You might have heard that Ken Burnett, co-founder of SOFII.org and trustee of The SOFII Foundation, is on a quest to make fundraising better and more inspiring for donors around the world. Well, now we are thrilled to announce that his efforts have been boosted by an incredible £7,500 matching challenge from American fundraising veteran Chip Grizzard! 

Ken is setting off (today!) to begin an epic walk along the Camino de Santiago. He will be following a 500-mile trail, the same one marked out by medieval pilgrims on their way to worship at Santiago de Compostela in northern Spain. To reflect the difficulty of this trek and all the training he has undertaken, Ken set himself an initial fundraising target of £7,500. 

Chip Grizzard’s generous matched funds have doubled the first £7,500 (just over $10,000) that Ken has now raised, meaning SOFII will already benefit from at least £15,000 to help support fundraisers worldwide. 

All of us at SOFII are so grateful to Chip for his incredibly generous offer of matched funding. This will be a transformative sum for SOFII. It will help us reach many more fundraisers, make the site even better for you, our users, and most importantly, help to keep it free forever. 

But this is only the beginning. There are still many miles to walk and many blisters on the horizon...and that means Ken has now raised his personal target to £10,000. Can you help him reach it? 

‘This walk is one of the toughest challenges of my life,’ Ken says. ‘But I’m doing it because fundraising is so important, and I want to help others achieve greater success for the causes they serve.’

‘Ken Burnett is a legend in the field of fundraising,’ Chip Grizzard explains. ‘The SOFII Foundation, Ken’s brainchild, is equipping thousands of fundraising professionals with tools and ideas to make a greater impact for good in the world. If you care about fundraising, you need to support Ken’s walk.’

To make your donation, please visit: https://www.justgiving.com/fundraising/ken-burnett-sofii. 

Your kind gift will benefit The SOFII Foundation, the charity that runs SOFII.org. The organisation and our team are dedicated to sharing innovative and inspiring ideas to spur more effective donor-focused fundraising initiatives around the world. 

We would like to extend a HUGE thank you to Chip and all our supporters for your kindness – you are doing so much for your fellow fundraisers and we could not be more proud to have you on our side! 

Chip Grizzard heads Grizzard Global Consulting and also directs strategy at Idearaising (www.idearaising.com). Grizzard has served hundreds of charities and focuses on helping organisations develop a new model of fundraising that holistically balances high-touch approaches for middle and major donors, planned giving, and stewardship along with direct marketing and annual giving. If you think Chip and his team can help you with your fundraising, please do get in touch!