Can the UK mimic US fundraising?

January 24, 2011 Leave a comment

A former colleague of mine tweeted about this Civil Society article last week where the chair of the Philanthropy Review called for the UK to mimic US charitable giving.

For those of you who don’t know, the US are a very charitable culture with a long established reputation of the rich giving vast sums of money to support everything from the arts to universities – and everything in between.  And of course, the reasons the UK is keen to promote and adopt the model is the dire situation we find our economy in.  But, first of all, the US have a tax system that is very nice to donors where there are substantial benefits to be had from giving money to charity.  The UK doesn’t and, in the current austere climate, how likely is it that the government will forgoe some of the tax they take from people?

And secondly, surely it’s all to do with culture?  The culture in the UK is completely different to the US.  We don’t have a long established reputation for supporting charities through donations – we have tended to provide (or at least consider that we provide) our support through the tax system with the government taxing our income to pay for universities, schools, arts organisations and the like.  Of course, with the huge deficit, the tax system is finding it can’t ‘do it all’. 

It’s clear that something has to give but I’m not sure that – even if we were to adopt the US model – it would happen quickly enough to support our already strapped for cash charitable sector.  So the big question is, who is going to support it in the meantime?  Or are we just going to watch good charities go to the wall with the government blaming us for not being more charitable and us blaming the government for continuing to spend on unpopular areas while cutting others?  One thing’s for sure, I don’t think the answer to the question is going to be painless.

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Does Social Media Work?

January 21, 2011 1 Comment

Much has been written about the use of social media in fundraising – as well as in life in general.  After all, there are probably very few people who own a computer that don’t tweet or post on Facebook – or both!  But I’m interested to know how many charities proactively use social media to fundraise – and if they do, how successful is it?

I came across a nifty little piece of software the other day (www.fundrazr.com) that makes fundraising – and encouraging donations from your ‘friends’ – a straightforward process.  Now this isn’t a review of the software – I will state now that I’ve never used it – but it seemed to me that on reading the information it was not only a good way for individuals to raise money for charities close to them – say if they were running a marathon and seeking sponsorship – but it also might give small arts organisations and charities a good way of raising small gifts from a large number of people.

Crowdfunding is another way to achieve similar results – raising many small gifts – and there is no doubting the power of social media when it comes to making a campaign go viral.  I’ve read lots about how social media can be used to fundraise and how effective it is in the US – but I haven’t seen many examples of it being used in the UK.  Or maybe I just haven’t been looking hard enough!

Personally, I think social media is a great way to achieve results and get people commenting and engaged with your organisation.  And I am particularly interested to find out whether, in these cash strapped times, as organisations develop new, creative ways to reach potential donors, whether they have used social media to achieve this successfully?

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Want to Raise More Money?

January 12, 2011 Leave a comment

OK, I’m a bit late here – mainly because the schools in our area didn’t go back until 11th which meant a spot of childcare was required – but I wondered what New Year resolutions you had set for 2011.

Personally, I want to run another 10K (as my training has gone a bit off track recently) and I’d like to spend more time with the children – over and above doing homework and taking them to and from school, that is.  On a business level, I’m working with a number of new clients already and am looking forward to developing these relationships over the next 12 months.  I’ve also been developing new services for clients and I’m looking forward to launching these in the next few weeks – watch this space!

But what about your organisation?  Have you thought about what your New Year resolutions are going to be in terms of fundraising?  Perhaps you want to raise more income or maybe diversify your income sources to help spread the risk across a number of different areas?

Now is an excellent time to look at how your organisation has been performing in terms of making approaches, signing up donors and, perhaps most importantly, looking after them.  Although I do recommend that organisations look at these areas regularly, there’s nothing like a new year (and a new decade in this case) to provide some focus.

Have a look at our tip sheets to help, starting with our Top 10 Fundraising Tips before checking out our research and project development recommendations to really help you get your fundraising on track.  And of course, if you’d like us to take a look at your fundraising, please get in touch for a more indepth chat about how you can raise more money in the future and put your organisation on a better footing in 2011.

fundraising, freelance fundraiser, fundraising consultancy

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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?

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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.

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Arts Professional Blog Post

December 17, 2010 1 Comment

I recently (last month) started writing posts for the new Arts Professional blog and this month’s has just been published, which talks about the UK coalition government’s plans to introduce a matched funding scheme for the arts to the tune of £80 million.  In essence, I think the idea is a good one but in reality, I doubt that we can change the culture of giving in this country over night – which is unfortunate to say the least, given that the changes are being implemented pretty much overnight!

We don’t have the tax breaks of, say, the US and we do have a culture of government investing in the arts (as well as education, the health service and a whole host of other activities that are private funded in other countries, including the US).  So, while I think that it is laudable to encourage philanthropy and sponsorship, I don’t think that either the systems are in place to encourage greater giving levels or indeed, to resource fundraising activity itself. 

Simply telling people to give more money to the arts isn’t likely to achieve all that much – far more carrots and a few less sticks please!

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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…

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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.

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Why Donors Give

December 16, 2010 Leave a comment

There was an interesting article in the FT a while ago that got me thinking about what motivates people to give to particular charities over others.

Clearly, how a charity engages with a donor or potential donor is important.  The article, based on research by New Philanthropy Capital, suggests that most important to donors is how well a charity is run, transparency, opportunities to get involved and often, locality to the donor.

Wealthy donors, in particular, are keen to know that their funds are being used effectively and this may be due to the large number of entrepreneurs represented in this group of donors.  This might put some charities off – the feeling that they are somehow being dictated to –  but it shouldn’t.  Obviously, you don’t want to let the tail wag the dog but I’ve found that the different viewpoint a donor can bring to an organisation is of huge benefit – way beyond the value of the gift itself.  After all, engaged and involved donors are your biggest advocates in the outside world.

Have you found that your donors are more interested in having a hands on involvement or more regular contact with your charity?  How easy (or difficult) has that been to manage?

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Free Fundraising Makeover

December 10, 2010 1 Comment

The economic situation has changed fundraising for a huge number of organisations – some who didn’t fundraise before are now considering it to help boost their funding as other sources have dwindled (or been dramatically cut).  Others with a history of fundraising are finding it increasingly difficult now that there is greater competition for funds and budgets of donors have become  more restricted.

Or at least that’s the anecdotal evidence – but what about your organisation?  Has fundraising become easier, more difficult or pretty much remained the same? 

We’re carrying out a survey (it’s very short and won’t take more than 5 minutes – honest) to find out how fundraising has changed in recent months – if at all.  As an incentive, all of those taking part will be entered into a prize draw to win a free fundraising audit for their organisation.  And, even if you don’t win, all respondents will receive a copy of the results which will help to establish whether you’re on track or need to do more compared to others.

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