Five For-Profit Practices That Philanthropy Should Avoid

Judy Park, Kavya Shankar and a group of Stanford MBA students interviewed millennial donors from the Silicon Valley startup world and these conservations showed a pattern of overreliance on certain for-profit principles in the nonprofit realm, despite potential flaws. One young tech executive in San Francisco said she wanted to maximize return on investment. The […]

How to come up with more brilliant ideas

In this article, Richard Branson sits down and chats to Adam Grant, author of the book Originals. Originals is all about how we can become more successful in championing our best ideas. While a great idea is a great start, Adam says it’s what you do next that really counts. How can we all recognise […]

Making the business case for a chief data officer

The right CDO can help firms reap the benefits of data-informed decision-making. Companies are doing more than paying lip service to data-driven decision-making these days; many have added a chief data officer to their already crowded executive ranks. But the question remains whether this once obscure position can deliver enough business value to justify its […]

Data Governance: 5 Best Practices for Data Governance

The number of connected devices has expanded rapidly in recent years, as mobile phones, telematics devices, IoT sensors, and more have gained widespread adoption. At the same time, big data analytics has come of age. The deluge of new data has combined with an increased need for analyzing and exploiting that information to create an […]

Why Risk Management Solutions Are The Future Of Charity Cyber Security

Over the last few years, organisations of all kinds have experienced a significant change in the information security landscape. New data privacy regulations require increased compliance and diligence, with major penalties. These pressures weigh even more heavily on charities, who have a legal and ethical duty to do everything in their power to protect sensitive […]

Olive Cooke: Five Years On – How far have we come?

It has been five and a half years since the tragic death of Olive Cooke. Most fundraisers will remember the media furore that erupted in the months immediately following her death, when it was revealed she had been receiving close on 3000 mailings from charities in the course of a typical year. Family and friends […]

Data insight made easy: using RFM scoring to find great prospects

As fundraisers, when we think about data analysis today, we’re likely to drift into the world of complex modeling practices that predict what donors are most likely to give based on a wide variety of factors. Go to any conference and you’re bound to hear about the wonder of Big Data. But if you work […]

“If You Can’t Measure It, You Can’t Manage It” – Using Metrics to Strengthen Your Fundraising Program

It is common knowledge that to effectively manage donor relationships and see the greatest success in your fundraising program, you must build strong ties between your prospects and your organization’s mission. Relationships will always be the foundation of a fruitful fundraising program. But, you can’t build a relationship on metrics. While relationships have and will […]

How to Network with Powerful People

How do you get the attention of powerful people you want in your network, but are the least likely to respond? Senior executives are busy, see less value spending time with someone lower on the hierarchy, and are likely to miss or ignore requests through email or social media. Michael C. Wenderoth is an Associate […]

10 Tips for Writing Awesome Fundraising Email

Writing fundraising email copy requires a lot of thought. It’s no surprise that people find it difficult to write until they’ve done it for some time. So, how can you motivate a stranger to make donations for your cause in just an email? And how do you make your email stand apart from the many, […]