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. You can find:
Take a trip in SOFII’s time machine: the SOFII history project - introduction and contents
Part 1: treasures from fundraising’s history here.
Part 2: the all-time fundraising greats here.
And Part 3: the legends of fundraising here.
The elephant man: a fundraising success story from 1886.
by Ken Burnett
The extraordinary story of how a successful fundraising appeal transformed the final years of one of the most tragic and moving figures of the Victorian age.
Read moreThe first ever major donor dinner – c. 970 BC
by SOFII
With a clear target, a list of major prospects, an inspirational lead gift and a fantastic end result, the only thing that's not 'state of the art' about this event is that it happened 3,000 years ago.
Read moreThe Leprosy Mission: phial of sixpences, from the 1960s
by Ken Burnett
The product featured here captured the imagination of a 10-year-old boy who went on to work with some of the most successful fundraising organisations around the world. It’s a simple proposition and an easily usable collecting device with a clear, tangible objective and outcome.
Read moreMoses raises funds for the tabernacle – c. 1,500 BC
by SOFII
This is now the oldest exhibit on SOFII (and will be, until you tell us different). It's also a surprisingly instructive fundraising case history. If you look at the detailed notes it becomes quite clear that the prophet Moses was an accomplished fundraiser who both understood his audience and appreciated the nuances of his fundraising proposition and how it would be received.
Read moreDr Barnardo’s Homes: four fundraising greats from the distant past
by SOFII
Dr Thomas Barnardo was one of the Victorian era's great philanthropists. These archive examples of his personal fundraising style and efforts are a unique treasure for the body of fundraising knowledge and best practice.
Read moreThe early Christian Church: Paul the apostle motivates his church’s donors – c. 56 AD
by SOFII
This could be the first ever appeal for regular, committed donors. In the early days of the Christian church the missionary Paul asked his supporters in the city of Corinth to set aside a small portion of their income regularly, to sustain victims of a famine and then later to support good works generally.
Read moreThe gold standard in fundraising, part 1: laying the foundations.
by Ken Burnett
Giles Pegram of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (NSPCC) and Redmond Mullin of Redmond Mullin Limited describe how a seminal five-year fundraising campaign irrevocably transformed the fortunes of one of Britain’s top charities.
Read moreThe gold standard in fundraising, part 2: exceeding expectations.
by Ken Burnett
Final part of a conversation about transformational fundraising that Giles Pegram and Redmond Mullin had recently with SOFII’s Ken Burnett.
Read moreThe Harry Secombe soft sell legacy approach
by Ken Burnett
This campaign dates back to the late 1980s and was created by Burnett Associates Limited with Dennis Kingshot at the NSPCC.
Read moreDr Barnardo’s Homes: the home collecting box
by Ken Burnett
The home collecting box remains many people’s closest link with charitable giving. Some collecting boxes are themselves collector’s items.
Read moreRNLI: ‘stand behind these men’ press ad
by SOFII
The message is simple and direct – it tells who the RNLI is, what it does, and gets straight to the point by asking what the reader will contribute. It also uses a photograph of a crew member at the top of the page – a tradition that continues today.
Read moreThe Society for Effecting the Abolition of the Slave Trade: minute regarding the need for fundraising from 1788
by SOFII
This piece offers a unique insight into how, 220 years ago, funds were raised to help fight one of the greatest social evils of all time. In its formality, the 114-word single sentence of this solicitation has a distinctly quaint character.
Read more
