The main areas of fundraising

The German Leprosy Relief Association: ‘Different Strokes’, the art show with a difference

by SOFII

Different strokes – an art show with a cause – organised by the German Leprosy Relief Associaiton in India created a world of opportunity for disabled, or rather differently-able, adults and children artists by giving them the opportunity to show – and sell – their work alongside that of professionals.

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Who Gives a Crap: the ‘sit down’

by Sue Kershaw

Who Gives a Crap is a new and innovative organisation and SOFII will be watching to see how this initial, creative and funny campaign develops.

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Guide Dogs NSW/ACT*: ‘tea for two’ appeal

The tea bag that helped tell a story.

by SOFII

A double award-winner from the Guide Dogs of New South Wales that surpassed previous appeals not only in money but in showing how that the organisation does so much more for blind people, young and old, than training dogs: adorable as they might be.

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RNLI: train one, save many campaign

The emotive image of an RNLI crew member holding the hands of the people he rescues brought the case for support to life.

by SOFII

A campaign from RNLI with a simple but powerful theme, message, image and call to action.

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The Salvation Army: UK Christmas appeal

by SOFII

Some donors have rational reasons for giving, some have emotional reasons and some go on a journey. Our strategy was to model this behaviour, to take the insight and analysis to new levels of understanding.

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Kiva: person-to-person micro-lending

Moises Elias from El Salvador lives with his wife and three-year-old son in their own home. His loan of $500 enabled him to buy curative medicines, vitamins and dietary treatments.

by SOFII

The first video gives a real sense of excitement and shows vividly the scope of Kiva’s work. The second is the simple story of Pedro and his family and how Kiva’s lenders are helping him fight his way out of poverty.

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Nine tips for effective e-mails

Nick Allen.

by Nick Allen

E-mail may seem boring, what with Google Earth, Web 2.0, Twitter, widgets, and badges, but it’s still the workhorse of online fundraising and communications.

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Is your newsletter great donor relationship-building, or an unwise self-indulgence?

by Tom Ahern & Sean Triner

Almost all nonprofits produce a newsletter and send it out with their warm appeals. But should they?

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Ten tips to spur the creative grant proposal-writing process

by Pamela Grow

Pamela says: ‘Your final step should be a gracious letter to the foundation, thanking them for their time and their thorough review of your proposal. You’d be surprised at how few organisations take the time to thank the foundation.’

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Plan International UK’s ‘prospecting’ campaign

by SOFII

Sampling has become the primary route for selling software, music and film. Could it be applied to child sponsorship, which is such a desirable ‘product’ for many charities?

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Do it yourself fundraising

by Marc Pitman

Start-up nonprofits often ask me, ‘How do we raise money?’. The panic of making budget seems to make raising money impossible without knowing someone rich and famous like Bill Gates or Warren Buffet.

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Greenpeace UK: the Rainbow Warrior III thank-you video

Rainbow Warrior III.

by SOFII

'...It was a really inspiring video and your generosity saying it was all of our ship was very moving.'

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