If your charity works wants to win and grow corporate partnerships, then one really valuable asset is a proposition or first step that is both easy to understand and enticing to those companies. This is by no means easy, so I was fascinated to hear the way Laura Webb approached it for Leeds Hospitals Charity. In mid-September 2020, she got inspired by the brilliant Snowflake Appeal at Sheffield Children’s Hospital charity, and in hardly any time, she and her colleagues created their own campaign...
Apr 14, 2021•27 min•Ep. 61
Clearly fundraising has been immensely challenging for many hospices and small charities this year. It’s also true that the public still care about deeply about their favourite causes, so high value and individual giving fundraising have become especially important. So I was excited to have the chance to talk to Paul Courtney, Director of Fundraising at Children’s Hospice South West, to hear about how his colleagues have adapted their approach during the pandemic, not least because they’ve achie...
Apr 08, 2021•25 min•Ep. 60
Fundraising has been especially hard for many hospices and small charities this year because community and events fundraising has been so disrupted during the pandemic. Similarly, as so many companies have had their own problems to deal with, generating corporate partnerships income has also been a massive struggle. So I was intrigued to hear about the remarkable results that have been achieved by Children’s Hospice South West this year. Not only have the overall results achieved by the fundrais...
Mar 30, 2021•21 min•Ep. 59
One of the biggest headaches for many fundraisers is encouraging colleagues see things from the donor or partners’ point of view, and to want to take actions that would be good for relationships with those supporters (and therefore good for fundraising growth). And in corporate partnership fundraising, we know that great partnerships are never possible if they’re solely driven by your own desire and hard work. They can only happen if they are genuinely a partnership between two organisations. Bu...
Mar 19, 2021•34 min•Ep. 58
Raising funds has been hard for so many charities this year, but its been especially hard in the arts and for small charities. Ensemble Reza is both these things and yet they’ve found ways to not only keep serving their audience (and grow it significantly), they’ve even done remarkably well in fundraising terms too. Responding to the challenges, they’ve actually DOUBLED fundraising income compared to the previous year. In this episode Rob asked Hannah to share some of the tactics they’ve used to...
Mar 11, 2021•28 min•Ep. 57
For the last five years, the pace of change (including in the fundraising environment) has been greater than ever. And since the pandemic began, it’s felt turbo-charged. Since change seems unlikely to slow down any time soon, it is now more important than ever that we embrace learning as a key value. Unless we make time to keep learning, as individuals, fundraising teams and organisations, we will fail to adapt to all the new opportunities and challenges. In this episode Rob explores four powerf...
Mar 03, 2021•38 min•Ep. 56
The pressure to handle more urgent fundraising challenges mean that strategies to promote legacy giving often gets put to one side. Dr Claire Routley is one of the UK’s experts on legacy fundraising. In this clip, we explore ideas to help you find and bring to life your legacy proposition; and ideas to help you promote those ideas consistently, so that both colleagues and supporters feel this is a normal way of donating. This is an excerpt from a new course we made recently, and it’s one of more...
Feb 17, 2021•32 min•Ep. 55
Major donor income is so important to many charities looking to make up for the continuing COVID-induced shortfall in other areas. So in this episode we are looking at a crucial element of high value fundraising, that is, ideas to help you deepen relationships with supporters. This is the second part of my interview with the brilliant Louise Morris, Director at Summit Fundraising. Together we’ve created a new learning bundle on major donor fundraising for members of our training and inspiration ...
Feb 11, 2021•25 min•Ep. 54
Do want to increase regular or one-off donations? Perhaps the effects of COVID on other income streams mean you need to improve how your charity approaches Individual Giving. If so, or if you’d just like ideas to help solve your current challenges, then we hope you’ll find this episode really helpful, because this time I got the chance to pick the brains of an experienced and very practical fundraiser Jenny Crabtree. We discussed five key areas that fundraisers need to solve to get an individual...
Jan 26, 2021•35 min•Ep. 52
As other income streams have been hit, high value fundraising has become more important than ever for many charities. But amidst all the challenges of the pandemic, how do you deepen relationships and inspire people to donate? One charity that has tried a range of tactics in high value fundraising this year, with great success, is St John’s Ambulance. In this episode, I share an interview with Julide Troedson, who heads up the team that looks after philanthropy, partnerships and special events. ...
