Foundations of Fundraising
Are you answering the right questions if you don’t want to bore people?
by Matthew Sherrington
Where do most nonprofits tend to start when it comes to telling their story? They start with themselves: ‘Who We Are’, or on their website ‘About Us’. And then they move on to ‘What We Do’, a description of the activities or themes they work on. More about ‘me’. But people generally aren’t interested in you. They are interested in the cause or issue they are passionate about. They are interested in the difference they can make. So it’s not about you.
Read moreWilliam Quarrier – the most determined fundraiser of all time?
by Simon Burne
Be inspired by the most determined fundraiser of all time. Using an approach not designed for the faint-hearted, William Quarrier went into a room full of wealthy people and walked out with enough money to fund a village for homeless children in Glasgow. But how did he do it? And what can we learn from this fundraising superstar?
Read more‘Nazis against Nazis’ - not your average walkathon
by Jan Uekermann
The tiny German town of Wunsiedel has for decades seen crowds of neo-Nazis pass through its streets in annual demonstrations, but this time something was different. The town tricked neo-Nazis into raising thousands of euros for an anti-extremist charity in ‘Germany’s most involuntary charity walk’
Read moreTank Banks: more sensational fundraising from the First World War
by Aline Reed
Now for something completely different: give a tank to thank your donors. Okay, this is a little cheeky, there aren’t many of us today who can give a tank as a special thank you. But we can create pride and excitement in our donors, just like the Tank Banks back in 1919.
Read moreA new approach to fundraising – why you should be accessing your donors’ networks
by Richard Turner
It’s time to ring the changes in the way we raise money. Rather than just looking at our donors’ financial capital says Richard Turner, we could be using their social capital to make fundraising so much better for them and our causes.
Read moreCreating extraordinary experiences for donors
by Simone Joyaux
SOFII’s expert on board development, Simone Joyaux, takes us on a different journey. Don’t just give your donors what they think they want, she says, give them something outside their wildest dreams, give them something that makes them go ‘WOW!’
Read moreNotes from Ken Burnett following his review of the document ‘Current Situation and Tendency of Internet Fundraising in China’.
by Ken Burnett
This summary from the report shows that on-line digital fundraising has already made great progress in China recently and is likely to show even more potential for growth in the very near future. But, while there is good cause for optimism, some lessons have been learned and it is clear that Chinese fundraisers can gain even more, if they learn to do Internet fundraising right.
Read more中国网络筹款的现状和趋势 ——Ken Burnett点评《2014中国网络捐赠第三方平台研究报告》
by Ken Burnett
这一报告的摘要表明，在线筹款最近在中国已经取得了很大的进展，很可能在不久的将来表现出更大的增长潜力。但是，虽然有很好的理由保持乐观，也需要吸取一些教训。很明显，中国的募捐人可以获得更多，如果他们学会正确的互联网融资。
Read moreFundraising Inspiration Advent Calendar 2015
by SOFII
SOFII is grateful to Laura Croudace for giving us this idea of a special Advent calendar that shares some fantastic fundraising ideas with you during December. We’ll add new links to this page each week until Christmas. Happy Holidays!
StreetDoctors: helping victims of crime
by SOFII
When two young medical students were talking to a group of 11 to 16 year olds they were shocked to learn that either the youngsters, or someone they knew, had been shot or stabbed. That shock led to Streetdoctors, a charity that has fundraising embedded across the entire organisation.
Read moreOxfam pledged gifts
by Matthew Sherrington
Now here’s a challenge for you. How would you raise money if you didn’t have all the innovations we have today? No direct mail, no telephone, no face to face… Click here to discover how Oxfam, back in the 1960s, collected 300,000 regular pledged gifts without such aids.
Read moreHey Mr Fundraiser: stop asking your board members to trespass
by Simone Joyaux
Always outspoken, Simone Joyaux doesn’t let us down this week when she tells a reluctant board member: ‘If you’re not willing to do the work, get off our board. Go away’. But she also gives sound advice on how to get the very best from our boards.
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