I have some things coming up that may make it a little quiet around here for a while. I have some exams to do so all my spare time is going to be spent studying and then after that I will be out of action for 4 weeks as I am going on my (delayed) honeymoon…if you would like to see what I will be looking at you can check this out . Normal service will resume in mid Feb (sorry!).
This is a pretty interesting move by the PFRA in the UK. Their annual survey, now in its 3rd year, is for the first time being opened to charities across the world. They want to hear from you so they can measure attrition and retention of donors across the globe. This is the only survey of its type, as far as they are aware, anywhere in the world. So this is an excellent opportunity to create what we hope will become a global benchmark for F2F fundraising. Well done PFRA. Here is some more information
The Public Fundraising Regulatory Association – the self-regulatory organisation for face-to-face direct debit fundraising in the United Kingdom – is expanding its annual survey into donor attrition levels to include charities around the world.
The F2F Donor Attrition and Retention Survey (DARS) has run in UK in 2008 and 2009, analysing the cancellation – or ‘attrition’ – rates of more than a quarter of a million F2F-recruited donors going back to 2004. The surveys have shown that, in the UK, around 50 per cent of donors will cancel their donations within 12 months and have provided pointers for charities on how best to steward their donors to improve retention.
After two successful years surveying UK charities, the PFRA has decided to make this a global exercise.
Mick Aldridge, ceo of the PFRA says: “I attended the International Fundraising Congress in Holland last October and from talking to delegates it was clear that there was a real appetite to share knowledge and best practice about F2F fundraising, including our attrition survey.
“What was clear to me is that F2F is a global fundraising movement and charities in every country where F2F is practiced can learn something from every other country where it is also carried out. Extending DARS into a fully international survey is a first step in that direction.”
DARS was co-devised and is researched by Rupert Tappin, managing director of London-based fundraising organisation Future Fundraising, and Morag Fleming, head of fundraising at Scottish social care charity Quarriers.
Tappin and Fleming have been in touch with international F2F expert Daryl Upsall (of Madrid-based Daryl Upsall Consulting International) about securing the input of his international charity clients, while PFRA secretariat has already received interest from charities in the USA, Canada, Ireland and New Zealand.
Rupert Tappin says: “DARS is already the most robust and complete picture of donor attrition and retention across any fundraising method in the UK. In fact, we don’t think there’s anything like this anywhere else in the world so this is a wonderful opportunity to create an unparalleled global benchmark.
“We have benchmarks stretching back five years in the UK and it will be fascinating to discover whether attrition patterns for F2F donors are universal or vary from country to country and between cultures.”
Any non-UK charity requiring more information about DARS should contact Rupert Tappin at rupertt@futurefundraising.co.uk. Data collection according to DARS criteria will take place during March and will need to be planned by charities’ database teams in advance.
The DARS results for the UK will be announced at a special seminar following the PFRA’s annual general meeting in London in July, with the exact date and venue yet to be announced. PFRA is still considering suitable scenarios to announce the results of the international component.
Pepsi have ditched their 33 million dollar super bowl advertising campaign in favour of a this new philanthropic effort, costing 20 million. A cycnic may say its a cost cutting measure but I think its a clever and more impactful move for Pepsi.
Starting February 1, people can vote to give grants to a number of health, environment, culture, and education-related organizations. Pepsi plans to give away multiple grants each month, including two $250,000 grants, 10 $50,000 grants, and 10 $25,000 grants. Before Feb 1st visitors are encouraged to submit their own organizations and grant ideas.
This reminds me a bit of the Guinness 250 year celebration idea, or the Chase Facebook campaign. Pepsi’s initiative is certainly another step towards the mainstreaming of crowdsourced philanthropy.
We fundraisers need to be ready to move in this direction. Pepsi are, like guinness, looking for big/great ideas that will make a difference. Does your organisation have a great idea?
A new charity set up by Ben Stiller called Stillerstrong…selling headbands! Brilliant….and the tag line for the charity is
“STILLERSTRONG, STEALING GREAT IDEAS FROM OTHER CHARITIES TO BUILD A SCHOOL IN HAITI”
But its not for a charity. I think these ads for the CWDC Be the Difference campaign are fantastic. I think they make a really strong case. When I saw them first I thought they may have been for someone like Age UK or Barnardos.
Where does the time go…its incredible to think we are into a New Year, a new decade. I know for many of us we will be glad to see the back of 2009. So before I get back into blogging for the New Year I just want to wish everyone all the best in your fundraising for this year. This is a time of year that we all make resolutions, but its probably not a bad time to step back and realise that the work you do is pretty amazing…so well done you (Pat on the back time!)
Looking forward to your company in 2010 (are you calling it two thousand and ten or twenty ten…Im not sure yet!)
Conor Byrne's Blog 