I love “days”. They really focus the mind, appeal to communities and groups and are normally good fun for people taking part. Here is a great idea and nice supporting website from the RSPCA in Australia. I came across this on the SOFII site (if you havent checked SOFII out check it out!)
This came through from The Wheel. I like the way they are using Social Media to tell me about this.
I’m a big fan of coin and loose change….and so am a big fan of this campaign between UNICEF Ireland and Topaz service stations.
The two have teamed up with the aim of raising 1 million euro by asking customers to add 2 cent to their bill. Great idea, 2 cents is nothing to most people.
I wonder how it will work, will staff in the store actively ask customers, will they feel comfortable asking? Or will it be a passive thing (I will fill up in Topaz next time and find out).
Save the date. Thursday 26th March Croke Park Stadium
” Survival and Growth in a Challenging Climate”
The Conference will see many leading national and international figures from the fundraising world come together to address how we can maximise fundraising success in a challenging climate. The line up of fantastic speakers includes some well known international faces such as Bernard Ross from the Management Centre in the UK; Jon Duschinsky from the Europe Fundraising Association and Daryl Upsall from Upsall Consulting International, who will be joined by some more familiar Irish faces.
great post by Mark Phillips, test results are showing that mentioning the recession in copy reduces appeal income. Well worth the read here
Why are we afraid to let people know who we are?
So many fundraising websites have anonymous contact details…contact the fundraising team by emailing info@…… Why? We know people give to people so why are we hiding behind info@ addresses. Put your name out there, get personal, give them your direct line, mobile number, skype ID…whatever. You are asking them to make a connection to your organisation, don’t be afraid to allow your donors connect with you.
Do you have difficulty finding the time to communicate to your donors?
Well when I saw that the crew of the Big Ocean Row are able to do it there really is no excuse for any of us.
A friend of mine is part of this crew that are rowing the atlantic. Its a challenge that is completly astounding to me. They are rowing unsupported, taking 2 hours on and 2 hours off. During those 2 hours off they have to eat, wash, look after any injuries and oh yeh sleep.
But still during what is an incredible challenge they are finding time to communicate and tell people, including donors, how they are getting on (impact!).
So no more excuses folks!
They hope to complete it in less than 33 days to break the world record, you can track their progress here and see their blogs here and here and here
This is my favourite TV ad at the moment. Every time it come on my better half goes “ahhhhh” and we talk about getting a dog out of a rescue when we move to a house. The ad is a move for RSPCA away from the typical format of ads which were telling stories of animals abused and neglected, before being rescued by RSPCA Inspectors. Most of the scenes were filmed by “actors” (both human and animal) so while they were affective they maybe lacked a bit of reality. This ad is instead based in reality real, fronted by the Chief Inspector and showed real RSPCA rescue animals waiting for new loving homes.
Its a great ad and there is a great supporting microsite. The concept was devised by Whitewater
I have seen how much money can be made by collecting coins, people put loose change into tins in shops, they may only put in a penny or two, but it all adds up. Even now when people will probably be more careful the loose change that they get at the till will be handed over.
Here is a great story of school children collecting over 3 million coins. Students from 31 Colorado elementary, middle and high schools have officially harvested 3.7 million pennies, or $37,826.02, for local charities through the Young Philanthropists Foundation’s 2008-2009 Penny Harvest.
Goes to show that there is money in coin. Read the full story here
It has been reported in Professional Fundraising that The National Council for Voluntary Organisations (a lobbying organisation that campaigns on generic issues affecting the whole of the voluntary sector) is to launch a celebrity-backed campaign to encourage the public to donate £2 a month to charity.
The plan is to feature celebrities making statements such as “I believe that all children should be able to grow up free of fear. What do you believe in?”, or “I believe in equality for disabled people. What do you believe in?”.
The campaign will promote generic causes, such as the environment or human rights, rather than singling out specific charities and might also encourage people to volunteer as well as donate.
Tania Mason over at Professional Fundraising reports on this as it lends support to her post earlier this month asking umbrella bodies to do a Don’t Stop Giving Campaign (read it here) Adam Rothwell at Intelligent Giving couldnt have diagreed more.
I am truly on the fence about a generic giving campaign. I am yet to be convinced it is a good idea but at the same time dont have any data of my own to counter the arguements for it.
However I am not a big fan of this celebrity led idea. I just dont think its believable. I know people pay attention to celebrity but I think when it comes to causes we need to believe that they care and they are putting their money where their mouth is. Do I believe a Hollywood actor is donating 2 pounds a month, or am I happy to hear someone who clearly isnt affected by the recession telling me what to do.
