is not enough.  If I had £1 for every time I’ve been told to ask a certain businessman for money, I’d be rich!  Look at your projects, your beneficiaries and your organisational vision.  Who supports the work you are doing?  There are numerous resources out there to help with your research – too many to mention here – but start by reading local and national press; keeping up to date with sector developments; and using your networks.

6. Network.  Spread the word about your organisation.  Be known as leaders in your field.  Use networks available to you – through trustees, volunteers, professional groups and your donors.  Consider online networking – ask your Trustees and CEO if they’ll introduce your organisation to their Linked In contacts or send out occasional tweets on your behalf.

Is there anything from the list of tips so far that you think is missing?  What would you add and why?

Filed under fundraising ideas Tagged with , , , , , , ,

Christmas Countdown Giveaway – 5 Sleeps ’til Santa!

December 20, 2010 Leave a comment

As we’ve only 5 days to go before the big man arrives, today I’ve included 2 fundraising tips to help you focus your fundraising:

3. Review the market.  Look at your competitors – who supports them?  Are there programmes like yours that have failed or succeeded?  Why?  Is there an organisation in your area doing similar work?  How are you different?  Fundraising is competitive so it’s vital that you stand out from the crowd.  Knowing who you’re up against will help you to position yourself effectively.  But as well as looking at competitors, also think out the box too.  What has motivated you to give to a charity – why was it effective?  What advertising campaigns have really stood out for you and why?  And remember, you are not your donors – so get the views of others too.

 4. Get everyone on board.  You should set out the reasons why you are fundraising and what your objectives are (see point 1) so that everyone in your organisation knows why you’re fundraising, what for, how much and in what timescale and what you are hoping to achieve.  You can’t under estimate the power of internal support for your fundraising so make sure your trustees, staff and volunteers know why you are fundraising.

Filed under fundraising ideas Tagged with , , , , ,

Day 2: Christmas Countdown Giveaway

December 17, 2010 Leave a comment

by Flickr User Andreas Cappell

So, you’ve thought long and hard about what, why and how you’re going to fundraise, what next?

2. Put systems in place.  Without systems you will find it difficult to sustain your fundraising.  Get a database and use it – this doesn’t have to be expensive, you could use Constant Contact, Access or any number of other databases before you even think of splashing out on a fundraising specific system.  Decide who you will target for funding – trusts, individuals, Lottery, business or a mixture?  Establish systems that will help you to look after your donors by determining how and when you will communicate with them.  You don’t have to recreate the wheel – this could sit within a communications programme that you already use, taking into account the specific audience(s) you are communicating with and always ensuring that your donors receive appropriate communications.

So what next?  Look out for tomorrow’s tip…

Filed under fundraising ideas Tagged with , , , , ,

On the 1st Day of Christmas…

December 16, 2010 Leave a comment

OK, we are way past the first day of advent but a few early Christmas presents never go amiss – so here is the first of my daily fundraising tips to help get your fundraising sorted out between now and start of 2011.  So here we are, at day 1 and my first tip is:

  1. Plan your fundraising.  What do you want to achieve?  Why?  How does this fit with your organisational strategy or goals?  What, specifically, do you need the money for – staff/core, project, capital?  Where do you think the money will come from – current or previous donors, new funding routes, trusts, individuals, the Lottery?  What resources do you have to invest in fundraising?  Do you have staff, a database, robust administration systems, effective communications?

If you can’t answer any of these questions, you’re not ready to start fundraising.

Filed under fundraising ideas Tagged with , , , , ,

Seeking Inspiration?

December 3, 2010 Leave a comment

by Flickr user Dominic Alves

I read today’s SOFII blog post with interest, as I’m often asked by organisations how they can refresh their approach or revamp their fundraising.  In the current environment, organisations are trying to stand out from the crowd and get noticed among the increasing number of charities seeking funding.

