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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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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Tax Breaks & Philanthropy

December 9, 2010 1 Comment

I read with interest the article on BBC’s website yesterday in which culture secretary Jeremy Hunt (he of the unfortunate surname mispronouncation by BBC’s James Naughtie) announced that he wanted to encourage philanthropy for the arts through matched funding.

The plan is ambitious with £80m of government funds being set aside and arts organisations encouraged to fundraise for the remainder.  But it does beg the question, who is going to be able to achieve this?  Surely the bigger fish in the arts world with the contacts – and the resources – are going to fare better than smaller organisations?

In order for an organisation to set up an effective, sustainable fundraising operation of the sort Jeremy Hunt envisages, they need to at least have the resources available to them to research, recruit and look after their donors.  And corporate sponsorship is even more labour intensive with high demands placed on the recipients of such monies.  Most smaller organisations don’t have even one member of staff who deals solely with fundraising, never mind a fundraising team, so how realistic or achievable will it be to replace government funding with philanthropic gifts and sponsorship?

It is important to encourage philanthropy – although Jeremy Hunt’s suggestion that we should emulate the levels achieved in the US is unlikely to happen without a radical alteration of the tax system in the UK – and I firmly believe that all organisations need to think of introducing an element of fundraising into their income streams – increasing the diversity of their funding and helping them to become more sustainable.  But is it unrealistic to expect small, cutting edge, community-based or new work to achieve the same levels (proportionally) of more ‘traditional’ larger arts organisations? 

It may be an uncomfortable climate for all of the arts but I worry that new talent and the development of new ideas and audiences will suffer as a result of the plans of the current government.

Do you agree?  Perhaps you think the arts are expendable in terms of government support?

 

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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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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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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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