Jan 20, 2021•28 min•Ep. 51
If you’d like tangible examples and wise principles to help deliver successful fundraising during the pandemic, I hope you’re going to find this episode really helpful. It’s the second part of an interview with a brilliant fundraiser named Richard Turner, who shares highlights from a new piece of research carried out by the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s Supporter Experience group. Over recent months, Richard and his colleagues in the group, Giles Pegram and Angela Cluff have studied chari...
Jan 12, 2021•26 min•Ep. 50
I’ve now been making this podcast for just over year, and now that there are nearly 50 episodes, I wanted to reflect on five episodes that I think are especially relevant to the challenges fundraisers are facing as we start another difficult year. To help me reflect, and pull out the juiciest insights from these conversations, I’m joined by Ben Swart, my long-standing associate at Bright Spot. Our discussion includes ideas for fundraisers around STORY-TELLING; TENACITY; LEADERSHIP DURING LOCKDOW...
Jan 07, 2021•22 min•Ep. 49
If you’d like ideas to help you be resilient; or ideas to improve the way you inspire your supporters through stories…then this episode is for you. This time I talk again to Max Newton, Head of community fundraising at Shelter. Earlier this year, Max completed the Tunnel Ultra, running for 200 miles non-stop, back and forth through a dark tunnel in a single weekend. As I write this, Max is ‘Running Home for Christmas’ (inspired by Chris Rea!) that is, 410 miles up the A1 in December, to raise fu...
Dec 20, 2020•29 min•Ep. 48
I’ve now been making this podcast for just over year. Not least because 2020 has created so many new fundraising challenges for charities, I’m so grateful to have got the show started well before the pandemic hit, so that I could keep creating content to help fundraisers as the crisis has unfolded. To celebrate the amazing way the show has grown in its first 12 months, I wanted to reflect on four or five of the guest interviews, especially from the early days, that I’ve found especially fascinat...
Dec 17, 2020•26 min•Ep. 47
Its human nature to get tempted to focus too much attention on the big shiny prize, such as the game-changing major gift. But after interviewing very successful fundraisers for nearly two decades, I’ve found these wonderful results rarely come from one extraordinary move or piece of good fortune. Rather, they are the result of the discipline to do lots of relatively ordinary things (that most people don’t do), day in, day out. Beware, these activities rarely get attention at conferences as they ...
Dec 08, 2020•33 min•Ep. 46
If you’re looking for sound principles and real examples to help you deliver successful fundraising during the pandemic, I hope you’re going to find this episode really helpful. Because this time I’m sharing the first part of an interview with a hugely experienced fundraiser named Richard Turner, who shares his highlights from an inspiring new piece of research carried out by the Chartered Institute of Fundraising’s Supporter Experience group. Over recent months, Richard and his colleagues in th...
Dec 01, 2020•31 min•Ep. 45
If you’d like ideas to help you more confidently embrace very difficult, or even impossible-seeming challenges in this gruelling year, I hope you’re going to love this episode! Because this time I talk to Max Newton, who is Head of community fundraising at Shelter. Earlier this year, Max completed the Tunnel Ultra, running for 200 miles non-stop (yes, you read that right!), back and forth through a dark tunnel. It took around 50 hours. I was determined to get Max on the podcast to share some of ...
Nov 26, 2020•32 min•Ep. 44
As more charities are struggling financially, you may find yourself having to look for a new job when you really hadn’t planned to. And you may feel under more pressure at interview than normal. How do you succeed in the job market in these turbulent times? So I recently organised a live Group Coaching for the Bright Spot Members Club to help members win in today’s (and tomorrow’s) job market. Our guest expert was the always-inspiring Paul Nott, who is among other things, an excellent career coa...
Nov 20, 2020•32 min•Ep. 43
Major donor income is incredibly important to most charities looking to make up for the continuing COVID-induced shortfall in other areas in 2020 and 2021. So today we’re looking at an approach to major gift fundraising that solves some all too common pitfalls that frequently hamper success. This is the first part of my recent interview with a brilliant fundraiser named Louise Morris, Director at Summit Fundraising. Together we’ve just created a new learning bundle on major donor fundraising for...
Nov 10, 2020•35 min•Ep. 42
If you work in development in the Higher Education sector, or in major donor fundraising in any charity, I hope you will find this episode helpful. It’s the second half of my recent interview with a very successful fundraiser named Jamal Iqbal. Jamal is Head of Development at the Faculty of Engineering at Imperial College London, and his team have been getting consistently great fundraising results in the last couple of years. So I was keen to ask Jamal what he has found makes the difference in ...
