First published on Institute of Fundraising blog 13th August 2012

The August IoF London Region First Thursday, aimed at young and new fundraisers, was very busy, with lots of new faces. I've summed up the fundraising lessons for those who missed it.

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Aimed at young and new fundraisers, the August First Thursday was hosted in collaboration with the Black Fundraisers Network and we were treated to two fantastic speakers:
The first was Terry Ryall of the youth volunteering charity, Vinspired. She gave us a great insight in to the history of this six year old organisation, where she has been Chief Executive from the start. Given a large amount of government funding in 2006 the organisation initially had a large grant making arm and it was fascinating hearing Terry explain how she planned ahead knowing that a similar cash injection was unlikely to happen again and how Vinspired has developed over the years.
One of the key point Terry made was about strategy, both as an organisation and for fundraising; you have to have a plan for the future to know what you are fundraising for! Other key things Terry urged us to take on board where:

1. What is your USP? Why should people give to you not someone else (this needs an emotional aspect.)
2. Build a good reputation; you don't want funders to say "I wouldn't work with them." Manage your organisation’s as well as your own reputation.
3. Strong relationships and account management - don't let these fizzle out. If someone stops funding you don’t just stop communicating with them.
4. Have a portfolio of products and services which you can pull out when an opportunity presents itself - don't create bespoke products for funders. 
5. Network! Many of us are not naturals at this but should learn to do it. Set yourself an achievable goal when you go to an event ie come away with one new person’s contact details.

And a few don’ts from Terry as well:

1. Don't over promise.
2. Don’t create new if you don't have to.
3. Don't forget your overheads – it could cost you to run a programme which someone has said they’ll fund.
4. Don't fundraise in isolation – develop internal relationships as well.
5. Don't forget to make the ask. Use the relationships you are building up, don’t be shy to ask for money if it says “fundraiser” on your business card!

We also heard from David Shosanya, a professional speaker, coach and facilitator who's achievements include co-founding the Street Pastors initiative, sitting on the Number 10 Downing Street Community Advisory Group and raising £1 million from a dinner with 200 guests. From his extensive experience with different charities as a philanthropist, ambassador and strategist, David shared some of his top tips for fundraisers:

• Know your cause and have clarity of vision – you have to be able to articulate the cause succinctly to people (David suggests we can sometimes have a “diarrhoea of ideas and constipation of expression” - none of us will be forgetting that analogy any time soon!)
• Be meticulous and targeted with your donor research - don't use a scatter gun approach, be a trained marksman.
• Big problems and big statistics can overwhelm people. Help them see how their contribution can help in a tangible way.
• If you want to raise money you have to have conviction and passion. Be personally invested - it's not just a job.
• Read – if someone's written a book about it be humble enough to read it. A book a week can make you exceptional!
• Identify people who are better than you, hang out with the best - invite them out for lunch. If someone helps you send them a present, they'll remember you. Ask someone to mentor you and learn from them.
• Networking doesn't have to be complicated. Be polite; say hello to people, smile, shake hands, say good bye. Cultivate a likeability.
• Take responsibility for your own learning.
• Invest in yourself - it gives people permission to invest in you because you take it seriously.

I hope some of these nuggets have got you thinking and inspired you. I highly recommend checking out the IoF’s regional and special interest group events; there's a lot you can learn in an evening!

The Joy of Giving

This post was first published on the Institute of Fundraising blog 

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.

Three campaigns on the Gen Y money

Picking up on a couple of thoughts which popped in to my head whilst writing my last post on the future of community fundraising I thought I would share with you three of my favourite campaigns/sub-brands which I think appeal to a Gen Y audience...




Action Aid's Youth Brand "Bollocks to Poverty" is brilliant. I think the cheeky name sums it up really; a fun, youthful take on international development issues. A large number of people agree that the injustices in our world are ridiculous and Action Aid are brave enough to basically stick two fingers up to the whole thing. It's a refreshing antidote to the "poverty porn" which people may be becoming immune to.

Bollocks to Poverty spread the message about Action Aid's work through attending events, like festivals, which young people go to. They engage people through fun actions such as having your photo taken with a giant newspaper headline about a campaign whilst wearing silly wigs etc. They collect people's contact details at the same time and use it as a starting point to build a relationship. Bollocks to poverty also engages a substantial group of young volunteers to go to these events and be the ones getting out there talking to the crowds. These super-engaged volunteers will go on to be brand champions for Action Aid for years to come. I should know, I'm one of them!
Click to visit the Bollocks to Poverty website

Another great brand is Trekstock - starting out with overseas challenge fundraising and evolving to now raising funds and awareness through music, fashion and art collaborations as well this is a young charity with a lot of energy. 

