Dear SOFII friend,

‘It’s always a fantastic time to be alive – it beats the alternative!’ The second part of our interview with the legendary Roger Craver continues, exploring technology, fundraising techniques and Britain’s own Trumpism.

Fighting hatred with humour: learn how a satirical website and a leading foodbank charity took on notorious British tabloid journalist and hate-monger Katie Hopkins and raised a lot of money in the process.

Kind regards,

Carolina

SOFII project manager.

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Dear SOFII friend,

This week, SOFII brings you a case study outlining how the British Heart Foundation completely reinvented their strategy for in memory giving. How? By providing a more involving experience for donors and making great use of new technology. A wonderful lesson for all fundraisers.

Ikhlaq Hussain, head of major gifts at Orphans in Need, shares his expert advice on how to write considerate, effective thank-you letters that are pleasant to read for donors and therefore likely to lead to more donations.

Kind regards,

Carolina

SOFII project manager.

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Dear SOFII friend,

We have something really special for SOFII users this week: an interview with legendary campaigning fundraiser Roger Craver. Roger has been involved in the US civil rights movement since the late fifties, contributing his remarkable talents to minority and women’s rights for over fifty years. In the wake of a fresh wave of protests over Donald Trump’s attitude to women and ‘muslim ban’, there was no better time to sit down with him and get his insight. Part two to follow next week.

At I Wish I’d Thought Of That 2016 Joe Saxton shared the story of Pennies’ excellent fundraising scheme. Taking advantage of the rise of cashless payments in the UK, the organisation allows donors to make swift donations in a hassle-free manner. It might just be a game-changer.

Kind regards,

Carolina

SOFII project manager.

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Dear SOFII friend,

Last week, we brought you the story of Hollie, whose bravery in the face of illness was a true inspiration. Author John Logan this week explores how relationship fundraising and emotion formed core aspects of the Help Hollie campaign.

Vanessa Chase Lockshin outlines what our sector is getting wrong when it comes to addressing diversity and inclusion. We are good at asking about diversity but rarely progress beyond it to equity and inclusion. Her suggestions are bound to get you thinking.

Kind regards,

Carolina

SOFII project manager.

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Dear SOFII friend,

New SOFII contributor John Logan tells the heartwarming, bittersweet story of a wonderful campaign for Anthony Nolan blood cancer charity. Follow the link to learn of Hollie’s brave and funny campaign to raise both money and awareness.

We continue to bring you the latest great ideas from the Commission on the Donor Experience’s use and misuse of emotion project. This week, Lyndall Stein explores the use of powerful images and words and how they can be key to reaching into a donor’s heart.

Kind regards,

Carolina

SOFII project manager.

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Dear SOFII friend,

Have you started talking about gender fairness in your organisation?  More fundraisers are joining SOFII’s campaign for gender equality in fundraising and this week we hear from Jen Love, of our partners Agents of Good, and Beth Ann Locke who demonstrate how progress can only come about through inclusive and insightful dialogue within our organisations.

From last year’s London IWITOT comes terrific innovation by animal charity Blue Cross who found a funny and eye-catching way to get their dogs to lend their paws to the cause.

Kind regards,

Carolina

SOFII project manager.

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Dear SOFII friend,

In 2016 SOS Children’s Villages Norway launched a campaign to draw attention to the plight of child refugees. It’s both emotionally powerful and thought-provoking and was one of the highlights of I Wish I’d Thought of That London 2016.

For their contribution to the Commission on the Donor Experience use and misuse of emotion project, Steven Dodds, Kate Woodford and Joel Du Bois of The Harvest Strategy Partnership ask a question which surely must be on the minds of most fundraisers: why do donors react so much more positively to victims of natural disaster than to victims of conflict? The answers could change fundraising practice for good.

Please read these two great additions to SOFII and tweet about them too, to share them with your friends.

Kind regards,

Carolina

SOFII project manager.

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Dear SOFII friend,

SOFII’s campaign to encourage gender parity in the fundraising sector has caught a lot of attention but we’re only doing baby steps right now. To keep the momentum up we bring you a rallying cry from fundraiser and founder of Charity Women Lizzi Hollis. We want to hear from more and more women so please get in touch if you want to contribute to our campaign.