I know they have done some testing so I would love to hear how that has gone. Maybe I have got this all wrong? I don’t know…but for this to work it has to feel real.
Check out my related post When Celebrity Doesn’t work
I forgot to post about this before. Fundraising Ireland are orgnising their first seminar for 2009 and its an afternoon on Managing Integrated DM Campaigns.
I have to say Fundraising Ireland are doing a great job (all volunteers too) and any sessions I have been to have been well worth it. I am out of the country otherwise I would be attending.
A joint Fundraising Ireland / IDMA event, the speakers are:
Nick Thomas, Executive Creative Director of Tangible Response in UK, DM agency for some of UK’s largest charities and he will speak on ‘Effective communication in Charity Marketing’.
Stephen Stynes, Chairman of the IDMA will tackle the topic of managing DM in a challenging economic environment.
Ruth Guy, Director of Fundraising and Marketing at Barnardos and winner of Marketer of the Year, will offer some practical insights into recent Barnardos campaigns.
Check out the details here
The Centre for Nonprofit Management, Trinity College, Dublin in partnership with the Center on Philanthropy, Indiana University present the definitive education Programme for Fundraisers The Principles & Techniques of Fundraising in Dublin on 18th – 22nd May 2009.
The Principles & Techniques of Fundraising gives you the foundation and inspiration to lead your nonprofit to its financial goals. It is an intensive 5-day, A-to-Z training programme that provides you with the framework for operating a successful total fundraising programme.
Classes are structured to allow participants the opportunity to have maximum interaction with the instructors and other participants. We create a vibrant, hands-on learning atmosphere to make courses rich and enjoyable.
The core objective of the course is to assist those responsible for fundraising in Ireland achieve new levels of success and sustainability. You will learn about the context of fundraising, current issues, and the art and science of fundraising and philanthropy.
Through your engagement and participation in the course you will gain the knowledge you need to build your organisation’s resources with confidence and success in an ever-changing society.
Participants will learn how to:
√ Identify and validate prospective donors
√ Manage the fundraising process
√ Use research to match a donors interests and needs with your nonprofits mission and goals
√ Build an annual fund donor base that keeps on giving
√ Recognise planned giving benefits to your donors and to your nonprofit organisation
√ Structure a successful solicitation
√ Respond to challenges and ethical dilemmas with professional skill
Booking Information
T: 01 896 3775.
E: siobhan.mcgee@tcd.ie
I have come across this on a few other blogs and I used it myself in writing a letter recently. Wordle puts all the words you are using in text you select and it puts it in a cloud. The more the word appears the bigger it is in the cloud. So you can take a look at a letter that you are writing and see what comes across the most. Is it me, me, me or is it you, impact, thanks? Try it, its like seeing your copy with a whole new set of eyes. The Wordle cloud above is from an Oxfam Press Release.
Check it out here
Seth Godin has some good advice on sending emails. Basically saying that you should make them personal, dont just merge, its lazy and you will just end up in the spam/junk mail folder. I like his point….If it’s important enough for someone to read, it’s important enough for you to rewrite. Check the hints out on his blog here
In response to a January 6th Guardian Article “Give and Take” which suggested that community schemes bankrolled by big city firms would be facing the chop, Cathy Pharoah and Beth Breeze are letting us know that even though there is less money around people are still supporting charities.
While the two don’t support their view with any real hard data they are well positioned to make their commentary as Professor Cathy Pharoah is a director and Beth Breeze a researcher at the ESRC Centre for Charitable Giving and Philanthropy
Here is some of what they had to say:
The credit crunch is far from pushing British charitable giving into freefall, evidence of any collapse in donations remains thin, and there are signs that the philanthropic impulse remains robust.
The NCVO/CAF Individual Giving survey estimates that the British public donated £10.6bn in 2007-08, up 8% on the previous year; last autumn’s BBC Children in Need appeal raised its highest-ever total of £21m in one day; and newly published accounts show increases in corporate charitable activities in 2008.
Donors may have less money to spend, but all spending decisions are questions of priorities and they may not automatically tighten their altruistic belts first.
Charities can help themselves by demonstrating that contributions are both needed and having a measurable impact. Lapsed donors rarely claim they couldn’t afford to carry on giving, but they often say they lost faith in the effectiveness of their giving.
Reports of dramatic falls in charitable giving are overblown and potentially self-fulfilling. People are able to make careful decisions about where their money is best spent, and fatalistic claims may only serve to undermine confidence and deepen any recessionary impact on giving – just at a time when charities’ services are particularly needed.
Read the full article here
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