Good fundraising advice

August 9, 2011 Leave a comment

Over the summer I’ve been more than a little bit quiet on this blog.  Mainly because I’ve been juggling childcare and managing clients rather than because I’ve been sunning myself on a long relaxing holiday I should add.

However, I have managed to read the occasional blog post from others and there are a few that I thought worth a mention.  The ever informative SOFII blog as been a mine of useful info (as usual) and I found Damian O’Broin’s post particularly interesting.  In it he provides a checklist of 12 key points to consider that will help to supercharge your fundraising appeals.  As we come out of the summer you might be considering your own fundraising appeals for the autumn (and of course, the pre-Christmas period – sorry, I shouldn’t mention the C word this early in the year, I know).  If you are about to launch a new appeal or write out to your donors, it’s well worth a read.

And of course, if you’re interested in finding a rich source of information without having to plough through various searches on the internet, you can visit Beth’s Blog, which has a great article on sourcing curated articles (i.e. someone else has done the research for you, which I have to say, appeals hugely particularly given my current lack of time resources!).  Beth has added a list of her favourite curated lists using Scoop.It with posts that non-profits might find useful – from crowdsourcing to storytelling; non-profits to using Facebook.  Definitely a good read if you’ve a spare 15 minutes and a cup of tea.

Back to SOFII and there’s another great piece about dabbling in fundraising  by Christiana Stergiou- and why dabbling just doesn’t work.  I’m often asked by people to fundraise for them in some of the circumstances outlined in this post and I always stress the need for a fundraising plan; the need to recognise that fundraising is a long-term, relationship building activity and not about quick wins; and the need to see fundraising as part of the overall fundraising mix and not just a panic, knee jerk reaction to filling an income void.  For these reasons I this post is well worth a read – if nothing else as it gives some good advice on what to do and what not when considering fundraising.

These are just a few of the good posts that I’ve managed to pick up over the summer – in between short bursts of working and refereeing the sibling squabbles in the house.  Let me know what you think of these and if there are any other posts that you think would be of interest to non-profits.

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Are there enough hours in your day?

August 9, 2011 Leave a comment

The summer holidays and lack of time available to do absolutely everything that needs to be done has seen my blog suffer – along with my other social media.  (Not really practising what I preach but unavoidable at this time of year unfortunately!)  But, with the end in sight (the Scottish schools go back next week) I’m beginning to see the light at the end of the tunnel and so with that in mind, thought a little post about managing your time effectively as a fundraiser might be useful.  Or rather, managing your time for fundraising whether fundraising is all or just a part of your job.  Please read my post over on the Arts Professional blog – and let me know if you think I’ve missed anything or if it raises any questions about managing your fundraising that you’d like help with.

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Developing a Fundraising Strategy

May 19, 2011 Leave a comment

I wrote this post for Arts Professional and thought it would be a good one to share with those of you that might not work in the arts.  After all, if you’re fundraising, you should consider developing a fundraising strategy, regardless of which sector you’re in.

Developing your Fundraising Strategy
The recent cuts have meant that many organisations have either recognised they need to fundraise or to increase their reliance on fundraising in light and with this comes the need to develop a strategic approach to fundraising – rather than just a panic, scatter gun, ‘fill the gap left by public funding’ approach.  However, if you’re already fundraising you may question the need for a strategy in the first place.

Obviously, I am an advocate for developing a fundraising strategy that complements your organisation’s vision and creates income sources that will allow you to achieve those objectives in your business plan, as a properly developed strategy will:

  • increase the chances of success for your fundraising;
  • enable you to assess the options available to you for funding;
  • allow you to plan your fundraising – which projects will appeal to which donors and when do you need to start to think about fundraising for them;
  • clarify your fundraising goals and objectives – when a few months down the line you’re asked why you’re pursuing a particular course of action, you’ll have the background to make your case.

Every fundraising strategy has different aims.  Some organisations want to continue to deliver the same services they always have but now need a strategy because the economy has changed or other funding sources have ceased to exist.  Other organisations want to develop and expand their work and need to assess where additional funds may come from; how they fit with your current plans and, of course, how this expansion will impact on your organisational fundraising resources.
In the current climate, more organisations want to diversify income streams so they’re not overly reliant on one or two sources of income in the future, while others want to increase their long term income to get on a more secure footing and plan better in the future.

I recently wrote about the top 5 areas to take into account but there are more aspects to consider:

  • Background – has previous fundraising been successful?  How much income comes from
    fundraising?
  • Vision/Mission – where is your organisation headed and how can fundraising help you to achieve this?  Your vision might also help you to identify potential funding sources interested in investing in this type of work.
  • SWOT Analysis – love them or loathe them, it’s a good idea to write down your Strengths, Weakness, Opportunities and Threats, specifically as they relate to fundraising, as this can help you to identify gaps and help you see where the strengths in your organisation may lie.
  • Resources – what resources do you have?  Are these likely to change?  Many organisations discover they don’t have additional resources and that doesn’t fit with their need to increase fundraising income.  You don’t need to spend huge amounts on brochures or expensive databases, but good fundraising takes time – that of staff, board and volunteers.  Often though it’s just a question of adapting resources to suit your needs.
  • Potential Funding Sources – once you’ve identified your aims and objectives, along with income targets, it’s possible to begin the process of identifying potential sources of income.
  • Monitoring – all good strategies should be a living document and you should have opportunities for monitoring and reviewing your strategy, ideally quarterly with the Board, if possible.  This gives you the chance to review what you might need to change or what needs more resources dedicated to it.

Developing a fundraising strategy takes time but without one, you’re setting your fundraising up to fail as you won’t have a clear idea of the fundraising landscape – both internally and externally.  A strategy greatly improves your  chances of success; enables you to plan long-term and gives you the tools to adapt to opportunities and challenges as they arise.

