News & Blog

We are delighted to welcome the following new clients - Lucy Air Ambulance, Cancer Relief UK, Birmingham Settlement and Futures Unlocked.

We look forward to working with them and making a difference!

As Seneca wrote, if you don't know which harbour you are heading for, no wind is the right wind. He probably didn't have fundraising in mind, but his quotation is strangely relevant to charity business planning today.

On holiday in Devon recently, I visited the famous Donkey Sanctuary. Two things struck me. Firstly, entry was free - a great way to attract new donors from around the country. Secondly, on the walls around the site were huge boards naming their legacy donors, year by year.

Tesco and some other big retailers recently came under fire for not paying young people on work experience schemes, yet this is exactly how some well-known charities behave when they take on unpaid interns.

Legacy marketing can be a bit "us" and "them" can't it? We the charity ask them the supporters for a donation, using marketing techniques to overlay and crunch the data. We segment and target prospects that match the best profiles to give.

Last month at the IoF West Midlands conference, Liz Loudon brought a useful reminder of the importance of effective language in fundraising. In an excellent presentation, she gave valuable tips on making an impact with appeal writing.

We would like to welcome new clients Women and Children First and the Rudolf Steiner School in Kings Langley, as well as thanking existing clients Graeae Theatre for retaining us again.

A friend of mine is currently enduring the nightmare of sorting out the affairs of an aged relative who has died. It is the last thing she needs and is very frustrating. The relative had been told to make a will but never did.

The shock resignation of Amanda McLean as CEO of the IoF has come at a difficult time for the Institute, as it is also still seeking a permanent Chair of Trustees. I was present at an IoF event last Monday...