On Wednesday, the latest Future of Fundraising* debate took place in London. These events involve couple of dozen leading fundraising practitioners chewing the fat on the major issues facing the sector today. This time we addressed one of the most pressing concerns of UK fundraisers, in a context of falling response rates and increased regulation, … Continue reading Where will new donors come from?
future of fundraising
Winning the right to ask
A developing theme for fundraising this year is how charities ensure that they have proper consent from their donors to communicate with them. After the annus horribilis of 2015 for UK fundraisers,there has never been more focus on whether charities are complying both with the law and donor expectations. Within a wider context where EU … Continue reading Winning the right to ask
Optimism of the will
“I’m a pessimist because of intelligence, but an optimist because of will” Antonio Gramsci 1929 So I think more fundraisers should read Gramsci. You might question the relevance today of the words of an Italian Communist leader who died in one of Mussolini’s jails in 1937 but bear with me. Gramsci was not someone who … Continue reading Optimism of the will
We need a new audience!
How many times have you heard something like this from a senior executive in a charity? “We have a real problem with our donors. They are really old. And they are really passive. They don’t understand the breadth of our work. All they do is give us money. We need to find a new audience!” … Continue reading We need a new audience!
So what to do now?
We've probably had enough analysis now. There's been lots of really thoughtful comments and blog posts responding to the recent media assault on the practice of fundraising in the UK (and rest of the world, this is coming your way soon). Some of the best posts are here, here and here. And I've said plenty … Continue reading So what to do now?
Fundraising Fundamentals 