Don’t Cut the Arts

December 6, 2010 Leave a comment

Dave Shrigley’s animation highlights the need to save the arts from dramatic spending cuts – not least because they bring tremendous benefits to the UK, including economic value, and for that reason alone surely investment to encourage growth is better than simply cutting back.

However, despite months of campaigning, the bad news just keeps on coming with Moray Council the latest to announce it is cutting the arts budget for the region which will impact negatively on community groups, mental health organisations, childrens organisations and other groups, as well as arts organisations and artists themselves.

Arts organisations are already lean, keen and creative – how will they weather this particular storm?

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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?

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Snow Joke!

December 2, 2010 Leave a comment

OK, it’s a terrible pun but will the recent cold snap have an adverse affect on charitable giving?  I’ve read in the press that it’s having an impact on businesses, as many are being forced to close while employees fail to make it into work or customers can’t make it to their premises but I wonder if it has a similar impact on charities?  Presumably charity shops will be impacted in the same way as other shops on the high street but what of other charitable donations?

Where I live the schools have closed for the week, refuse collections are cancelled and some people aren’t getting any post.  Being semi-rural can mean that we get more snow than the city but it also means that we have a good hearted local farmer who comes around with his tractor and snow plough to keep our streets clear – an example of charity beginning at home perhaps?  Events have been cancelled – from Christmas light switch ons to St. Andrews Day events and everything in between.  This must surely mean that events to raise money for charity have been cancelled too?  Presumably charities in this situation will hope to reschedule rather than postpone – but will the costs of having to postpone then reschedule be prohibitive resulting in less money raised by charity?

And what of the people stuck at home?  Are they surfing the net to shop for Christmas presents or are they spending their money on e-Christmas cards for charity and Santa letters?  Only time will tell.

Has your charity noticed any impact on donations coming in?  Have they gone up or down?

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Fundraising and the Recession

November 30, 2010 Leave a comment

There’s no denying that the economic climate has made fundraising difficult – and this appears to have been due to a number of factors.  Some organisations have found their earned income has declined dramatically and are trying to fill the gap with fundraising; others have found that, as more organisations start to fundraise, competition for funds has increased; and of course, many of the donors and sponsors have either reduced or stopped providing funding. 

I’m interested to find out how the recession has impacted on organisations – so please complete our short fundraising survey.  Not only will this help us to determine what information organisations need to help their fundraising but everyone who takes part will receive a summary report on the results, helping them to adapt their fundraising ideas and needs according to the current market.  And there’s also a chance to win a free fundraising audit for your organisation – it’s a win win situation!  Please take 5 minutes to complete the survey.

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Payroll Giving Hit by Recession

November 29, 2010 Leave a comment

Following on my recessionary theme this week – for which I apologise – I noticed this article regarding the reduction in payroll giving since 2007.  While not a major source of income – around 4% of earners give to charity through direct contributions from their salary – it does demonstrate another area where belts are being tightened and charities are seeing their funding reduce from this particular income source.  Payroll giving has always been a tax effective way of giving to charity – as the contributions come off before income is taxed thereby reducing the amount of tax paid by the donor – and I would encourage donors to consider it where they want to give regular amounts to charity each month.

With regard to the recent decline, while of concern, it has to be considered positive that donors have chosen to reduce the amount they give to charity through direct salary contributions rather than completely cut their contributions altogether.  It shows that people are still keen to support charities close to their hearts and hopefully, will mean that, when times are better, their contributions increase once again.

I’m particularly interested in fundraising and the recession so if you’ve noticed any change to your income – or even if you haven’t, please complete our short survey for the chance to win a free audit of your fundraising for your organisation, which could help you get back on track; identify your strengths and weaknesses; or change your fundraising priorities for the future.

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Love Thy Donor

November 25, 2010 Leave a comment

by Flickr user Diluvi

Love is probably a bit strong but you should certainly make an effort to get to know your donors as the power of a good donor relationship can’t be underestimated.

I recently read an interesting article about Harvard University on SOFII (Showcase of Fundraising Innovation & Inspiration) which highlighted this very fact.  Having visited Boston a few years ago – and of course, taken in the famous Harvard and MIT campuses, I was interested to read how the former was such a shining (and old) example of major donor fundraising working well.  It turns out that Harvard would not be called Harvard were it not for the generous legacy left to it by John Harvard.  Why did he leave money to Harvard (which was called something else at the time, of course)?  Well, it was probably down to the fact that he’d gone to university in England with the school’s first master, had remained friends with him and understood his vision for bringing higher education to the New World.

Organisations often find that they are so busy chasing the gift, getting the gift and stewarding the gift that they forget to focus on what is really most important about the gift – the donor.  Don’t lose sight of who it is that is giving you money, how they like to be communicated with and what motivates them to give.  Of course, you can’t be expected to know all of your donors personally, particularly if you raise money from large numbers of people, but you should know what communication works best for which donors.  And don’t forget it.  This is where the power of accurate record keeping, including investing in and using databases, can’t be underestimated.  But that’s for another post…

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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.

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What’s the Future for Arts Funding?

November 23, 2010 Leave a comment

As you know, as well as fundraising for a range of different causes, I have done a great deal of work (and continue to do so) with arts organisations.  Now is a particularly worrying time with government cuts ranging from 4% here in Scotland to a staggering 30% in England. 

I recently wrote a guest post for Arts Professional and am interested to hear how others, particularly those working in the arts, think their fundraising will be affected by the cuts.  I’m also keen to know how (or if) organisations intend to adapt their fundraising efforts in the future taking into account the increased pressure to diversify income.

Please let me know what you think by commenting on the Arts Professional blog – I’m interested to see what the main concerns are and will be blogging in the future – both here and on Arts Professional – about possible ways to improve fundraising efforts and increase income.

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Businessmums Blog

November 22, 2010 Leave a comment

As someone new to the world of blogging, tweeting and social media in general, I recently took part in a blog carnival.  The idea is (I think) that one person hosts the carnival on their blog while others submit links to posts on their blogs that are relevant to the overall subject.  I took part in the Business Mums Blog Carnival on 15th November and, despite not really knowing what was going on, I really enjoyed it. 

It was a good opportunity for me to think about what a different audience might be interested in reading about and it was fascinating to read about the experiences of those taking part – from going freelance in the first place, why they work for themselves, what they enjoy, and how there isn’t any time to shave your legs!

I’d definitely take part again and would recommend others new to the world of blogging to roll up their sleeves and get writing.  You never know who might read your article and, more importantly, what you might find out from reading new posts that you don’t already follow.  I’ve signed up to host the carnival taking place next May (which I know from experience seems like a long way in the future but will be here before we know it!).

So, why not put the kettle on when you get a spare five minutes and read through this month’s Business Mums Blog Carnival.  Or, put blog carnival into the search engine and see if there are any that you could take part in that might be relevant to your business.

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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?    

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