An assessment of the enormous confusion that exists within the sector, the potential damage to individual charities and the whole sector by making the wrong decision, and clear advice on how to proceed.
Category: Donors
The transformation of fundraising
The launch of the Commission. A slim piece, primarily about how the Commission reached its outputs, but including a discussion of how fundraising has changed in the last half-century.
If you give donors a great experience, they will give more and give for longer
A focus on the Commission, and tackling four subjects in depth: The use of the telephone Companies Trusts The use of emotion
Fundraising AT people is all wrong. Here’s why.
A new restatement of the issues in the context of the launch of the Commission. . The basic problem with much of fundraising today is that we fundraise AT people. Should we start by thinking of donors as existing to meet the charity’s needs? Or should we start by thinking about meeting donors desires to […]
Has fundraising moved forwards, or backwards, in the last 50 years? And where next?
The unbeaten aphorisms of the founder of modern fundraising, 50 years on. A careful and thorough distillation of the wisdom of Harold Sumption You won’t find this anywhere else, and it is both stimulating, and a great read. I can’t believe you won’t be inspired
Are we managing a fundraising decline? Only if we let ourselves.
A fundamental review of the situation in. November 2016. A very full analysis of what happened in 2015, how the sector responded, and, again, a defence of the Daily Mail. Where we were then, and clear suggestions about the changes many fundraisers need to make in current practice, and where we should go in the […]
A brief history of fundraising
My most complete post. The origins of fundraising. How things went wrong. Fundraising becoming about ‘technique’, not connecting with donors. And short-termism instead of long-term thinking. The collapse of the fundraising edifice in 20215. And finally, hope for the future.
Your annual report is more about your donor and your cause than about your organisation.
A brilliant annual report. A very niche blog, but one that is written with passion. How many annual reports are about the successes of the charity? One young fundraiser has produced a report that is wholly about the beneficiary, and the donor who helps. The charity is almost invisible. Robin Peake deserves a medal.
What do we do now to reassure our donors?
A very well read follow-up on the last blog, which focused on the problem. This blog now discusses the solution and delves into detail of defining a new vision for fundraising, which puts the donor at the centre. Not just principles, but loads of examples.
The unhappy Philanthropist
A post about recognition of donors A serious bog, that tries to get under the skin of why philanthropists give and how we recognise them. Sometimes, exceptionally. Sometimes abysmally. It gives examples of great practice, often from the USA, and some suggestions of how we might all do better