Well we all know we're in a proper crisis now. Last week we saw the coronavirus situation rapidly transform from an issue of concern to something that is now completely dominating the lives of all of us. In such a situation it's very hard to maintain perspective and do more than react to unfolding events. … Continue reading A proper crisis

I don't know about you but I am quite happy to see the back not only of 2019 but the whole twenty-tens. It is possible we will look back in future years and see all the good things that happened in the last decade that are currently hard to perceive but I seriously doubt it. … Continue reading A New Fundraising Decade

  That fundraising has changed and continues to change, fundamentally isn't news any more. Many people, including me, have been saying this for years now. The above chart (date from CAF's UK giving surveys) shows what's been happening to giving by individuals in the UK since 2014. At best, the picture is flat. Across the … Continue reading Moving to the New Fundraising World

I’ve always been fascinated by how non-profit fundraising varies across the world. I’ve done projects now in about 40 countries and each one has been interesting in its own way. There are a number of aspects of fundraising that are surprisingly similar across the world and some which are incredibly varied. Last month we carried … Continue reading Fundraising in South Korea

Brand people and fundraising people have fought in charities ever since I've been involved with the sector. Too often the two areas have had conflicting mandates and compete for attention and resources.  At its most extreme one brand manager in a charity I worked for explained to me that she saw her role as counter-acting … Continue reading How brand can really support fundraising

I've written before about my slightly weird preoccupation with charity benchmarking. Edited version, I'm a data geek and there's nothing someone like me loves more than comparative charity fundraising stats. But more pertinently, I think it's very hard to judge how well any charity's fundraising programme is doing without looking at its direct competitors.  How … Continue reading Why aren’t you benchmarking?

I’ve always had a bias toward towards the individual side of fundraising programmes. Don’t get me wrong, I am a strong believer in balanced income generation portfolios. Areas of major funding will provide more money for less investment of money and effort than mass programmes.  But I am strongly of the view that the bedrock … Continue reading Rebooting individual giving

Charities had, it’s fair to say, a fairly torrid 2018 and fundraisers might be forgiven for facing the new year with something less than happy anticipation. If there’s one thing that we can sure about in 2019 it’s uncertainty. The world feels like a pretty chaotic place at the moment and trying to make any … Continue reading Trends for 2019

We all know I think that fundraising as we have known it has changed profoundly. That fundamental changes in the market, in technology, in supporter expectations have radically altered and are continuing to alter the environment in which nonprofits seek to raise funds. You can gather any group of industry stalwarts at any of our … Continue reading The new fundraising organisation

Recruiting new donors for a charity has never been harder, or costlier. We’re seeing charities we work with paying hundreds of pounds per new regular donor and not expecting to get their money back for many years, as many as ten. Many nonprofits simply can’t find enough new donors to replace attrition and are seeing … Continue reading Seven ways to find new donors