Gail Perry - 5 clues your fundraising is going downhill

I read a fascinating article by this knowledgeable lady recently, and suggest you read it: http://www.fundraisingsuccessmag.com/blog/gail-perry-5-clues-your-fundraising-headed-downhill.

In this blog, I will sum-up what is said and demonstrate how Gail is very wise in her words. She cleverly states the feelings of many in the fundraising industry, or who love to take part in the art of raising money for charity: "Don't we all want fundraising that provides reliable, consistent revenue? Money we can count on year after year?" However, as it is obvious to many in this industry, predictable success doesn't just happen; you need to work at, and even after much time and commitment, success isn't necessarily guaranteed!

 In the article, Gail states there are five clues that your fundraising programme is set to disappoint:

1. Revolving door in the development office
"So what happens when the job is empty? No one is nurturing your donors or your fundraising infrastructure." Reliability and some sort of organised structure is essential to fundraising. The way to combat is supporting staff, and promoting staff loyalty. Make them feel appreciated, and make their job enjoyable. Don't let a vacancy stand for months on end, and therefore allow your fundraising targets to decrease.

2. Laying all the fundraising on one person
It isn't just the fundraising sector that leaves one person to do the majority of work, but here it can be an issue. Board members and non-profit staff members don't wish to get involved with donors, philanthropy or "asking for money", but they don't realise that this has a big impact on reaching their fundraising targets. This laziness or lack of wanting to get their "hands dirty" only hinders success. They need to realise that fundraising is a shared priority and shared task for all, whether they are board members, executive directors or any staff in the organisation.

3. Changing fundraising strategy too often

If an idea doesn't work straight away, do you give up OR do you support it over time, and put all your commitment into it? I would put my heart and soul into something; put my blood, sweat and tears into a project to really make it a success. However, a lot of people are too scared of starting with failure and risk, and never continue. They have a "why bother?" attitude. Organisations need to get their donors, family, friends, volunteers and supporters behind it too.

4. Lacking an internal culture of philanthropy
"A culture of philanthropy is a set of practices that nurtures and support fundraising in your organization." You need to build on important relationships with donors who wish to give, and give again.

5. Not investing in fundraising infrastructure
"Wonderful, well-meaning organizations want to spend every penny helping people and saving the world. And they absolutely don't want to spend money on the staff, systems and data that create successful fundraising." Charities might feel that such investment is "wasted" if it doesn't go helping projects, or making "a difference".  Some consider it "wasted" if it doesn't go to programming.

As you will note, I have the read this exciting and insightful article and tried to add my own knowledge, and vision of its meaning. Let me know what you think, and suggestions on what to post for my next blog are appreciated!

Late introductions

Most bloggers begin with a brief introduction before their first post. Not me! I have always been one to run before I can walk!

I thought I would be able to add a little 'about me' section on a side bar, but since I can't work out how to do that, I will dedicate this post to introducing myself. I will try not going to make this long post, as I want to keep it related to fundraising, and wouldn't want to bore you!

I am a 21 year old (5 weeks today until I turn 22), who has recently graduated with honors after 5 years of studying the communications industry. Having spent three years at college, I learnt that journalism wasn't for me. I had dreamt from being a child that I would be a writer and journalist, but I realised I wasn't nosey enough to call widowers and ask how they felt after losing their spouse. I would be more likely to make them a cup of tea and be a shoulder to cry on, than report it!

Instead, I decided I would go into the PR or advertising industry. I still love to write, but not in the same way. At university, I learnt how much I liked working in the third sector, and with my voluntary experience (I have since volunteered for 8 charities before gaining my first paid role in this industry) it taught me the many areas of working in a charity. This is where I was able to learn that I loved fundraising, and hope to eventually have the opportunity to not only fundraise for a living, but promote and raise awareness for a charity I am passionate about.

I started my first paid role this month, and love it. I am only a receptionist, but get to greet service-users and be there first contact when they enter the building. This in itself is rewarding, as you get to see how the services can really make a difference to them, and I feel appreciated for my excellent tea-making skills, where I have been complimented on many an occasion!

Having been paid mostly in the retail industry as a student, it is a shock and delight to be appreciated for my work and skills. Although I am mainly answering phones, serving drinks and greeting guests, I have also managed to look at fundraising strategy, do basic administrative tasks and learn more about the charity.

Living in Scotland has made it difficult to get a decent fundraising position (unless you have been in a dark cave over the last few months, the referendum is believed to have prevented Scotland-based employers from advertising jobs for the time being).

