The SOFII history project
Welcome to the SOFII history project! To be a great fundraiser you need to be aware of what has come before and there is no better place to explore our collective past than here. Have you heard of the first ever major donor dinner from 970 BC? Have you read the wise words of Moses Maimonedes, who explored the eight levels of giving 800 years ago? Are you aware of the ground-breaking campaigns from the Victorian era? All these treasures and many more can be found in the SOFII history project. Dive in to learn the valuable lessons of fundraisers past.
A medieval ‘course’ in writing an appeal
by Mark Phillips
Do you think appeal writing is a recent science? Think again. In this super article, Mark Phillips of Bluefrog Fundraising takes you all the way back to the Middle Ages.
Read moreA timeline of modern British philanthropy
by Rhodri Davies
In this fascinating article Rhodri Davies, head of CAF‘s think tank ‘Giving Thought’, runs through a brief but insightful history of British giving.
Read moreTake a trip in SOFII’s time machine: the SOFII history project - introduction and contents
by SOFII
Welcome to the greatest collection of historical fundraising brilliance you'll ever find.
Read moreCrowdfunding: A lesson from World War II
by Roger Craver
In the latest addition to SOFII’s History Project, Roger Craver takes you back to World War II and explores a crowdfunding campaign that raised money for Spitfires.
Read moreThe SOFII history project part 1: treasures from fundraising’s history.
by SOFII
Welcome to part one of SOFII’s history project. Dive in to explore the best campaigns from antiquity to the 20th century!
Read moreThe SOFII history project part 2: the all-time fundraising greats.
by Joe Burnett
Do you want to learn from the very best in the fundraising business? This is the section for you as we explore the greatest ever campaigns, events and pioneering thinkers.
Read moreThe SOFII history project part 3: the legends of fundraising.
by Joe Burnett
Meet the women and men who transformed, improved and revolutionised fundraising.
Read moreMagic moments part two: how some of the world’s best causes got started
by Aline Reed & Ken Burnett
SOFII casts its spotlight on the early instants of inspiration that gave rise to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Greenpeace, Centrepoint, Freedom from Torture, NSPCC, the Fred Hollows Foundation and University College London
Read moreMagic 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.
Read moreUNICEF: the card that launched UNICEF’s fundraising
by SOFII
UNICEF's very first ever Christmas card would lead to the multi-million dollar international business that is UNICEF's cards today.
Read moreMajor contributors to this section
Aline Reed
Aline Reed is a freelance copywriter and creative. She worked for fourteen years at Bluefrog, a London-based agency that specialises in fundraising, where she progressed from copywriter to creative director. She has written fundraising campaigns for all kinds of organisations – charities, museums, galleries and universities. Her work has successfully run internationally in the Netherlands, US, Australia, Ireland as well as the UK. Away from fundraising, she writes book reviews for the Sunday Express and blogs about books and travelling.
See allMark Phillips
Mark Phillips started fundraising for ActionAid UK in the late 1980s and later became head of fundraising at YMCA England. He set up Bluefrog in 1997 with one simple goal – to be the agency he would have wanted to employ. His approach to fundraising is based on understanding and answering donor needs. Mark shares his ideas and findings through his blog, queerideas.co.uk.
See allMarie Burnett
Marie Burnett (1949-2019) was director of The White Lion Press and a trustee of SOFII.
See all