Foundations of Fundraising

‘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’

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Tank 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.

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A 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.

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Creating 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!’

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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。

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Notes 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. 

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Fundraising 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!

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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.

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Oxfam 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.

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Hey 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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Operation Homefront: The Card

by SOFII

We are always dishing out our business cards that don’t really say very much, so it’s great to see this wonderfully simple and innovative idea that gr…

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Sharing the unspeakable: the ultimate donation

by Ken Burnett

The ultimate donation: When his family faced an unspeakable tragedy Ken Kesey, author of the classic One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest, found the strength and courage to write about it in intimate, personal terms, so creating a most moving, raw and inspirational piece of fine writing, a story so striking it’s sure to stay with you.

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