Tag: Nonprofit

Free Stuff! Free tools for you – Hands-On Fundraising

Posted on by proppec

Every week, Mary Cahalane provides expert fundraising advice in her blog – I could easily reshare her blog here every week (hint – sign up to the Hands on Fundraising blog).

Anyway, Mary’s post at the beginning of the month really stood out for offering links to loads of free content to help fundraisers get creative. There are sites listed which offer free photos, photo editing, graphic design, office tools but what really stands out is the list of writing tools!

Miss it, miss out!

https://mcahalane.com/11390-2/

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Long Read: The philosophical dispute between fundraising and data protection

Posted on by proppec

At the end of 2016, when the ICO fined several charities for breaching the Data Protection Act 1998, Ian MacQuillin, wrote a fascinating philosophical piece on how charities are perceived by different types of people.

Even though this feels like a long time ago, it’s still as relevant today as it was back then. Whenever you feel that GDPR and data protection are not your friend, have a read of this.

https://criticalfundraising.wordpress.com/2016/12/21/opinion-the-philosophical-dispute-between-fundraising-and-data-protection/amp/

Long Read: 2020 Vision in Fundraising

Posted on by proppec

This long read by John Baguley from International Fundraising Consultancy is split into several parts and what the team has learnt as they gear up to the firms 20th anniversary. focus on their top 20 tips to help us fundraise more effectively.

These 20 key facts every fundraiser should know: some are basic and some are outside any box we have ever found. None should be forgotten as we seek to grow our income and influence.

Part 1: https://groupifc.com/blog/2020-vision-in-fundraising/

Part 2: https://groupifc.com/blog/2020-vision-in-fundraising-part-ii/

Part 3: https://groupifc.com/blog/2020-vision-in-fundraising-part-iii/

Part 4: https://groupifc.com/blog/2020-vision-in-fundraising-part-iv/

Long Read: DPN Legitimate Interests Guidance – GDPR

Posted on by proppec

The Guidance prepared by the Data Protection Network is a practical tool aimed at helping commercial and not-for-profit organisations to assess whether or not they can rely on Legitimate Interests as a lawful basis for processing personal data under the GDPR.

The Guidance covers:

  • Understanding what Legitimate Interests are
  • Identifying areas of processing where Legitimate Interests may apply
  • The Legitimate Interests Assessment (LIA) – the 3 stage test
  • Transparency and the consumer

https://www.dpnetwork.org.uk/dpn-legitimate-interests-guidance/

Long Read: Good asking

Posted on by proppec

The Institute of Fundraising (IoF) recently launched Good Asking – a report on why charities research and process supporter information. They worked with leading academic Dr Beth Breeze from the University of Kent, to survey over 300 fundraisers to understand why they process and research information about their supporters, and what the benefits are for donors, charities and the wider public.

The purpose of this report is to shed light on the importance of fundraisers and their work. If they are to be successful, fundraisers need to conduct research to facilitate the efficient and accurate matching of donors and the causes they might wish to support, and to do so in a way that makes the experience as pleasurable as possible for the generous donor.

THE REPORT FINDINGS INCLUDE:

  • 90% of fundraisers believe that conducting research enables fundraisers to better communicate and tailor their work to the interests and priorities of donors
  • Most (88%) fundraisers believe that conducting research reduces the levels of unwanted or irrelevant mail sent out
  • A representative survey of the general UK population found that almost two-thirds (60%) of those who prefer charities to communicate in a tailored way with them, think that charities should be able to use information that is publicly available, for example doing Google searches or drawing on newspaper articles, in order to tailor their approach to their supporters.

The report also highlights that:

  • Two-thirds of major donors believe that a ‘more professional approach’ by fundraisers has been a key factor in the development of philanthropy in the UK

https://www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk/library/good-asking-report-2017/

Retention is the New Acquisition

Posted on by proppec

While organizations focus on their development goal and raising money through major gifts, events, direct mail, grants and online, it is often stewardship and retention that fall by the wayside.

According to Adrian Sargeant and Elaine Jay, a 10% increase in donor retention can enhance the lifetime value of your donor base by up to 200%.

Those are sobering statistics and make it pretty clear what we should be focusing on. Here, Danielle J Vermenton provides 10 tips on how to embrace donor retention.

https://npengage.com/nonprofit-fundraising/retention-is-the-new-acquisition/

Donor Retention: What Do We Know & What Can Nonprofits Do about It?

Posted on by proppec

Retention is one of the Big 5 KPIs to measure, but why is it so important?

A 10 percent improvement in attrition can yield up to a 200 percent increase in projected value, as with lower attrition significantly more donors upgrade their giving, give in multiple ways, recommend others, and, ultimately, perhaps, pledge a planned gift to the organization.

In this sense the behavior of “customers” and the value they generate appear to mirror that reported in the for-profit consumer sector, where similar patterns of value and behavior emerge. Indeed, the marketing literature is replete with references to the benefits that a focus on customer retention can bring.

Adrian Sargeant explains more in this article.

https://nonprofitquarterly.org/donor-retention-nonprofit-donors/

The BIG 5 in fundraising performance metrics

Posted on by proppec

Reinier Spruit discusses how we’re in the relationship building business and how we need to measure and register every response.

Ironically, we must quantify the relations with our donors, so we can improve the quality of the contact we have with them.

There are a ton of metrics we can track, and should track, like email open rates, sign-up rates per hour, one-off cash donations and appeal response rates. But there are 5 that are simply much more important. Mainly because they are the building blocks for making sensible decisions for the longer term.

I call them the Big Five. The Big Five are Volume, Expenditure, Income, Retention and Return on Investment.

Find out more by clicking the link below:

https://101fundraising.org/2014/05/big-5-fundraising-performance-metrics/

Why crowdfund?

Posted on by proppec

Philippa Christoforou has been part of the OxReach team at Oxford University Innovation since 2016. Since then over £200,000 for social good projects originating at the Uhttps://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-crowdfund-philippa-christoforouniversity of Oxford has been raised.

But why crowdfunding? Why not just apply for grant applications? What is the benefit to the project in watching the pledge count slowly creep towards the target, whilst the anxiety builds that we might not make it?

Here, Philippa describes her experience of crowdfunding and the benefits gained.

https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/why-crowdfund-philippa-christoforou

Colleges are going online to crowdsource donations, and they’re raising millions

Posted on by proppec

Getting alumni, especially younger graduates, to donate is a challenge for many colleges and universities, especially those that rely on approaches that could end up in voicemail or the rubbish bin.

Crowdfunding models are increasingly popular for students to undertake peer-to-peer and social fundraising on behalf of a fundraising program to bring in new donors.

In this article in the Washington Post, Danielle Douglas-Gabriel provides a number of real life examples of crowdfunding campaigns and the impact they’ve had on college and university fundraising.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/grade-point/wp/2016/04/19/colleges-are-going-online-to-crowdsource-donations-and-theyre-raising-millions/