What's wrong with fundraising. IOF 2015 presentation
- 4. “Computerised letters feign personal engagement, tiny sums are cited to heal wretched lives. How callous are we to fling them in the bin?” Libby Purves The Times. 18 May, 2015, “A curb on predatory charities is long overdue”
- 5. “How can we respect it when it won’t even question its own misbehaviour because it’s a “charidee” and therefore axiomatically virtuous…Big Charity is becoming a monster.” Libby Purves The Times. 18 May, 2015, “A curb on predatory charities is long overdue”
- 7. The Times. 9 January, 1885, “Measured by money, the London charities are the equals of several independent Governments. Their revenues are more than twice that of the Swiss Confederation. They slightly exceed that of Sweden, and greatly that of Denmark.” £4,447,436 The Times. 9 January, 1885,
- 8. “Measured by money, the London charities are the equals of several independent Governments. Their revenues are more than twice that of the Swiss Confederation. They slightly exceed that of Sweden, and greatly that of Denmark.” The Times. 9 January, 1885, £6,572,000,000 (relative to total output of UK economy)
- 9. The Times. 9 January, 1885, “Several thousands of trained secretaries, assistant secretaries, and clerks have to earn a comfortable subsistence out of the subscriptions. A vast army of messengers, collectors, and canvassers has next to be fed before the ostensible objects of charity are admitted to pick up the remaining crumbs.” The Times. 9 January, 1885,
- 10. 1886
- 11. “We show the artisan who knows and detests the results of misguided charity, that there is a better way. We constantly win to our side the impulsive donor, not merely by showing her where her charity has failed, but also by helping her to make it succeed.” The Courier. 15 June, 1906,
- 12. “Councillor Edwards said he was requested by the local C.O.S. to provide a weekly sum towards providing a pension for a man he knew but he resented the request to bind himself to a sort of ground rent for an indefinite period of time. He thought that a direct insult and refused to reply to the letter.” The Courier. 15 June, 1906,
- 13. “Mr. W. H Leach said that in that particular case, Mr Edwards was looked upon as an “appropriate source” of charity and he was sorry that he proved to be not so (laughter).” The Courier. 15 June, 1906,
- 14. “Mr. J.S. Phillpotts said that if Mr. Edwards had gone to the office he would have realised how simple the matter really was. He would not have been bound to give a sum weekly, but could do so as he chose. It was astonishing how people read into letters things which were not there.” The Courier. 15 June, 1906,
- 17. The organisers of flag days are determined to kill the fund that lays the golden egg . . . Last week we had a flag day on behalf of the Star and Garter Home . . . two or three days later there was a flag day on behalf of a home for waifs and strays. Today ladies were selling flags for the provision of YMCA Huts . . . three street collections within the space of a week tends to destroy a movement which had been splendidly supported by the public. Liverpool Post, May 1916.
- 18. The Guardian. 3 February, 1927 “There can be no logical defence of the practice…of relying upon the average man’s fear of seeming mean to extract from him a contribution to a cause about which he may care nothing and which he might be ill able to support.”
- 19. The Mercury. 28 February, 1936 “There is always an outburst of protests against the flag day method of collecting funds for charity. ‘We are sick and tired of them’ say some. ‘There are too many.’ “A tree may have been allowed to bear too much fruit, but it is no remedy to cut down the tree at it’s roots.”
- 21. Sheffield Daily Telegraph. 25 July, 1939 “The number of door-to- door charity collections has increased by 500 per cent, during the past five years, and the business has become so prosperous that residents in good class districts may receive as many as 30 calls a week.” “In one case investigated recently, it was disclosed that only 2 1/2d out of every 20 shillings collected went to charity.” £233 million
- 22. UK top tax rates 0.00% 20.00% 40.00% 60.00% 80.00% 100.00% 120.00% 1 4 7 10 13 16 19 22 25 28 31 34 37 40 43 46 49 52 55 58 61 64 67 70 73 76 79 82 85 88 91 94 97 100 103 106 109 112 115
- 23. 10%of household income went to charity. Some Statistics of Middle-Class Expenditure. Edward Grubb. 1895.
