Bmycharity – Free My Charity

The buzz yesterday on Twitter was all about Bmycharity dropping charges for fundraisers on their site, charities just pay a one off set up fee of 150 pounds!   They are starting the Free My Charity campaign. Great idea, certainly puts it up to the competition doesnt it?

Here is what they say about it:

We believe fundraising should be free. So we’ve stopped charging commission on your donations! We’ve built a great system that makes fundraising easier and more efficient – now we want every penny to go to good causes…..Other sponsorship sites charge between 2% and 5%.

How we offer a free service

We don’t charge commission fees to charities, but we do need to generate income to continue to provide our services to charities and to fundraisers. We do this by offering discreet sponsorship and advertising opportunities to carefully selected companies who support our vision of making fundraising free. So if you’re invited to register for a credit card (for example) when you’ve made your donation please consider it! We don’t share your personal data with any sponsor or advertiser.

Here is some more information from their Blog

Interesting stuff!

International Fundraising Congress annouces line-up

IFC 2009 takes place from 20-23 October 2009 at NH Leeuwenhorst Hotel in Holland.
 
This year the IFC will address challenges of fundraising in a global recession . The 2009 conference comprises an opening and closing plenary, 14 master classes, 5 IFC Live! sessions (following a popular TV news or discussion show format) and over 40 workshops.

This year’s Opening Plenary will be hosted by Alan Clayton, Director of Innovation at The Good Agency and will feature a leading economist and anthropologist providing insights into the science of voluntary action. Meanwhile, Ingrid Srinath, newly confirmed Secretary General of CIVICUS, will provide the Closing Address.
 
Tackling the challenges facing fundraisers during the current global recession, this year’s programme has also been extended to reflect the sector’s expansion into digital media with more sessions looking into new technology and social media than ever before.  Relevant sessions include:
 
•             Masterclass: Surviving and thriving in an unpredictable market – Roberta Capella of SOS Children’s Villages Austria and Margaret Bennett of THINK explore the challenges of fundraising during the current global economic crisis. Find out what successful strategies were employed during previous recessions to help charities survive and – for some – come out the other end even stronger than before.
•             Workshop: Understanding the new breed of digital donors and how to maximise your fundraising through their networks – Bryan Miller of Cancer Research UK & Jonathan Waddingham of Justgiving, present a data-driven workshop showing how to maximise and measure the success of fundraising through social networks.
•             Workshop: How to build donor loyalty – Adrian Sargeant, Chair of Fundraising at Indiana University will unveil new research that reveals the three key drivers of donor loyalty and how fundraising programmes can be modified to affect them. Adrian will also lead a panel discussion about Fundraising In Times of Recession.
•             Workshop: Leading and managing people in times of change – Hanne Rasmussen of SOS-Children’s Villages Denmark will deliver this session, giving practical advice for designing and implementing successful change programmes small and large – through leadership and people management.
 

More info here http://www.resource-alliance.org/ifc/

How to deal with the Media

nfpSynergy have great monthly newsletters and their site is a great resource. This month they have, together with a group of journalists they survey twice a year, come up with the top 10 tips for dealing with the media. Here are the tips, read more detail behind them here.

 

 

• Tip no 1: Case studies, case studies, case studies
• Tip 2: Don’t just target the newsdesk – dig deeper
• Tip 3: ‘No comment’ doesn’t mean ‘no story’
• Tip 4: Be available, prepared and professional
• Tip 5: Think globally, act locally – use local media
• Tip 6: Build relationships – meet people face to face
• Tip 7: Think carefully about your subject lines
• Tip 8: Email your press releases – but phone with your exclusives
• Tip 9: Know your targeted media inside out
• Tip 10: Find out the other side of the story: media training and more

Fundraising Health Check

The Institute of Fundraising and Think Consulting have launched a Fundraising Health Check which is a FREE, confidential diagnostic tool to help you understand the impact of the recession on your fundraising portfolio.

Armed with your net income and/or your investment budget, you can use Fundraising HealthCheck to generate customised reports that provide:

• A prognosis for each area of your fundraising, based on past experience and current trends
• Practical advice and guidance on how to survive and thrive during the economic downturn

You will need this financial data*:

For Investment – details of your spend to recruit and/or retain donors
For Net Income – bottom line figures from your budget/target, after costs

Harney reverses Cystic Fibrosis Unit Facility decision

The Irish Times reports that the Irish Governement has reversed its decision not to build the badly needed CF Unit in Dublin.

It is a disgrace that this unit hasnt been built already and that during the boom the government managed to sqaunder the wealth of this country and not build vital services. The Matron where I used to work said that in her opinion Cystic Fibrosis was one of the worst conditions she had ever seen and one of the most under funded. Ireland has the highest incidence of CF in the World, and the life expectancy is shorter here than in other countries.

Thankfully the right people put the right pressure on the government and they have, for once, done the right thing.