StreetDoctors: helping victims of crime

by SOFII

When two young medical students were talking to a group of 11 to 16 year olds they were shocked to learn that either the youngsters, or someone they knew, had been shot or stabbed. That shock led to Streetdoctors, a charity that has fundraising embedded across the entire organisation.

It’s the picture not the frame

by Lyndall Stein

‘When I saw the three-year-old Aylan Kurdi, I was petrified. [He] ... was lying lifeless face down in the surf, in his red t-shirt and dark blue shorts folded to his waist. The only thing I could do was to make his outcry heard.’ Nilufer Demir, photographer, on why she released the photo.

But was she right? Read Lyndall Stein on why we fundraisers shouldn’t shrink from the challenge of using powerful images to change the world.

What you need in your backpack. Essential preparation for grant applications

by Jo Garner

Are you settling down to write that all-important grant application? You’ll need to make sure that your fundraising ‘backpack’ is full of the essentials if you are to succeed, says Jo Garner. You’ll find them here on SOFII.

Let’s keep in touch

by Rachel Hunnybun

Does your organisation miss simple opportunities to talk to your donors? Click here to see what happened when Rachel Hunnybun contacted her favourite charities to tell them she had moved home.

Remember A Charity legacy awareness week 2014

by SOFII

Without legacies very many charitable organisations all over the world wouldn’t exist. Click here to see Remember A Charities ‘living legends’ explain their love of giving and why they have left a legacy to charity in their will.

Lessons from a charity shop

by Laura Croudace

Do you think that charity shops are not ‘pure’ fundraising, in fact, aren’t fundraising at all? During a stroll in the sunshine, Laura Croudace came across a charity shop that, in her words, ‘blew me away’. Click here to see how and why she thinks we could all learn from FARA’s approach to running shops.

Liberty in North Korea autumn campaign

by SOFII

A fantastic cause that, perhaps unsurprisingly, has caught the imagination of hundreds of young people. It is surprising though that this group of under-30s has donated over $500,000. Proof, if it were needed, that a highly personal campaign, brilliant creativity and storytelling will always inspire donors and will even create some new ones.

The challenge now will be to keep these young people motivated to keep giving as they grow older and their income grows. Maybe one day they will become legacy prospects.

Amnesty International UK: Virtual reality street fundraising

by SOFII

Face-to-face (or street) fundraising often receives criticism, but this is an example of it at its best. Using virtual reality headsets, Amnesty International UK showed how devastating barrel bombs are to the people of Syria. Keep reading to find out how they created the campaign, then watch an IWITOT 2023 presentation that shows how this concept is still inspiring fundraisers and captivating donors at a variety of charities – eight years later. 

Cleveland Hearing and Speech Clinic: revitalising declining revenue raised through special events

by SOFII

The once successful special gala dinner of the Cleveland Deaf and Speech Clinic was in decline. But their adventurous fundraisers didn’t ditch it. Instead they introduced three, soon to be four, new events. They call it ‘demographic’ fundraising and you will learn all about it here.

Passion and pragmatism – your main tools for winning grants

by Jo Garner

Never forget that charitable foundations and trusts exist purely and simply to give money away. Click here to find out how you can make your application stand out from the crowd.

Remember a Charity’s initial research into legacy giving

by SOFII

Charities in the UK receive £2 billion per year, 13 per cent of all charitable donations, through gifts in wills. Research carried out this year by Remember a Charity showed that by asking the right questions this already massive amount could be increased by 67 per cent. Want to find out the questions? Of course you do so, go ahead, click here to see them on SOFII.

Harvesters Food Bank’s fundraising strategy

by Adrian Sargeant

Harvesters, a food bank in the USA, believe that ‘people don’t want to give their money away, but they do want to make a difference in other people’s lives’. At SOFII’s IWITOT event in Baltimore, Professor Adrian Sargeant showed how that belief helped them to achieve their massive ambition to increase support from $2 million to a massive $11.5 million.