So far, there are two things holding me back from the job of my dreams: nerves and a lack of driving licence. Therefore, I have been practicing what I want to say in interviews, speaking to professionals in the industry and of course, sending off for a driving licence. I applied for my provisional this week, and hope to begin my theory test as soon as possible. Although I am keen to drive, I am still giving myself until the end of 2015 to pass. I don't want to pressure myself and put myself under too much stress.

So why do I love fundraising? It is just so rewarding to know that you are working for a charity to make a difference to a valuable cause, rather than helping businessmen get richer! I don't look down on those who work in other industries, I wish I could have an interest in a career where I could probably earn more, but I just don't.

In my fundraising so far, I have wore ridiculous costumes to raise funds including dressing as a bunny rabbit for easter 2013 and dressing as a daffodil for Marie Curie Cancer Care (their logo). I have tried to be creative in my organisation of events including organising tea parties, race nights, quiz nights, and of course, a date auction for 2013's valentine's. I have also gained experience in different kinds of fundraising including for events, the community and being witness to corporate fundraising. I am always looking to learn more and believe you can never know too much about this industry!

Wish me luck in achieving my dreams! I hope you will enjoy reading about my fundraising, as well as my thoughts on methods used in fundraising, latest fundraising trends and news and my battle to get on the fundraising career ladder!

How about Crowdfunding?

Recently, I have been hearing a lot about Crowdfunding? With my continued passion for fundraising, I always want to learn more and more about the third sector. I thought it was important to research more into it! Here is what I found out:

Oxford describes it as "the practice of funding a project or venture by raising many small amounts of money from a large number of people, typically via the internet."

Crowdfunding raised in popularity in 2013, when the economy of crowdfunding grew to over $5.1 billion, and thousands of entrepreneurs used its power and reach for increased development and growth. The majority of the growth has come from the world's developed economies because as demonstrated, crowdfunding has the most potential in emerging markets. A 2013 World Bank report has predicted that crowdfunding in China could reach $50 billion by 2025—and other emerging economies like Brazil may not be far behind.

Although crowdfunding may seem like a recent phenomenon, it has already been used in the US as a means to fund projects.The construction of the Statue of Liberty in 1884 was the biggest example of this. When resources were needed to complete the historical landmark, Joseph Pulitzer used his newspaper to persuade the public to give donations to help finish the project. This encouraged over 100,000 Americans to join the campaign, and gave as little or as much as they could. This totalled $100,000. Crowdfunding wasn't the term used then, but this demonstrates the key principles of the method by definition.

When examining successful crowdfunding, it can convey that two components make it work. Not only is crowd participation required to raise the funds, but a platform to engage with the audience is necessary. This might be the online community, newspapers or broadcasting networks. Social media is often used as a method to promote fundraising, such as sharing links to online sponsorship pages.

It is important to add that crowdfunding is not all about charities, but can be done on a business-to-business level. Websites like funding circle are the perfect example of this; businesses can get loans of up to £1 million, in a method to avoid banks. Funding circle is known to be very successful with "£330 million lent to 30,000 people to 5,500 businesses." In fact, there are three main types of crowdfunding  including: credit-based, reward-based and equity based.

Credit-based crowdfunding can be demonstrated with organisations like funding circle, who are non-banks who lend to businesses and organisations. This type of crowdfunding became more prominent in the U.S. in 2012, when they launched the Lending Club. With similar aims and objectives to the british website, funding circle, prospective borrowers first submit their requirements, and are matched with investors who are willing to accept the credit terms. In recent times, you can understand how these platforms are gaining popularity, as banks are increasing their interest rates or reducing their level of lending.

Reward-based crowdfunding could be used more by charities as it can be used for a wide range of reasons, such as: free software development, inventions development and scientific research. Two types of reward-based crowdfunding can be identified: "keep-it-all" or "all-or-nothing". The KIA is where the entrepreneurial firm sets a fundraising target and keeps the entire amount raised, while the AON sets a goal, but keeps nothing if the goal isn't achieved.

Equity-based crowdfunding can be described as a collective effort  by individuals to support efforts of others. 

I still need to learn more about the popularity of crowdfunding, if you know of any popular online platforms that use crowdfunding successfully, please let me know!

Do you think crowdfunding has gone beyond online solicitation from the crowd/audience?


SOURCES:
Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crowdfunding#Types_of_crowdfunding
Forbes: http://www.forbes.com/sites/hsbc/2014/08/05/crowdfundings-untapped-potential-in-emerging-markets/
Crowdsourcing: http://www.crowdsourcing.org/editorial/crowdfunding-its-no-longer-a-buzzword/32268