I've been having a few conversations recently with charities struggling to get their boards to agree to invest in their fundraising. It's a common problem and I quite often get asked to advise on the best ways to overcome board reluctance to put money into growing fundraising. Now I don't think I have to convince … Continue reading Getting the board to invest
Investment
Silos and prisons
We all bemoan the tendency of non profit organisations to operate in silos. This is something that pretty much everyone who has worked in the sector has experienced at some point and for many of us, this is a problem we face regularly. I don't know if fundraising is worse than other areas of our … Continue reading Silos and prisons
The Greatest Fundraising Idea Ever
One of the challenges of working in fundraising is how to deal with the many, many people who approach you trying to sell you fundraising ideas. In the vast majority of cases these are pretty terrible. Or when not terrible just not at all new. But you can't just ignore these approaches because every so … Continue reading The Greatest Fundraising Idea Ever
Shouldn’t we work for free?
Most of the time charities get a pretty good press and frankly a fairly easy ride from the media. Every now and then we don't and some aspect of what we do comes under more searching scrutiny. I think that's a good thing, honestly. Charities raise large sums of money from the public, deliver all … Continue reading Shouldn’t we work for free?
I love Islamic Philanthropy
I have a rotten job. I am forced to travel to all sorts of places and meet all kinds of people. So, for my sins, I am currently in Dubai, in the UAE, meeting people Sightsavers is working with as we develop our presence here. I know, you feel for me.. I hadn't really been … Continue reading I love Islamic Philanthropy
The joys of benchmarking
I can no longer deny it, I am a complete saddo. Because I like benchmarking. Give me a thick book of dense statistics on the fundraising programmes of different charities and I am very happy. At each of the organisations I have been fundraising director, one of the first things I have done (after finding … Continue reading The joys of benchmarking
Why invest in fundraising?
I’ve been in the voluntary sector quite a while now, long enough to have seen certain issues come around again and again. One of the hardy perennials that charities still seem to agonise over is whether, and how much , to invest in fundraising and marketing. Each time I have joined a new organisation as … Continue reading Why invest in fundraising?
Fundraising Fundamentals 