The Simone Joyaux archive

Simone Joyaux was one of SOFII’s most valued and loyal supporters. She was also a friend and frequent contributor. 

SOFII editor Joe Burnett says, ‘I first crossed paths with Simone when I was an intern for the Association of French Fundraisers nearly 20 years ago. She flew over to speak at our annual conference. It was clear her bold and radical ideas were invigorating and challenging to those in attendance. Fast forward to my early days at SOFII, circa 2017, and a trip to the Ask Direct Summer School in Dublin where Simone was again a speaker. Her presentations were just as powerful as they’d been all those years earlier. And she didn’t use slides! Yet she held the room in the palm of her hand with her engaging, iconoclastic delivery and great sense of humour.’

You will also find Ken Burnett’s moving tribute to Simone below. A lot of the articles he highlights form the bulk of this showcase. For SOFII, this sentence sums up Simone perfectly, ‘Simone was a true hero of the new age of responsible fundraising’.

Of course, there is one person who can best express how wonderful Simone was, and that’s Tom Ahern, her colleague and life partner. We are grateful to Tom for his words: ‘Simone and I were joined at the hip ... although, awkwardly, I was always one or more steps back. She led. I followed, trying to live up to her standards. Our favourite activity was hiking. We talked about fundraising, start to finish; for uncounted hours, on at least three continents. We met SOFII at IFC. Ken and Marie made their initial pitch for the idea. Simone banged me on the shoulder. "Yeah?" "Yeah!" We were in immediately. SOFII is about unrestricted sharing of knowledge across an industry. It's always about the future of great causes and about the next generation who raise support for those causes. So was Simone. Me, too.’

Nothing can or should substitute for philanthropy

by Simone Joyaux

This is a new, yet old, addition to the Simone Joyaux Archive on SOFII. Written in April 2009, Simone talks about the differences between revenue and charitable gifts, and why customers and donors are not one in the same. She certainly had a point that still rings true today: Nothing substitutes for donors. Nothing. Ever. Never.

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Simone Joyaux, campaigning fundraiser extraordinaire, has died

by Ken Burnett

SOFII has lost a great friend, a great fighter, an exemplary force for good.

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Collecting stories from your donors

by Simone Joyaux

Do you ever ask donors for their stories? Nonprofits have access to a crucial resource and it’s a fundraiser’s role to tap into it. 

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Are you asking for gifts personally, face-to-face?

by Simone Joyaux

Simone Joyaux has a wealth of experience in how to talk to donors and asks a very pertinent question: are you asking for gifts personally, face-to-face?

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Two days in Dublin: fundraising inspiration in Ireland’s capital – part three

by Joe Burnett

In the third part of our report from Dublin, we cover a brilliant panel debate on the serious gender imbalance in fundraising. We also bring you a report on Norwegian website expert Beate Sørum’s insightful presentation.

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Two days in Dublin: fundraising inspiration in Ireland’s capital – part two

by Joe Burnett

In this report we look at two sessions from Australia-based data and dm expert Sean Triner on mid-level donors and legacies and governance guru Simone Joyaux’s rallying cry for creating extraordinary experiences.

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Enabling volunteers to do the right stuff

by Simone Joyaux

Simone Joyaux is determined to help nonprofits get their governance right. In her latest article for SOFII she writes about the importance of enabling your volunteers.

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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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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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Create a menu of choices for board members

by Simone Joyaux

More tips from Simone Joyaux on not only how to get your board involved in your fundraising, but to get them to love it.

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Involving your board and board members in fund development, part three

by Simone Joyaux

Your board members reluctance to take part in your fundraising could be down to plain fear. In Simone Uncensored this week you'll find some useful tips on how to show them that it is a great, fulfilling thing to do – nothing to be scared of at all.

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Board chairs

by Simone Joyaux

How to make sure that the chair of your board is neither good, bad,or indifferent, but absolutely great!

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