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How to Develop a Fundraising Strategy

April 14, 2011 4 Comments

Your board and management team has recognised that your organisation needs to fundraise.  Or perhaps you’ve already enjoyed some success with your fundraising from various sources but want to begin to take a strategic approach to your fundraising.  Where should you start?  It’s a question I’m often asked and there are a number of areas to consider – my top 5 are:

Business Plan – do you have one?  If not, there’s not much point in developing a fundraising strategy, as the whole purpose of your strategy is to look at your business objectives over the next planning period (be it 3, 4 or 5 years) and establishing how your fundraising can support these.  So, if you don’t have a business plan, get one.  If you do, what are the objectives of your organisation – and what areas have you identified in the business plan that fundraising could support?

Resources – these cover everything from staff to databases, marketing & communications to senior management and, of course, volunteers.  Look at the resources available and how they can support your fundraising.  Do you need to invest more in your fundraising resources to enable you to reach target or do you have resources that you’re not utilising effectively?

Donors – what has your fundraising looked like over the past 3 years?  A fundraising audit should happen before you put pen to paper with your fundraising strategy i.e. assessing who has given; what they’ve funded; and how much has been given.  What campaigns were successful and which failed?  Do you have particular success in raising income from trusts or perhaps companies flock to sponsor your organisation?  Or maybe no-one has ever given anything?  You need to look at all of these areas and start to question why your fundraising looks the way that it does in order to establish the potential your organisation has to fundraise successfully in the future.

Board – never underestimate the importance of your board.  If they are keen advocates for your organisation, their support with your fundraising is vital but equally, if they are negative about fundraising or refuse to support your work, you’re going to have a hard time raising any income.  Getting your Board on board and encouraging them to take a proactive approach in fundraising, is key to introducing new networks to your organisation.

Objectives – what do you need to fundraise for?  And where is the potential for raising funds for these areas?  Are some of your organisational objectives likely to appeal particularly to the Lottery or trusts – perhaps because they have a social dimension or are taking a new, innovative approach to addressing a social need?  Similarly, an objective that is likely to raise the profile of your organisation significantly and attract interest from the press and general public may appeal to the corporate market.  Look objectively at what you need to fundraise for – i.e. where your organisation is going for the next 3 – 5 years – and establish where the potential is to raise those funds.

Those are just my top 5 areas to consider when shaping a fundraising strategy and, of course, I’ve just touched briefly on each of them.  Is there anything missing?  What would you take out?

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Fundraising News and Mothers’ Day Ideas too!

April 1, 2011 1 Comment

I’ve just published April’s edition of Effective Fundraising, which announces the launch of Sharper Marketing & Fundraising – a great new service we’re offering with marketing consultants, Strategy Point, to help you gain more from your organisation’s marketing and fundraising.  There’s also info on new funding opportunities and a wee round up of how you can help charity while spoiling mum this Mothers’ Day (yes, it is this Sunday!).

If you’d like to receive our monthly news, ideas and fundraising tips, please subscribe.  And let us know if there’s any fundraising aspect that you’d like us to include in our regular updates.

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The Budget & Philanthropy

March 24, 2011 1 Comment

George Osborne’s second budget promised some real changes to aid philanthropic giving, particularly to the arts but with potential wide ranging effects for the charity sector in general.  So will it make a difference and encourage more people to give, more money and more regularly to charity in the UK?

Of course, time will tell but the Gift Aid reforms – essentially simplifying the system and enabling charities to ‘thank’ donors more effectively – certainly seem to be a move in the right direction that will help charities receive more money in without getting bogged down in too much administration.  A good thing for small charities in particular who often struggle with the complexity and additional layers of administration that Gift Aid can bring.  It will also help those who are perhaps not in receipt of major gifts but receive many smaller gifts, as the system will become more simple.

I am cautiously optimistic about these reforms and they are definitely a move in the right direction.  However, they are unlikely to have an immediate impact on giving and need to be supported by government investment. 

What do you think?  Can you see a potential difference to your organisation’s future philanthropic income as a result of these reforms?

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Sharper Marketing & Fundraising

March 11, 2011 1 Comment

Do you want to reach more people with your marketing and fundraising messages?  Or perhaps you want to refocus your organisation to target new donors or to reach new customers and clients?

Many of my clients are small organisations who don’t have the resources to employ huge fundraising teams and want to develop skills to enable them to plan and implement their own strategic approach to successful fundraising and marketing. 

With that in mind, Activate Fundraising and Strategy Point  have developed Sharper Marketing & Fundraising – a new, cost-effective programme to give organisations the tools and advice to develop their own marketing and fundraising strategies.  This puts organisations in the position where they gain the skills in-house and can tailor a strategy precisely to their needs – all with our hands-on support, of course. 

What’s more, Skills Development Scotland is currently offering 50% of the costs of training up to a maximum of £500 per person between now and 30 June, so there’s potential to get the programme at an even lower rate for the next couple of months.

So, if you’re a smaller charity or arts organisation based in central Scotland and would like to develop skills that will enable you to make a long-term difference to your organisation, please get in touch to find out more.

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Fundraising – How to Beat the Recession

March 9, 2011 Leave a comment

There’s no denying that the recession – and the impact that it’s had on donors and trust investments; government spending and general household income – has had an adverse impact on fundraising in general.  We recently asked charities and arts organisations to complete a survey into how the recession had affected them – and there were a few charities out there who bucked the trend and hadn’t seen their income reduce.  They were, however, in the minority.  The survey results are interesting – and there are a few glimmers of hope in there as to how organisations can move their fundraising forward in these difficult times.  Difficult but not impossible perhaps?

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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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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

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