A historian always enjoys one of their pet subjects becoming topical and so it is with the World War 1 anniversary. While it would be nice if some of the commentary was better informed (the war didn't break out on August 4th 1914 for a start) and more balanced (what about the voices for peace, … Continue reading What the Great War can teach us
Fundraising
Travelling the hard way
I honestly don't know how this happened. I get these rushes of blood to the head and, before I know it, I have agreed to do something really stupid. So I am spending 9 days in September cycling from Lands End to John O'Groats with a bunch of maniacs in lycra. That's 969 miles, or … Continue reading Travelling the hard way
At the National Convention
I don't know what the collective noun is for fundraisers. A flock? A formation? A collection, maybe. Whatever it is, there will be one large gathering of fundraisers at the London Metropole this week for the Insititute of Fundraising National Convention. Now, I've been going to such events for long time. I remember the very … Continue reading At the National Convention
Seven Secrets of Successful Fundraising*
As Civil Society Fundraising magazine has just republished my Seven Fundraising Myths piece I thought I would complement it with something on what makes good fundraising. There's actually nothing remotely mysterious about the practice of fundraising but if you'll accept the rhetorical flourish, here are my secrets for how to be successful in all types … Continue reading Seven Secrets of Successful Fundraising*
Do we really value our supporters?
One of the most striking things said to me in my fundraising career, happened at WWF a few years ago. I was presenting a strategy to the finance committee which included a section on supporter research (which had been carried out before I started at the charity). The research was of a type many of us … Continue reading Do we really value our supporters?
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
Aiming for mediocrity
I went to school in Crawley, a new town in Southern England created after the Second World War to rehouse people from the London slums. It wasn't a place which particularly encouraged ambition. I remember the careers tutor at my comprehensive, a man who didn't give the impression of loving his job, laying out the … Continue reading Aiming for mediocrity
Up close and personal in Uganda
I've always been rather squeamish, particularly about anything to do with eyes and have always hated hospitals. So working for an eye health NGO was maybe not the most obvious career choice. And to do it twice verges on the really quite strange. But having decided to go back to Sightsavers, there would come the … Continue reading Up close and personal in Uganda
Doom, gloom and despair
I was recently at a seminar run by the estimable folks at BOND (how we love an acronym in our sector!) on public attitudes to international development and what to do about them. It was very illuminating with latest research findings being presented on media coverage of issues related to world poverty and what people … Continue reading Doom, gloom and despair
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
Fundraising Fundamentals 