The most important words in fundraising are “Thank you”. It doesn’t take much to remember or say those words, yet it is remarkable how frequently they are forgotten, or how short the timeframe is during which they are remembered. You would think there is no problem saying “Thank you” at the moment a gift is given. Yet even that can …

Fundraising the Essentials for Success contains the building blocks that are fundamental to a successful campaign. But in fundraising there is no formula. You can take that set of blocks and employ them in a variety of ways. When you understand the fundamentals you can construct your campaign imaginatively and avoid mistakes that contain potential for failure. Pablo Picasso was a …

The first time I asked someone to donate to a charitable cause I made a complete hash of it. To be fair, it was a wealthy potential donor with an impressive array of defensive strategies to deploy against an inexperienced fundraiser. In an earlier blog, Two ears two eyes one mouth, I described “the highwayman approach” as an example of …

Asking for money is something most people don’t like to do. It makes them feel awkward and embarrassed. But if you are going to be a Fundraiser it is definitely something you have to overcome. Otherwise you could compare it to being a conscientious objector and then enlisting for the army. There are various factors that make people reluctant to …

So who gets the money? Many of my fundraising projects have involved organisations that were new to fundraising. They often thought that the appointment of a fundraiser removed the pressure and responsibility of getting the money from their shoulders. Huge sigh of relief; let him get on with it. This was followed by the shock realisation that my appointment actually …