It is important to think out of the box but that doesn’t necessarily mean you need to completely reinvent yourself and your organisation, simply to view the way that you do things in a different way.  SOFII’s suggestion to look outside the charity sector is a good one and a method that I often advocate with clients.  Think about organisations that you would like to emulate – and be as ambitious at this stage, as possible.  You may not ultimately have the big budget to deliver an exact blueprint of a project you like but, by thinking creatively, you can adapt ideas that you like to fit your organisation, approach and budget.

I particularly like the quote: “Not every connection will work but failing quickly and learning is crucial to any successful innovation process. However, the wider you cast your net in your search for inspiration, the more you move away from your current, tired and tested patterns of thinking, the more previously unconnected connections you are likely to make and the more chance you have of coming up with something new.”   This can be applied to a number of different areas – project development, communication techniques, organisational approach, donor research – as well as many other aspects.

Read SOFII’s top seven suggestions to help you think out of the box – and put them into practice.

What do you think?   Would you add any others to the list?  Have you carried out a similar exercise for your organisation and what were the results?

Filed under fundraising ideas

Top Fundraising Tips

November 24, 2010 Leave a comment

So you’re new to fundraising or you want to refresh your fundraising programme?  Where do you start?  It will take an investment of your time to successfully establish or refocus your fundraising but there are a few areas that you should always consider when launching (or relaunching) your fundraising:

Decide what you want to achieve from your fundraising – how much do you want to raise and what for?  What’s the overall aim – diversifying your funding, growing your organisation or becoming more sustainable – or something else?

Put systems in place that will help you to establish your fundraising.  Get and use a database, decide who you will target for funding, put communication systems in place so you know what to do when a donation comes in and you have flagged when a follow up report needs to go out, establish how and when you will communicate with donors.

Network – use your current networks, encourage your board to introduce you to their networks – and spread the word about your organisation so you become known in your field.

Stay on message – your communication methods may be different according to different audiences but your overall core messages should be the same – otherwise, no-one will understand who you are or what you are aiming to do.

These are just a suggested starting point to get you thinking about shaping your fundraising programme and there are many others to consider to.  Have a look at our fundraising ideas for more information or get in touch if you’d like to have a more detailed discussion.

Filed under fundraising ideas Tagged with , , ,

Tweet, Blog or ‘Like’ your Fundraising?

November 18, 2010 1 Comment

fundraising ideas, fundraising consultancy

Image by Flickr user gaku

Do you use technology in your fundraising?  Or do you tend to stick with the tried and tested methods you’ve used for years?  I’m not suggesting that there’s a right answer to either of those questions – and there’s definitely not a ‘one size fits all’ approach. 

Some charities will find that sticking to direct mail, for example, is the best approach for them and continues to deliver the best results.  However, others may find that by using new technology to reach audiences, they are able to find new donors and enhance the work they do.

Fundraising Coach, Marc A. Pitman is based in the US and recently highlighted the use of QR codes in fundraising.  This fascinating (and relatively simple) technology can be used to direct donors to specific web pages, provide direct links to event booking sites, link potential donors to audio and video clips – and a whole range of other uses that could enhance your donor communications – Marc even demonstrates how to do this on his site.

Of course, the  audiences you are trying to reach do need to be familiar with the technology (otherwise, it’s just a squiggle in the corner of a poster!) but I’ve no doubt that, as this technology grows, it will be picked up and used more and more.  Four weeks ago, I’d never even heard of it and now I’ve read numerous articles about how it is being used in both the US and the UK.  Oxfam have recently started using QR codes to link to audio clips of the previous owners of items in their shops telling the story of their donated items.

Another new innovation enhancing the power of the web is crowdfunding – or crowdsourcing, which is effectively, using people to get things done.  Charites, arts and social enterprises could harness the power of the virtual crowd to fund their programmes, provide their set up costs or fund specific projects, as Suzy Rigg’s recent post on ACEInspire’s blog demonstrates.

But what about your organisation?  Do you blog, tweet or ask people to ‘Like’ you on Facebook?  Or are you going down the route of QR codes and crowdfunding to reach new audiences and encourage new routes to giving?    

Filed under fundraising, fundraising ideas Tagged with , , , , , ,