Money for Good
Tuesday, April 2nd, 2013
This big new NPC report is a major study on UK charitable behaviour. They rightly identify that building a culture of giving isn’t about tax incentives and simpler transactions, but about really understanding your donor. There are lots of useful insights in here about loyalty, and about the link between giving time and giving money. There’s also an interesting debate about impact – donors say they care about it, but far fewer use it as a criteria when they give. READ MORE
Obama’s email fundraising
Wednesday, March 20th, 2013
There are some great insights from Obama’s digital team in this short article. Their experience highlights the importance of not playing it safe when trying to engage supporters. Some of their most successful appeals had the highest unsubscribe rates, but the conversion rate outweighed the downside of losing subscribers. READ MORE
Kickstarter has raised $500m+
Monday, March 4th, 2013
Kickstarter launched in the UK last autumn. In its first month of operation over £2m was pledged to UK-based projects. At a global level, the site recently passed $500m of money-pledged. The regular data released by the site makes interesting reading. The majority of successful projects raise less than $10,000 but 400+ have been backed for more than $100,000. A further 21 projects have raised $1m each. READ MORE
The Great Donor Exodus
Monday, February 18th, 2013
This short series compares the success of charity donor retention with the ability of business to keep its customers. One striking conclusion is that the majority of charity donors leave due to fixable issues. Inadequate charity communication is a key problem. READ MORE
UK Giving falls by 20%
Friday, November 23rd, 2012
The latest UK Giving report found that donations to charity fell by £2.3bn in real terms during 2011/12, a 20% drop. The total cash fall is the largest in the survey’s eight year history. The report highlights a marked decline in giving in February 2012, the period when the UK was re-entering recession. There’s been much speculation about the impact of the recession on public giving. This research provides some further insight but more is needed to better understand the reasons behind this possible decline and whether it is a blip or the start of a trend. READ MORE (pdf)
Scope Venture Philanthropy
Thursday, October 18th, 2012
Scope are asking philanthropists to donate or loan £50,000 to fund the opening of a retail shop. £50,000 will let Scope open six shops in five years, or the initial loan can be paid back within two years. Eight donors participated in a successful pilot earlier this year and the charity is aiming to open a further 15 new shops by March 2013. Each store produces an annual cash surplus of £30,000. This is a really interesting pitch for ‘venture philanthropists’, as fundraising to invest in fundraising is traditionally a difficult pitch. READ MORE
CitizInvestor
Friday, September 14th, 2012
CitizInvestor is a municipal crowdfunding site for public projects. Local governments submit projects that they can’t finance, with citizens donating to the projects that they care about most. The site also lets the public petition for new ideas, which can become projects. Consumer attitudes to tax and charity are hugely complex, so it’s very hard to predict how this idea will do. READ MORE
Stand Up to Cancer UK
Friday, August 31st, 2012
Cancer Research UK and Channel 4 are launching a new national fundraising event this autumn. Building on a US format that has raised more than $100m, Stand Up to Cancer will be accompanied by other cause-related programming. In this Huffington Post article Andrea Hartley explains that whilst comparisons to Red Nose Day are inevitable, the two events are “chalk and cheese”. READ MORE
Lance Armstrong and Livestrong
Friday, August 31st, 2012
The immediate fallout from the US Anti-Doping Agency case does not appear to have dented public support for Lance Armstrong. Following the USADA’s announcement, Armstrong claims that donations to the charity increased 25-fold. To date, the cyclist’s Livestrong Foundation has raised around $500m for cancer causes. But will the allegations have a negative impact in the longer-term? The saga highlights the risks involved in linking a foundation or cause so closely to an individual. READ MORE
Turning Campaigners to Donors
Friday, August 3rd, 2012
Engaging Networks, Greenpeace UK and Care2 have uploaded a webinar focusing on converting supporters into donors. There’s some useful practical advice and a few short examples drawn from campaigns. READ MORE