It's been almost two years since I moved from working within charities to consulting with them. It's been fun, mostly. I've really enjoyed the variety of charities I've worked with and the range of challenges they've faced. A recurring theme in many of the projects I've worked on has been the importance of leadership. I've worked with charities … Continue reading Another new venture

In Part 1 of this blog post, I looked at the current state of new donor recruitment in the UK where many charities are finding it increasingly hard to find new supporters at an acceptable cost. The channels and methods that have worked in the past are increasingly congested, are limited by regulatory changes and are facing steadily … Continue reading Where do we get new donors from? Part 2

I've been working with quite a number of charities of all sizes recently, both on a consultancy basis and with my fundraising agency Audience. Very many of them are struggling with one issue above all, in the new world of more regulated fundraising and increased donor scepticism where are the new donors going to come … Continue reading Where do we get new donors from? Part 1

If you're one of us who was dismayed by the referendum result,you might be contemplating taking your fundraising experience abroad for a while. Or for ever... Fundraising is a skill set that is exportable and there are many UK fundraisers working in lots of different markets worldwide. I've been fortunate enough to have had experience of fundraising in … Continue reading Small worlds

There's still lots of uncertainty how all the changes to fundraising and data protection regulation will work in practice. There's plenty of  frightening statistics being bandied around on the potential financial impact of the Fundraising Preference Service and the new EU data protection regime. Professor Adrian Sargeant has estimated the likely reduction of UK charity income from … Continue reading Certainties in uncertain times

Fundraisers have a bit of a tendency to think that the grass is greener for other charities. It must be easier for them, right? I think dogs eat children's homework more frequently than this particular fundraising excuse proves to be true. But if you worked for ActionAid Greece and suggested that fundraising might be a … Continue reading How to do fundraising in a real crisis.

Yesterday the working group on the Fundraising Preference Service (FPS) published their initial report which sets out their “top-line thinking in relation to fundraising and other forms of communication, and the practicality of addressing different communication channels.”. I have set out my concerns about the FPS before. I don’t think this is the best way … Continue reading Could the FPS actually work?

I can't remember a time when there was more focus on  fundraising innovation in charities. Everyone I speak to seems hard at work searching for the next "big thing" or even quite little, but new thing. This is hardly surprising. With falling results from established channels and a seemingly endless barrage of media criticism producing a raft … Continue reading Brave New Worlds