The charity geek in me likes the fact that rather than trying to manage service delivery on their own, Trekstock is a charity in its own right which raises money for Cancer Research UK's research into cancers effecting teenagers and young adults. I think this is a highly effective model which a lot of people thinking about setting up new charities could learn from. If you have a new, innovative way of delivering services then by all means set up a new charity, but if there are already people doing what you want to do perhaps putting your enthusiasm into a partnership like this could be the way forward.

Trekstock's Patron is Mark Ronson, they have lots of other high profile supporters and there's always loads of exciting things in the pipeline with these guys so watch this space. Oh, and their website was updated earlier in the year and is one of my favourite charity websites, check it out! 
Click to visit the Trekstock website

So, from having a presence at music festivals to staging your own. Oxjam is a brilliant initiative from Oxfam which sees gigs taking place across the country each October. It brings together people's passion for music and international development as well as opening up a whole new audience. I think the Oxjam model is fantastic; Oxfam manage some high profile flagship gigs to build up interest and let volunteers run with the rest.

The volunteering opportunities with Oxjam are great, recruiting volunteers to be "regional managers" for them around the UK. These roles have several factors which make them appeal to Gen Y in particular: 1. It looks really good on your C.V. because you have a proper job title which communicates your level of responsibility 2. You get structured training to make the most out of the experience for both parties 3. It's a time bound commitment - you sign up for one year. I imagine you can apply to repeat it if you want but it's not open ended which I think can put people off. 4. There's enough flexibility within the framework that people can make it their own.
Click to visit the Oxjam website


Well, I hope you have found this little run down interesting. Please comment and share your own favourites!

The Future of Community Fundraising

As part of my master programme I recently led a seminar with my fellow students around some of the issues effecting regional and community fundraising. The part of my presentation which excited me most was about how community fundraising is developing and what it might look like in the future so I thought I would pick up on some of it here:


Community fundraising is the public face of charity. An average member of the public when asked about fundraising would probably talk about bake sales, sponsored walks and the such like. Community fundraising is about large volumes of small gifts. It can be a powerful way to raise awareness of a cause and when scaled up can bring in large amounts of money for charities. The power of mass mobilisation through community fundraising can be enormous. I love it. But, there are a few things I think community fundraisers should be thinking about:


How can we maximise the income and impact of community fundraising? How does community fundraising fit in to the donor journey? If someone takes part in community event how will they connect to the organisation itself? How do we equip our supporters in the community? 


I think that social media and technology has a lot to offer community fundraising - it is now quite accessible for people to play a video from a charity's YouTube channel at their community event which could really help to connect the audience with the cause. This is more cost effective than always sending a member of staff to speak at events and makes it easier for smaller organisations to develop their reach. As fundraisers we need to develop resources to help our supporters make their efforts as fruitful as possible.


John Baguley says that community fundraising is outside the donor pyramid - I think this is true and I like the concept; but it doesn't have to mean we can't bring them in to the pyramid. I think we should celebrate the contribution that people make through community fundraising but use the opportunity as a stepping stone to engage with them further. How can we capture information about community fundraising participants and start a conversation with them? How do we integrate community fundraising with the rest of the fundraising mix?


Community/Region fundraising structures must adapt to current trends and ways of working. I think that the traditional supporter group/committee structures are quite off putting for a lot of people which is reflected in the fact that most are made up of retired people and struggle to attract younger members. These existing committees shouldn't be abandoned but we should also seek other ways of engaging people. 


I think that a major barrier for a lot of people to joining a traditional fundraising group is "commitment phobia". Many people feel they are just too busy to make a long term commitment and imagine that if they joined they may never be able to leave. One way to address this is to define shorter term roles which people can take on for a set period of time. I think Oxfam's Oxjam initiative does this brilliantly - recruiting and training a number of volunteer area managers who oversee the events happening in their locality for one year's events. Not only do people know exactly what they are committing to for a fixed time, but they have a title and training which makes it a very appealing volunteering opportunity.


As well as thinking about how we introduce more flexible structures we should also be thinking about how we embrace those who Beth Kanter calls Free Agents. "Free agents are individuals working outside of organisations to mobilise, raise funds and communicate with constituents." (The Networked Nonprofit. Kanter and Fine, 2010) 


There have always been people who give a great deal of time and energy to our causes and use their skills and passions to raise money for us but we need to realise that these relationships may become more transient. In the same way that we must loosen the reins of our brand in the age of social media perhaps we need to loosen the reins of our fundraising as well.


I'd love to know other people's point of view about the future of community fundraising so please comment and tweet me!

A user generated brand

Each of the little pictures in Scope's new branding has been created by disabled people and their friends and family through their website which invites you to "Share your story and be part of our vision!". I think this user generated approach is really bold and communicates a lot about the organisation. In fact, the online platform where users can create their own icons and messages and view other people's creations could have been an impressive online campaign in it's own right but giving it a real purpose and utilisation makes the whole thing brilliantly integrated.

