The Fundraiser’s Toolbox
You know that fundraising is hard work. To be successful you need to be well equipped to take on all its challenges. At SOFII, we thought you might like some help. So we’ve put together this fundraiser’s toolbox that we’ll be filling with essential examples, formats, articles, case studies, ideas and tips that we think every fundraiser should know about.
How you can become your organisation’s competitive edge
by Bernard Ross & Clare Segal
When I heard about the idea of using psychology to raise more money I couldn’t imagine how that would fit into my previous learning about the pyramids, loops and ladders that are so familiar to many of us fundraisers. The fact is – it doesn’t….
Reviewed for SOFII by Kimberley MacKenzie.
Read moreSetting out and summarising the every-day business of excellence
by Henry A. (Hank) Rosso
If you have not read Rosso and his associates’ work, I thoroughly recommend this compendium of 500-plus pages. In it we find the analytical models of the ‘donor pyramid’, the ‘campaign planning cycle’, the ‘concentric circles... and a coherent expression of a philosophy.
Reviewed for SOFII by Roewen Wishart.
Read moreSecrets of a great funding proposal
by Cheryl A Clarke
The foreword to this short and readable book summarises its value well, ‘For reluctant writers who need warm-up exercises and structured lessons…and for seasoned grant writers who get caught up in the jargon of our fields’…
Reviewed for SOFII by Roewen Wishart.
Read moreThe essence of fundraising practice from the world’s most famous fundraising academic
by Adrian Sargeant
‘A comprehensive selection of knowledge that is both readable and well structured’. Be sure to let us know if you agree.
Reviewed for SOFII by Roewen Wishart.
Read moreAll you need to be a complete fundraiser
by Steve Harrison
Howard Luck Gossage reinvented advertising to change the world. He created a revolutionary approach to combining press and PR, kick-started the Green movement, coined the term ‘interactive’, influenced and continues to influence advertisers and communicators the world over. In so doing he became ‘the complete fundraiser’. If you know less about HLG than maybe you should, start reading here.
Reviewed for SOFII by Ken Burnett.
Read moreAsking Properly: the art of creative fundraising
by Charlie Hulme
Charlie Hulme asks you to use the quotes in his review of George Smith’s seminal work Asking Properly: the Art of Creative Writing as a mirror. If you despair at times, don’t worry; if you see where you’re going wrong Asking Properly will put it right.
Read moreSomething to Tweet About: creating great content for social media
by Carlos Miranda & Alissa Steinner
Finally the report that changed someone who was, at best, lukewarm about social media to an almost fan: Something to Tweet About. You will learn how to gather those yearned-for ‘likes’ and maybe turn them into gold.
Reviewed for SOFII by Marie Burnett.
Read moreDoes your fundraising have enough tension?
by James Read
Why do perfectly sensible people give away their hard-earned money? Tension, claims James Read, it’s the gnawing agitation we feel because of the problem that blocks our vision for a better world. Find out how you can use tension to advance your cause.
Read moreDirect mail + spam = win for Montblanc
by Darryl Ohrt
Daryl Ohrt, director of Humingo agency in the USA, shares with SOFII readers a letter he recently received. What he first mistook for just another piece of junk mail, albeit with expensive postage, turned out to be the most imaginative direct mail he’d received for a very long time.
Read moreJust the facts on legacy giving
by Mal Warwick
Rumour has it that legacy gifts account for as much as one-third of the philanthropic income of charities in the UK, or at least of the largest ones. Whether or not that’s an accurate estimate, it’s clear to all observers that legacies account for a far larger share of charitable revenue in the British Isles than they do elsewhere.
Read moreThe inconvenient truth about corporate fundraising
by Sean Triner
Have you ever questioned the corporate/community ‘love-in’ line that we are often fed by a variety of media, fundraising commentators and corporate enterprises themselves? Corporate philanthropy, triple bottom line, corporate social responsibility – call it what you will, I know I do – is not what many crank it up to be.
Read moreHow to increase your appeal results by up to 40 per cent
by Sean Triner
This multiple bullet point plan is for all fundraisers who want to boost earnings from their next appeal mailing or emailing. Follow these simple steps and you’ll find you can increase your net income substantially, for relatively small effort.
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