The Lost Dogs’ Home, Melbourne: Friend of PAWs microsite

by SOFII

Although in recent years the Internet has by any definition come into its own as an indispensable tool for fundraisers, most are still not adept at using the medium to acquire new donors. So the Lost Dogs’ Home’s successful experience of online acquisition should be closely watched by many.

UNICEF Pigotta project: adopt a doll and save a life

by SOFII

Another excellent idea from UNICEF that not only raises lots of money, but shows volunteers, particularly children, how important immunisation against deadly childhood illnesses is in the developing world. It also demonstrates how ‘it will never work here’ just isn’t true and that good ideas can be adapted to other cultures.

Conversion of a techno-sceptic

by Richard C McPherson

Only a few things in life are worth missing a flight for. I’d like to tell you about two of them. The first is merely amusing but the other, I think, you will find of more value. The first was only the second flight I’d missed, ever. It was going to Oslo, Norway, but I was stuck on London’s Hammersmith roundabout…

Review by Ken Burnett.

Station WNED, Buffalo and Toronto: ‘thank you’ card to a donor

by SOFII

This is so quick, simple, cheap and easy it is just great. Why can't all fundraisers take a leaf out of Channel 17's book and send donors promptly a cheery, appropriate and inexpensive thank you like this?

WWF integrated legacy marketing campaign

by SOFII

This is truly ground-breaking communication for fundraising. Not only did these press advertisements and posters herald a new approach to the promotion of legacies (bequests) but they were also the first ads to use jargon-free language and to talk about legacies in plain, everyday terms that any one could understand.

Greenpeace Australia: The legacy beer mat

by SOFII

The copy you see above is a line that every writer wishes he or she had written. If half the challenge with legacy marketing is how do you raise the delicate subject with donors, then this brilliant promotion hits every button perfectly. Without doubt, it is a fundraising classic. But did it actually generate many bequests? Click to find out...

Multiple Sclerosis Society, Holland: television commercial

by SOFII

This remarkable television commercial is so powerful it stops the viewer in his/her tracks. Yet not a word is spoken, the message is entirely conveyed in movements, gestures and looks. This a brilliant use of television, a courageous creative presentation of the personal impact of a devastating disease. It will be instructive for anyone working in a similar field and many others too.

Jerry Falwell’s Liberty Alliance: emergency appeal for cash

by SOFII

Whether or not one agrees with the ‘achievements’ and ‘aspirations’ contained within the letter, it has to be said that they have been given forcefully and with emotion. This is a real battle cry.

Nature Conservancy of Canada: Legacy mailing

by SOFII

Step into our archive as David Love shares how Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) accessed the ‘pot of gold at the end of the fundraiser’s rainbow’ with a classically straightforward but very appealing legacy piece. Without doubt, this carefully and sensitively crafted pack will have raised funds very effectively for the cause and the organisation that created it.

Dogs Trust canine care card

by SOFII

This is really clever fundraising. The Dogs Trust (formerly National Canine Defence League) offers its supporters the chance to join their canine care scheme which ensures that if they die before their beloved pet dog, NCDL will promise to look after the dog for all its natural life. Is that idea going to appeal to an elderly dog-loving donor? We think so. So, which charity is that dog-loving donor likely to leave a legacy to, then? There are no prizes for getting this right, unless you are The Dogs Trust, who've raised £millions from this scheme.

RSPCA’s ‘sow tethering’ telephone campaign

by SOFII

Any marketing campaign that can have such an impact on members of parliament on the eve of taking their country to war has to be worth recording. This campaign is notable as one of the early UK examples of fundraisers using the telephone.

THE PLAN: the launch of child sponsorship, Spain 1937

by SOFII

This exhibit focuses on a documentary film made by Plan International, which shows how the idea of child sponsorship emerged and grew as a response to the dangers faced by children in the Spanish civil war, more than 70 years ago.