On a similar subject we celebrate a great appeal that cleverly tied into a plotline on the British radio series The Archers, which captured the imagination of a nation. After listening to the story of a character’s horrific domestic abuse, a fan of the show set up a fundraising page for Refuge that reached £3,000 in just 18 hours. Read more for another gem from last year’s IWITOT.

Kind regards,

Carolina

SOFII project manager.

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Dear SOFII friend,

SOFII promised a great new series on inspiration and now it’s with us. Alan Clayton is renowned the world over for his expertise on fundraising and on how organisations connect with donors. In a series of articles, he will share his deep well of experience in inspiring great organisations.

This week, Alan shows you how to find a great ‘why?’ and how the best organisations do this by reaching for impossible ambitions. And it’s scary. But as Alan says, it’s also necessary.

Warm regards,

Carolina

SOFII project manager.

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Dear SOFII friend,

This e-mail may just be the most important we have sent out in a long time. Fundraisers – and the charity sector as a whole – lead the way in making the world a better place. But we are failing terribly when it comes to gender equality.

SOFII will be running a series of articles on this critical matter and we start with a look at the stark reality and a call to arms.

Be part of the solution. Please get in touch here and join with SOFII to be gender-fair.

Joe Burnett

SOFII contributing editor.

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Dear SOFII friend,

SOFII is paying tribute to youth, innovation and inspiration this week as we shine a spotlight on two winners of I Wish I’d Thought Of That 2016’s auditions for young fundraisers.

Lizzi Hollis, corporate account manager at Independent Age, celebrated the ‘do it in a dress’ campaign by Australia’s One Girl: volunteers can raise money by taking on a physical challenge… wearing a dress. There’s a challenge for all SOFII readers. Send us your photos if you’ve got involved!

Copywriter Alfie Waldron had the audience at IWITOT laughing and crying as he told the story of Jean Bishop, a 91-year-old volunteer fundraiser from Hull, England. Jean regularly dons a home-made bee costume and has raised £100,000 for Age UK – and it’s still growing. What a way to stand out!

Kind regards,

Carolina Herrera

SOFII project manager.

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Dear SOFII friend,

Access to and control of data is becoming more and more restricted, which will have serious repercussions on UK charities, so we need to get how we deal with data right - now. This is the realisation Ken Burnett came to after reading Steve MacLaughlin’s Data Driven Nonprofits and his conclusions are essential reading for all fundraisers.

Fundraising for a hospice involves working with emotions, but Helen & Douglas House’s Suzi Attree tells us one emotion matters more than all others: hope.

Kind regards,

Carolina Herrera

SOFII project manager.

P.S. Tune in for more great ideas and thought-provoking analysis next week.

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Dear SOFII friend,

Ready your handkerchiefs – Lizzie Carter’s presentation at I wish I’d thought of that 2016 in London was powerfully emotional as she told the audience about Emmy and Jake, a couple who responded to adversity in the most inspirational way possible. They also raised nearly £100,000 and introduced SOFII to the idea of a ‘lobster couple’.

Casper Harratt of Blackbaud Europe gave an example that pretty much defines the very concept of innovation. WFF’s Tiger Experience embodied the idea of experiential marketing and Casper won’t be the only person who wishes he’d thought of it.

See you next week for more great fundraising inspiration.

Kind regards,

Carolina Herrera

SOFII project manager.

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Dear SOFII friend,

One of SOFII’s favourites returns this week with wise words to help you make ‘the ask’. Simone Joyaux has a wealth of experience in how to talk to donors and asks a very pertinent question: are you asking for gifts personally, face-to-face? If you are, she has good pointers on how to do it better. If you’re not, she shows why you should be. 

In the latest from I Wish I’d Thought of That 2016, Mandy Johnson, CEO of Second Gift, tells us about a highly copyable fundraising idea from Caroline Jones. It’s funny, clever, inventive and paid tribute to her late mother. It also raised nearly £60,000 for Cancer Research UK and made Jones an online celebrity.

See you next week for more great fundraising inspiration.

Kind regards,

Carolina Herrera

SOFII project manager.

