Campaigning for social change

Why are we here? To make the world a better place, of course. And we do this by campaigning in all the right ways for social change. Social change organisations don’t succeed by being reasonable, by doing things the way they’ve always been done. The first aspiration of all nonprofit organisations should be to do themselves out of business. All campaigners and fundraisers should be restless challengers of the status quo, never ever satisfied that we are doing quite enough. Why? Because we only exist to change the world.

Leading the resistance: the American Civil Liberties Union

by Ali Walker-Davies

Ali Walker celebrates the American Civil Liberties Union's resistance to Donald Trump's travel ban and how it raised incredible funds without even asking, just by being a beacon of hope.

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How to bring feminism into your fundraising

by Emily Collins-Ellis

Emily Collins-Ellis and Rachel Stephenson Sheff demonstrate that feminism needs to be brought into fundraising, not just because it's the right thing to do, but because it will improve that fundraising and benefit your organisation.

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Abortion Support Network: ‘Why do you support ASN?’

by Damian O’Broin

By asking a simple question of their donors and sharing the responses in later communications, a small charity provided inspiration for all fundraisers.

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Lesbians and Gays Support the Miners

by Emily Collins-Ellis

A grassroots campaign by queer activists to support embattled striking miners in 1980s UK provides a blueprint for how apparently incompatible organisations can come together to effect real change.

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The Polish Red Cross: Very Good Manners

by SOFII

This campaign by the Polish Red Cross showcases guerilla marketing at its most effective and innovative.

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Bernie Barnstorms – I Wish I’d Thought Of That

by Fiona Pattison

Take inspiration from volunteer-led barnstorms for Bernie Sanders’ remarkable presidential campaign. Feel the Bern! 

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NO MORE's Super Bowl 49 PSA: Listen

by SOFII

This ad to raise awareness of domestic violence simply and chillingly depicts a 911 call of a woman pretending to order a pizza with her attacker still in the house.

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What the gender pay gap is – and what it isn’t

by Beverley Callaghan

In the wake of the furore around pay at the BBC, experienced fundraiser Beverley Callaghan says it's time to clear up the confusion around the gender pay gap, and how this affects the voluntary sector.

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Gender equality in salaries starts with us

by Marc Pitman

Marc A Pitman shares his anger at the way we accept gender disparity when it comes to salaries, and challenges the charities sector to change its ways for the good of all organisations.

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It’s time to de-normalise the gender pay gap, and take action to close it

by Niamh Ferris

Our important series on gender equality in fundraising returns with the thoughts of Niamh Ferris, a fundraiser from Dublin, who outlines just how wide the pay gap between women and men is in both the UK and Ireland and asks the question: will you commit to ending this gap?

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Still in the battle: an interview with Roger Craver

by Joe Burnett

Part 1 of an interview with Roger Craver. An activist for over fifty years, he has been involved in the US civil rights movement helping to establish Common Cause, the National Organisation for Women, the Environmental Defense Fund and Greenpeace. 

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How getting diversity and inclusion right will help us change the world

by Vanessa Chase Lockshin

Vanessa Chase Lockshin outlines how the fundraising sector is good at asking about diversity but rarely progresses beyond it to equity and inclusion. Her suggestions are bound to get you thinking.

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