- 24. 0.9% 2% 3.2%
- 25. “The redistribution of income has radically changed the financial patterns of charities. It is by now a truism to say that contributions of thousands, or even hundreds, of pounds are almost a thing of the past. Money must be raised in small amounts from people whose traditions of benevolence are different from those of their predecessors, though no less sincere: who are less accustomed to giving a cheque to a worthy cause than a helping hand to a neighbour too ill to do her washing.” The Guardian. 7 December, 1956
- 26. The Times. 29 June, 1969 “Whereas supporters were once numbered in tens, now they total thousands or hundreds of thousands.”
- 27. Save the World
- 28. Video 1 The tragedy of the commons
- 31. Fundraisingdetective.com 12 Charities mailed 38% of all packs 8 are not members of the FRSB 37% packs came from non-FRSB members 70% organisations are FRSB members 63% of packs came from FRSB members
- 32. 26 charities account for 46% of all complaints 793 charities reported no complaints Fundraising Standards Board Complaints Report 2015
- 33. 92 charities No longer at this address – 35 stopped Please stop mailing request – 32 stopped Please stop mailing request x 2 – 7 stopped The Times. 24 May, 2015
- 34. “Care home costs exceeded her income by some margin, and I persuaded her to abandon most of the standing orders. Many charities continued to mail her despite being told of her circumstances on multiple occasions.” The Times. 24 May, 2015
- 35. “I sometimes wonder whether the letter 'P' in the acronym names of the RSPCA and the NSPCC, doesn't actually stand for 'prevention’…but for 'promotion' instead..” The Times. 24 May, 2015
- 36. Source: Charities Aid Foundation. UK Giving. 2014 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 10.7 12.6 11.9 10.613.0 11.211.2 2012/13 No real growth in amounts given by individuals 10.6 2014 £ billions. Numbers adjusted for inflation
- 37. Source: Charities Aid Foundation. UK Giving. 2014 56% 56% 54% 57%58% 55%56% No real growth in number of donors 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012/13 2014 57%
- 38. Source: Charities Aid Foundation. UK Giving. 2014 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 26% 29% 30% 31%29% 32%31% 2012/13 No real growth in people giving via direct debits 30% 2014
- 39. Moneysupermarket.com. July 2014 Utility bills Mobile phones Insurance
- 40. Why don’t you just put it in the bin?
- 41. Video 2 This morning. 1 July 2015
- 42. “...the stark nakedness and simplicity of the conflict with which humanity is oppressed - that of getting angry with and wishing to hurt the very person who is most loved.” John Bowlby
- 43. 50% 20% 25%5%
- 44. 50% 20% 25% Not afraid of entering in to relationships or being abandoned Positive view of others, but low feelings of self-esteem. Seek high levels of closeness. Blame themselves when things go wrong. Positive view of themselves but a negative view of others and close relationships. They guard themselves from pain or abandonment by avoiding relationships. Negative view of themselves and others. Protects self-esteem. Are often needy but also fearful of being close to others. Often suppress own feelings because of need to please. 5%
- 47. “Behavior in which attempts to promote the welfare of another, or others, results instead in harm that an external observer would conclude was reasonably foreseeable.”
- 48. Distinguishing pathological altruism • The distress in the other is not sufficient to warrant the costs or risks to the actor. • The actor will complain about the consequences of their altruism. • The values or needs within the altruist that motivate the behaviour may be irrational. • The specific benefit of the altruism is of no real benefit to anyone and a reasonable person would have foreseen this.
- 49. Give me a place to stand, and I will move the earth.
- 51. Video 3 Old spice ad
- 56. Note: Graph shows appeal funds secured (as defined in the Ross-CASE survey) over time, with recurring gift values projected over 1 year. Week one of each appeal is counted from the date of the first appeal gift, which may not reflect the date the appeal began.
- 58. £0 £20,000 £40,000 £60,000 £80,000 £100,000 £120,000 £140,000 £160,000 2004 Oct Appeal 2007 May Appeal 2008 May Appeal 2009 Jun Appeal 2009 Jul Appeal 2010 Mar News 2010 Sep Appeal 2010 Sep News 2011 Feb Appeal 2011 Oct Appeal 2012 May Appeal 2012 Jul Reminder Gross Income over time £
- 59. Some people psychologically struggle to say no
- 60. What charities could do… • Be open and transparent with donors. • Work together for the benefit of the voluntary sector. • Promote tax-reliefs to their donors at every opportunity. • Invest in major gift fundraising. • Invest in the training and development of trustees. • Engage young people.