My only slight reservations is about the logo itself - I think the "to..." could have worked better as a part of a tagline and worry that giving it the same presence as the name of the organisation may lead to a little bit of initial confusion. Scope do address this in a FAQ on their site but for someone just walking past one of their charity shops it might not sink in. 

Overall though, I love this rebrand. I think the colour palette and the variety of the little images creates a really dynamic visual that tells me that Scope is a vibrant and energetic organisation. In a social, digital world where "brand" is no longer just about a voice from above telling people who they are and why they should buy their products/donate to their cause etc I think Scope are really forward thinking with this new look. I look forward to seeing how it translates in the charity's literature; as a some-times designer I think the potential for creating really eye-catching materials is huge and the whole project is just really exciting. 

If you've yet to see Scope's recent rebrand I recommend you have a little look on their website here. I'd love to hear people's thoughts so let me know what you think.

Y make an app?

I love apps. I've had an iPhone for a year now and I struggle to imagine how I survived without it (I carried an A-Z? I read my emails on a computer, really?)


One of the reasons I wanted to work for Depaul UK was I was really impressed by their iHobo app. I've been fortunate to be involved in the later stages of this amazing project and have got to speak at and attend some great events about digital fundraising. The original aim of iHobo was to raise awareness; I don't think anyone anticipated what a success it would be and sadly perhaps some of the fundraising potential wasn't capitalised on. We've been really frank about our experience and our learning (read more here).


What I find so disappointing about the vast majority of charity apps is that they don't really do anything. That might sound harsh but I think that people forget that "apps" are applications: a number of the charity apps I've seen have made me wish the charity had just spent the money on optimising their website for mobile rather than creating a stand alone information app which will require additional updating and is probably receiving minimal downloads. 


The best and most successful apps, charity or otherwise, either entertain us like games, music players etc or help us accomplish a task (my current favourite is my sleep sounds app!) An app can help deliver a charity's mission - such as BHF's healthy recipe app or Breakthrough Breast Cancer's iBreastCheck app and that's great, we just have to be careful we're not jumping on the bandwagon and creating apps for the sake of it.

What prompted me to write this blog is Mencap's current Spellathon app. I love this app! It's available on a number of platforms (web as well as smart phone) and there are several things which make the app great which I appreciate both as a user and as a fundraiser: 

• The characters in the app (bees of course) are fun and will appeal to all ages.
• There is an integrated celebrity endorsement with Stephen Fry voicing the "professor" character (rather than just tagging a celebrity on to the initiative.)
• The app is optimised for fundraising - you have to create a JustGiving page to be able to log in.
• There is a useful but not over the top amount of data capture increasing lifetime value of the project.
• There is an incentive to play and most importantly to raise money - everyone who spells enough words and raises over £15 will be able to play an online game against Mr Fry himself.
• It's educational and there's a synergy between the app and Mencap's mission.

What I like most about the whole project is that the Spellathon is something Mencap have been running for 18 years. Instead of scrapping it in favour of something new they have built on the initiative using technology to give it a new lease of life.

It really is a great app and a great example of a good charity app. I'm mildly dyslexic and my biggest problem is swapping letter round (thank goodness for spell check) so I struggled with this game a bit at the beginning but if you persevere you really feel you are learning something whilst having fun.

I'd love to know your thoughts about the app (and charity apps in general) so get in touch. 

I'm in love (with a charity!)

The causes people support can be very close to their heart and charities can experience some of the best brand loyalty because when someone chooses to support a cause they feel like there's a synergy between their values and aims and that of the organisation.

I think our relationships with the charities we work for and support are a bit like love affairs. Most of us are serial monogamists, some mate for life, some have a bit on the side and the consultants have "open relationships".

My first love when I graduated was St Wilfrid's Hospice, Chichester. However I wanted the bright lights of London and was too young to settle down, so I started looking around for something new. I fell in love with Safe the Children after my guides took part in their pop-up shop initiative and I was so excited when I got a date with them (you might call this an interview) and I suffered the heartbreak of unrequited love when I found out they didn't want me the way I wanted them :(

I was attracted to Depaul UK because they seemed pretty cool (what with the uber successful iHobo app) We hit it off and things are going pretty well, but now the honeymoon period is over I'm still deeply in love but must admit I've started to look lustfully at other charities. I was even tempted to play for the other team when I experienced the amazing hospitality of Google, but I know the reality of corporate world wouldn't live up to the fantasy.

I must admit I have a bit of a crush on UNICEF though. Their Easter Egg Facebook app drew me in, then their East Africa appeal and the subsequent telephone call (when I signed up as a regular donor) sealed the deal. Their Own a Colour appeal made me want to get a poster of them on my wall - the idea didn't initially grab me ( I was playing hard to get) but the website blew me away...

So, I've admitted my secret crush. Now I want to know how you've got a crush on!