Oct 28, 2020•23 min•Ep. 41
As other income streams are decimated by the effects of the pandemic and varying levels of lockdown, fundraising income from individual donors is more important than ever for many charities. And clearly there are both pitfalls to beware and opportunities to make the most of. So in this episode, I was delighted to talk to the wise and ever-practical Craig Linton (aka The Fundraising Detective). In his excellent book, Donors for Life, Craig shared many means by which charities can ongoingly build ...
Oct 20, 2020•29 min•Ep. 40
Aristotle observed that excellence is less about one-off events and more about habits. If you broadly agree with this idea, then what are the habits that move the needle for improved RESULTS in your field of fundraising? If you work in development in the Higher Education sector, or in major donor fundraising in any charity, I hope you will find this episode instructive, because I share the first half of a really interesting interview with an experienced high value fundraiser named Jamal Iqbal. J...
Oct 15, 2020•30 min•Ep. 39
For many years, the orthodox way to secure a charitable partnership has been to apply through a formal process to the biggest companies. It usually involves several stages, is time-consuming, and only has one winner. Though there are upsides to this model, (especially for the lucky few charities whose brand is popular enough to win the staff vote that is often the final hurdle), there are many downsides, especially if your charity is less well known. Another option is to proactively seek partner...
Sep 28, 2020•29 min•Ep. 38
I recorded this interview with Dr Claire Routley, an expert in expert legacy fundraising, in early March 2020, when the world felt very different. Nevertheless, our subjects of culture change and breaking down barriers within your charity, are as relevant as ever. We talk about a piece of research Claire carried out on behalf of the National Trust, all about how to increase interest in promoting legacies across the various teams within a charity. Though we talk largely about the cross promotion ...
Sep 21, 2020•28 min•Ep. 37
Though some funders keep relationships with charities very formal, many of them really appreciate it when charities go the extra mile to create a deeper relationship. But how do you go about building these relationships, both with existing funders, and indeed, with ones that are not yet supporting you? This is the second half of my recent interview with Andy Watts, Head of Trusts and Foundations Fundraising at Sue Ryder. In his first year at the charity, trusts income increased by 349%, largely ...
Aug 31, 2020•22 min•Ep. 35
Many charities have had to change their strategy or focus since the pandemic began, in order to adapt to the new challenges the world is facing. These changes have many implications for how you measure the difference your charity is making. In this episode, I was delighted to talk to The Queen of Impact, Emma Insley, an experienced fundraiser who has spent many years developing tools and strategies for improving charities’ ability to measure and demonstrate impact. In the interview, Emma shares ...
Aug 13, 2020•32 min•Ep. 34
What can you do to build relationships, warm, generous relationships with major donor supporters, even during the pandemic? If you are a high value fundraiser, or you manage one, I hope you will find this episode helpful and encouraging as I talk to someone whose fundraising practice, confidence and RESULTS have soared over the last six months. Paul is Head of Communications and Development for the orchestra and charity Manchester Camerata. Paul attended Bright Spot’s Major Gifts Mastery Program...
Aug 05, 2020•27 min•Ep. 33
Charities sometimes treat trusts in a more distant, formal way compared to the way they treat other donors. This is often a missed opportunity, given that every trust is run by people who care and would enjoy a warmer relationship. In this episode I share an interview with Andy Watts, a very successful fundraiser who is Head of Trusts and Foundations Fundraising at Sue Ryder. In his first year at the charity, trusts income increased by 349%, in large part thanks to the strategy of proactively bu...
Jul 30, 2020•28 min•Ep. 32
What do you do to succeed when your charity is in a very clear niche that is not universally popular? Many charities get demoralised or waste energy trying to appeal to everybody. The best strategy is to embrace the situation and find a way to turn it to your advantage. In this episode I talk to Damian Chapman, a very experienced fundraiser who has been fundraising director at several small charities and is currently at the Charity for Civil Servants. In addition to getting his views on some imp...
Jul 26, 2020•29 min•Ep. 31
Given the events of 2020, most charities are now thinking more radically about their strategies than ever before. And one option to consider for certain projects is partnering with another charity. In this episode I share an interview I conducted in the summer of 2019 with Lucy Squance, Director of supporter-led fundraising at Alzheimer’s Research UK (ARUK). The subject of our discussion is Dementia Revolution, a collaboration between ARUK and the Alzheimer’s Society, and in particular the recor...
Jul 13, 2020•32 min•Ep. 30