- 61. “How can we respect it when it won’t even question its own misbehaviour because it’s a “charidee” and therefore axiomatically virtuous…Big Charity is becoming a monster.” Libby Purves The Times. 18 May, 2015, “A curb on predatory charities is long overdue”
- 62. Four characteristics of charities • We must be respected as… • We must lead the sector… • Our approach is most effective because… • Our voice must be heard…
- 63. Why narcissistic CEOs kill their companies Don Hambrick. Penn State • Entitlement – I insist upon getting the respect that is due to me. • Leadership/Authority – I like to be the center of attention. • Superiority – I am better than others. • Self-absorption/Self-admiration – I am preoccupied with how extraordinary and special I am.
- 66. -4000 -2000 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 2010 2011 2012 2013 2014 Donations, gifts and unrestricted grants Legacies Fundraising costs Donations - FR costs Action on Hearing Loss Rebrand
- 68. 0 2000 4000 6000 8000 10000 12000 14000 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 Donations Legacies & In-mem Fundraising expenditure Profit Parkinson’s UK Rebrand
- 69. The reason for the rise in voluntary income was "going back to good, old-fashioned fundraising". He said the charity had put an emphasis on interacting with its existing donors by holding face- to-face meetings, contacting them by telephone and sending out "really good" thank-you letters. "We put a lot of time and energy into really thinking about how we welcome, support and involve our supporters," he said. Third Sector. 30 September, 2013 Paul Jackson-Clark, Director of Fundraising
- 70. The rules of branding • Changing the logo generally has no financial impact. • Changing the graphic standards or visual identity has a small negative impact. • Changing the organisations name leads to a 25% to 50% loss of revenue. • Changing the cause identification leads to a 20% to 30% loss of revenue.
- 71. AVG £30,000+
- 72. AVG £20,000+
- 76. Doubled Income ROI: 2.3 Highest grossing issue since 2009
- 77. Hit target in three weeks £510k gross income
- 81. Disgusted or Delighted. NFP Synergy. 2004
- 86. RoI in 1st Year 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 £1 pack Insert Pre-nursery Post-nursery 30% drop 16% increase
- 87. “Doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results."
- 89. 2% £100,000
- 90. The audit Once a year, all current and a sample of lapsed donors must be given the opportunity to rate how they think they have been treated. The recipients can also flag up charities who they feel have acted improperly. All recruitment packs, calls, texts, emails, personal solicitations must offer the donor the chance to email or call with opportunities to complain and have their name added to a stop list. Results are published in the charities annual report. The best performing receives an award.
- 92. dontaskme.com
- 93. Recognise best practice Best 5 year growth rate Best attrition Best ROI Best innovation Best implementation of the promise
- 94. We will not put undue pressure on you. If you do not want to give…we will respect your decision. If you tell us that you don’t want us to contact you in a particular way we will not do so. We take care not to cause unreasonable nuisance. The Fundraising Promise The Fundraising Promise is a key part of our scheme. It outlines how our members will behave when doing their fundraising and ensures fundraising is legal, honest, open, transparent and accountable.
- 95. Salvation Army £- £10,000 £20,000 £30,000 £40,000 £50,000 £60,000 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012 2013 Legacies Total donations (members and public) Fundraising (exp) ‘000’s
Editor's Notes
- #22: 1%
- #25: 24
- #29: Tragedy of the commons
- #30: Craig Linton
- #32: Breadline Africa - 14 Cancer and Polio Research Fund - 10 Dogs Trust - 11 Four Paws – 11 Humane Society International – 11 Medical Mission International – 23 Mercy Ships UK – 16 Network for Animals – 24 PETA – 13 PDSA – 26 The Smile Train – 10 World Cancer research Fund – 14
- #34: John and Laura Busbridge. Alice Palmer.
- #40: £70 a month on things they no longer need or use/
- #54: 53
- #55: 54
- #56: 55
- #57: 56
- #58: 57
- #59: This is a screen shot of the reminder email