I know I'm not the first to say it and I hope I won't be the last, but a recent experience has made me remember how much you learn about fundraising from donating. I don't just mean the technical stuff; I mean the fuzzy stuff too.
We’ve all heard that altruism and philanthropy are good for us, that being generous makes you happier, but sometimes you need to experience it to really understand it.
As a kid I always used to ask for pennies from my Mum to put in collection tins when we were out shopping. My favourites were the big perspex domes where the coin spins round and round until it drops through a hole and you heard it clink in to a big pile at the bottom; they mesmerised me.
Now I’m not suggesting that we all start donating in this undiscerning way (I often had no idea who I was giving to) but I think there is something to be said for simply enjoying the act of giving.
I already make several regular gifts to my favourite causes and give on an ad hoc basis to other things which catch my eye. Sometimes this is a deliberate bit of mystery shopping; I want to see how a charity responds to my gift, how they try to build up a relationship, if and when they make another ask etc. This is a really valuable thing to do and if you don’t already do it I recommend it.
What I experienced recently however was not a calculated investigative donation but pure unadulterated giving. Sure, it started out as a technical exercise; some colleagues and I were examining a number of flyers to help us in designing our own appeal insert. I kept going back to Book Aid International's flyer, promoting their reverse book club, because I found the picture of a camel with the words "This camel changes lives" intriguing and a welcome antidote to the typical images of emaciated Africans we see so often (of which I am becoming tired, but that's another blog.)
Animals don't usually do it for me but I appreciated the flyer for its clever premise, its engaging content, its tangible ask and the way it put the donor in the picture. I even practiced using the response mechanism to help decide what we will use for our own appeal. This was all useful learning of course, and I jotted things down in my notepad diligently…
A few days after our brainstorming session I came in to work and saw the camel looking up at me from my desk. I couldn’t resist his cheeky expression. With fresh eyes I reread the flyer, just taking in the message rather than critiquing it. Then I logged on to the website and started a regular gift. And guess what? It felt brilliant!
Try it sometime when the mood takes you. Better still, next time you’re in the supermarket and see a big collection spinner put a coin in and just enjoy watching it whirl around the bowl.
