Foundations of Fundraising
The Statue of Liberty: Pulitzer’s fundraising for the pedestal
by Aditi Srivastav
Without the help of Joseph Pulitzer, who inspired 120,000 ordinary New Yorkers to donate a huge number of small donations, the 150ft tall Statue of Liberty would not be standing today on New York’s harbour.
Read moreBen Horowitz of the City of Hope
by Rich Fox
Rich Fox met Ben Horowitz 39 years ago and he says he has never known a better fundraising mind before or since. Here Rich explains this brilliant fundraiser's philosophy for success.
Read moreWaterAid: The Big Dig
by Reuben Turner
A very fine example of how storytelling, done right, can change the world. Isn’t the infographic just great? (SOFII loves the crossed legs). This campaign is fun, innovative, engaging, emotional (imagine how you’d feel with no toilet…) and highly effective as, inevitably, real storytelling in real time was bound to be. Altogether brilliant.
Read moreMusings of a direct response fundraiser no. 1: revisiting the basics
by Jonathon Grapsas
In this first article in a new series focusing on what you really need to know about direct marketing for fundraising, seasoned Australian fundraiser Jonathon Grapsas sets out some of the direct-mail basics. They might surprise you…
Read moreSOFII: the BIG questions
by SOFII
How do we make donors feel really special? And how do they want to see us?
Read moreEnabling your board members and other fundraising volunteers
by Simone Joyaux
Do you think you already do all you possibly can to help your board members and other volunteers reach their full potential? Or do you think you could maybe do more? Here’s some great advice from Simone Joyaux on how to be an outstanding ‘enabler’.
Read moreHow the suffragettes became one of the most successful brands ever
by Aline Reed
You might be surprised to know that one of the most successful branding exercises ever was performed by the first suffragettes in Britain. They were, of course, notorious for their demonstrations of bravery, but also for the splendid ways they raised huge amounts of money to promote equality for women everywhere. One woman was so inspired that she donated £1000 a year – £80,000 in today’s value, to be paid until women were given the vote. You’ll find out lots more here.
Read moreNational Trust: recruiting members by the millions
by Aline Reed
Discover the story of Octavia Hill, an amazing fundraiser and co-founder of the highly successful and respected charity – the National Trust.
Read moreMotor Neurone Disease Association (MNDA): John’s journey
by SOFII
This story is powerful, inspiring, direct, humbling and honest.
Read moreAssessing your board’s governance capacity
by Simone Joyaux
If you need to do individual assessments of each member of your board, but aren’t sure how to go about it Simone Joyaux shows you the route to optimum board performance.
Read moreThe Absent-Minded Beggar: bigger than Band Aid?
by Aline Reed
The first-ever fundraising song? If you thought Band Aid was the first fundraising song ever, this’ll surprise you. Aline Reed has been digging around in the past and discovered a much earlier version created by a rather illustrious team – Rudyard Kipling and Sir Arthur Sullivan (without Gilbert this time). It’s not exactly rock and roll, but did raise the equivalent today of £25 million.
Read moreGiving Scotland: crisis campaign
by SOFII
The Giving Scotland campaign was launched in the face of intense scrutiny of charities in Scotland but this courageous campaign changed everything.
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