Arise Sir Local Hero…

January 10, 2011 Leave a comment

UK Fundraising’s blog post on this year’s (2011) New Year Honours list highlighted the fact that three quarters of those to have received an honour this year are local heroes.  I don’t know about you, but I’m pleased to hear that.  I suspect though, that the majority of them were offered MBEs or CBEs rather than becoming Dame Such and Such or Sir Blah de Blah – both of which seem to be reserved for sportsmen and women or actors.

Personally, I think more honours should go to those who tirelessly and for no personal gain go out of there way to support their local communities or to raise the profile of a cause close to their hearts.  Year after year, we hear how someone is being awarded for services to sport, theatre or film – which is largely them being awarded for doing their job, isn’t it? 

I don’t want to sound churlish – and I’m not disputing that there are some fine actors and sportsmen and women out there – but presumably, they want to be top of their game anyway, so it’s not been an entirely selfless act to get there.  Not like running the local youth club in a run-down estate or providing support for local elderly people either as a volunteer or as an employee doing a job with very little pay and without much complaint or need for recognition.

So, personally, I say ‘well done local champions’.  Let’s see more of them being honoured in the future.

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Think Big, Be Ambitious with your fundraising

November 3, 2010 Leave a comment

The best fundraising projects are often those that are viewed as the most challenging.  Perhaps they have an ambitious target or maybe they’re complicated in terms of delivery or diversity?  Whatever the reasons, I’ve found that it is usually the most ambitious projects that are the best – and most successful – to fundraise for. 

Often, people are scared to be too ambitious when developing their projects, worrying that they won’t be able to raise the income target, so they scale it down to the point where it has a small reach, no future sustainability and is unlikely to make much impact.  Rather than making it easier to fundraise for, by reducing the scope and scale of a project you can hamstring your fundraising efforts. 

The project that started off as a request for a new museum grade bookcase to house manuscripts had limited donor appeal but, by working with the archivist, we developed the project into an exhibition.  It was five times more expensive but had a far broader reach in terms of visitors, especially as it included a spin off education pack and a dedicated website, as well as an interactive exhibition.  This more ambitious and more costly project was far easier to fundraise for as donors could clearly see the benefits of bringing the exhibition to a broader audience, as opposed to simply storing the books and manuscripts more effectively.

Similarly, there was the exhibition sponsorship deal that included: a complementary fashion exhibition, a demonstration of ancient tapestry techniques and grand opening featuring Jodie Marsh, designer Scott Henshall and a few hundred thousand pounds worth of diamonds.  All of these aspects were added by the sponsor and, while they meant extra work to deliver the sponsorship, the added value led to a higher cash contribution by the sponsor, excellent press coverage and box office breaking attendance figures. 

I’m not suggesting that you run wild with your fundraising and grow your projects so large that you are unable to manage or sustain them but try taking an entrepreneurial approach – think more creatively and look at the many different aspects of your project and what they could bring in terms of new audiences, potential funding and new partnerships.  Doing this can help increase your appeal to donors and ultimately, raise the income you need to be successful.

If you need more advice on fundraising, please get in touch for an informal discussion.  Download my Top 10 Fundraising Tips to help kick start your fundraising.

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Planning Your Fundraising Campaign

October 22, 2010 Leave a comment

Campaigns vary in scale and aims.  A campaign is for a specific need – be it capital or revenue – and it will have a specific target and deadline.  Depending on the size of your organisation, it may mean that your fundraising campaign takes over all of your fundraising activity and, even if you are large enough to continue with other fundraising activity, a campaign will certainly provide the main focus.  Key aspects to consider are:

1. Before even going into campaign mode, test your campaign – does it fit with your overall vision and strategy.  If not, why not?  It may be that you are changing the culture of the organisation in general but this should first be reflected by a change in your organisational aims, rather than by a fundraising campaign.

 2. Test your target.  Have you any experience of fundraising?  Do you have the resources to raise this amount of money in terms of staff and board time, office systems and experience within your organisation?  Have other organisations run similar projects or tried to raise similar amounts?  Were they successful?  If not, why not?  Is there something you could do better?

 3. Review previous and current fundraising.  Look at where money has come in from the past – that may be a good starting point for future gifts.  What are you currently doing that may need to be dropped to focus on the campaign.  How will that affect the running of your organisation?

4. Review your systems and networks.  Make sure you have the capacity within your office systems and resources to devote time and energy to fundraising which is well managed and structured.  A good database; proper systems for research; good internal channels of communication – to ensure staff are informed and board members are networking effectively on your behalf; gift stewardship – i.e. what will happen when a gift is received or pledged in terms of thanking and looking after the donor; gift policy – are there particular types of donor that you are unwilling to accept donations from/if you receive shares, how will you manage them?

5. Write a plan.  Use all of the above to compose a fundraising plan for your campaign, which clearly makes the case for your campaign and outlines the structures to support it – including prospect research and information on where gifts will come from.

There are of course, many other aspects to consider when planning a fundraising campaign but these are the top priority in my mind. 

Would you add any others?  Or perhaps there are aspects you think are less important?

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Gain New Skills, Become a Trustee!

October 15, 2010 Leave a comment

Next week, 25th to 31st October 2010, the Charity Commission is promoting Trustees Week, which aims to encourage more people from all walks of life to get involved in supporting charities by becoming a trustee.

 Trustees play a crucial role in terms of charity governance and, given that charities represent all walks of life, it is vital that their boards are representative of people from different backgrounds too.  But it’s not just a benefit to the charity, trustees have an opportunity to develop their skills and experience, all the while making a difference to the organisation they support.

One of the areas they are promoting is Younger Trustees with a view to increasing the number of younger people who get involved with charity boards.  At the moment, 18 – 24 year olds represent 12% of the population but only 0.5% of the trustee population in England and Wales.  By having trustees with a wide range of backgrounds and ages, a charity increases the opportunities available for networking, ideas generation and trustee involvement.

While Trustees Week is an initiative specifically covering England and Wales it’s important for charities across the UK to encourage and promote opportunities for all to volunteer as board members, as well as more regular volunteering opportunities.  And charities could be creative in their recruitment of trustees, perhaps using social media to set up a recruitment campaign.

Whether you’re a charity looking for new trustees or an individual looking for a new challenge, increasing the numbers of people actively involved with charities can only be a good thing.

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Creative Fundraisers are Worth their Weight in Donations!

October 6, 2010 Leave a comment

Some of the best people I’ve worked for have been those who take a creative approach to fundraising, thinking outside the box and looking at the bigger picture.  Rather than just focusing on the project or campaign target, they have an ability to look at how other projects and programmes might link in with the one needing immediate funding.  Or they can see how to make the donors gift or sponsors investment really make a difference – to both organisation and donor.  I’ve been fortunate enough to have worked for a couple of really creative, focused people and I hope that I’ve learned from them along the way.

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