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Dear SOFII friend,

SOFII is delighted to announce that Bloomerang, a leading donor-management software company based in Indianapolis, USA, has joined us as SOFII's newest ‘business partner’. Bloomerang helps nonprofit organisations to reach, engage and retain the advocates they depend on to achieve their vision for a better world. Their sponsorship will enable us to add more unique content to our website so that more fundraisers around the world can conduct ethical and inspirational fundraising campaigns that have been influenced by SOFII.

Bloomerang believes in the value of life with a mission and we applaud the choices nonprofit organisations make to improve the world. We share this belief with SOFII, which is an increasingly important resource for fundraisers all over the world. We are delighted to sponsor SOFII in its mission to showcase fundraising inspiration and innovation and to help to ensure it remains a free international fundraising resource for all.

Jay Love, co-founder and CEO, Bloomerang

SOFII’s unique fundraising information content is provided at no cost to an average of 14,000 users every month from all corners of the world. There is no other permanent, easily accessible archive of effective fundraising which shows what works and what doesn’t, that catalogues and displays fundraising communications excellence and effectiveness.

Thanks to Bloomerang’s generous support we’ll be adding a wide diversity of new content and expanding our campaigns, not just to grow our archives and improve how fundraisers access all the great content already there, but also to galvanise fundraisers around the world in a new approach to fundraising that puts integrity at its heart. We invite other generous sponsors to join Bloomerang as an important part of securing SOFII’s future.

Ken Burnett, managing trustee, SOFII

Support like this will help us to add new content and expand SOFII’s reach to thousands more fundraisers around the world.  SOFII welcomes more involvement from individuals and businesses who believe in the future of SOFII.  Fundraisers need a place where, regardless of their age, location or experience, they can meet and learn on an equal footing.  For more information or to make a donation please contact Sue Kershaw, development director sue@sofii.org

Warm regards,

Sue Kershaw

Development director

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Dear SOFII friend,

Last November’s I Wish I’d Thought of That (IWITOT) was the most successful that SOFII has organised so far and we are delighted to bring you the first two presentations this week.

Jill Richens,‎ trusts and foundations manager at the British Council and Dana Segal, development and events manager at Cockpit Arts shared the exciting case of the Ministry of Stories, a London-based charity that helps 11 to 18-year-olds gain confidence through creative writing. In an innovative fundraising step they founded the Hoxton Street Monster Supply Store, selling products inspired by ideas from children involved with the charity such as Organ Marmalade and Thickest Human Snot spread. The store has become a local landmark, involving the neighbouring community in addition to creating unique and highly popular products.

Giles Pegram, CBE, meanwhile, provided inspiration in the form of Innovista’s unique annual report. Rather than focus on the charity itself or bombard readers with endless incomprehensible figures, the report places donors front and centre of the narrative, repeatedly emphasising the role their generosity plays in making the charity successful. As the front cover says, the focus of the report is on ‘stories of hope. Written by you [donors]’. Giles is clear that more charities should follow Innovista’s lead and celebrate donors at the heart of their annual reports.

We look forward to bringing you more great presentations from IWITOT 2016.

Kind regards,

Carolina Herrera

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Dear SOFII friend,

This week, SOFII brings you a further feature from the special project on the use and abuse of emotion in fundraising, in partnership with the Commission on the Donor Experience. In this latest article, Jenny-Anne Dexter, individual giving officer at Rainbow Trust Children’s Charity, takes us through the positives and negatives of emotional fundraising in an in-depth piece of research. With a wealth of examples to draw from, Jenny-Anne shows how humour and emotion can help create great campaigns, but also how they can critically backfire if not used correctly. Her conclusions will give both inspiration and food for thought to all fundraisers. 

As an illustration perhaps of Jenny-Anne’s thoughts, we also have a harrowing, heartbreaking and wonderful example of emotional fundraising at its most effective from Claire House Children’s Hospice in Liverpool, UK. Jack’s story was first told at a workshop on the shores of Loch Ness for hospice fundraisers and it still resounds as powerfully today as it did then.

In coming weeks we will be bringing readers more from SOFII’s new showcase on the use and abuse of emotion in fundraising. In the meantime we wish you a very excellent week.

Kind regards,

Carolina Herrera

SOFII project manager.

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