Foundations of Fundraising

Involving your board members in fund development, part two

by Simone Joyaux

Together you and your board members can ensure fundraising success for the organisation you all love. This new article from Simone Joyaux will show you how to get the best from each of your board members.

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Mo-tivations. Why (oh why) am I doing it? And why would you support me?

by Matthew Sherrington

‘You’ll be cool. A dad of teenage daughters will do anything to hear himself described like that. Anything,’ says Matthew Sherrington who listened, faced his fears and grew a ‘mo’ for prostate cancer. But what were the other six motivations that he thinks make people do something for a charity that they know little about? Find out here.

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David Love rocks!

by Gwen Chapman

Introducing Canada’s David Love – passionate fundraiser, donor and donor advocate, pioneer and influential mentor. Forever young and a true living legend of fundraising.

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The collection: it’s never too late to do something wonderful.

by Ken Burnett

A new fundraising experience for less-than-new fundraiser Ken Burnett: rattling a bucket on behalf of Syrian refugees. Read how he met some interesting people, raised some money and learned that truly it’s never too late to do something wonderful.

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Greenpeace’s optimistic tick-box suggestion: the ‘Stop Thorp’ campaign court case mailing

by Carolina Herrera

This exhibit works on many levels. At first glance the reply form opposite looks innocuous enough but really it’s a brilliant illustration of how, in times of need, donors will respond warmly to help a cause when it is clearly in trouble.

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Magic moments part one: how small beginnings inspire great causes

by Aline Reed & Ken Burnett

In this article Aline Reed and Ken Burnett describe some great founding moments – how small beginnings can inspire great causes.

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Akshaya Patra, India: winners of an international competition to change the world

by SOFII

A prize-winning initiative from India. Akshaya Patra has, quite simply, set up the world's largest school feeding programme, providing more than one million school dinners every school day. This vast undertaking clearly has appeal to corporate donors, for it attracted the attention of American Express when they were running a competition to find projects that have real impact.

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Howard Luck Gossage – the ‘mad man’ who changed the world

Howard Luck Gossage

by Steve Harrison

A new addition to SOFII’s showcase on the great and the good: Howard Gossage. Never heard of him? Well, according to just one quote in this great article he‘…is the Velvet Underground to Ogilvy’s Beatles and Bernbach’s Stones.’ Find out more here.

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United Negro College Fund: David Ogilvy’s letter

by SOFII

Go back in time to meet one of the commuters who, in 1968, found this superb letter from David Ogilvy on the seat of the train taking him home to his comfortable New York suburb.

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SOFII stars: a selection from SOFII’s most read articles

by SOFII

To make your life easier here are direct links to 19 treasures from the best, most useful fundraising articles that feature in SOFII’s online reading rooms. There are lots more, just look.

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Amnesty International UK: another ad that shook the nation

by SOFII

Newly added to SOFII’s archive of brilliant Amnesty ads from yesteryear is this shocking full page from the mid 1990s. Though distressing, it’s well worth reading and studying.

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How an egg McMuffin reminded me of the foundations of fundraising

Egg McMuffin

by Derek Humphries

Recounting a mildly bizarre but uplifting encounter that was to involve not one, but two, popular fast-food snacks, Derek Humphries reminds us of the simple but firm foundations every truly compelling fundraising should be built on.

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