All posts tagged: fundraising

The cake sale: a beginner’s guide to fundraising

Published by

As part of our work as field evaluators with Global Giving UK, we were tasked to fundraise £650 to cover the cost of our training. But as with most things on the Field Evaluation Programme, this was not seen as a mere contribution, but a challenge and learning experience in itself – helping us to better understand the process charity fundraisers go through every day. Seeing as my last fundraising effort consisted of a few low-impact begging posts on Facebook and little to show for my crippling 30 mile walk which seemed to involve all the mountains in the Lake District, I was more than a little daunted by the task. Although admittedly, my effort there was minimal, even reluctant. During our training, we were introduced to the idea of network mapping, that is, writing out every possible existing personal connection you have and the potential fundraising opportunities each could present. When I first did this, I was surprised at how many possible avenues there were for raising money – my dad’s climbing wall, my friend’s …

Collaboration in the face of disaster: my week at the DEC

Published by

Another accusation repeatedly hurled at the charity sector is there’s too much of it. It’s true that there are over 163,000 registered charities in the UK alone. But personally, whilst of course this needs to be regulated, I think in general, the more the merrier. Charities are usually set up in reaction to a need, and the majority in Britain focus on very specific causes or localised issues. 80% have less than ten staff members. What I do object to is any overly competitive behaviour among charities. Those with similar missions should do their best to work together, complimenting each other’s efforts rather than working like rival businesses. Creating impact and aiding beneficiaries should always be the primary focus before any navel-gazing organisational interests. Competitive behaviour only goes towards reinforcing negative impressions among the public of the industry as over-professionalised and target hungry. I was stopped by a chugger recently – an attractive one, obviously – they always manage to divert me – and I made to walk away, telling him I already support the charity he …