We train, we read, we study, we connect, we exchange, but is this enough? Are we truly seeking ways to transform our fundraising and to reengineer the DNA of fundraising as we know it today? With all the tools available to us I believe the most powerful is the one we focus on least, our mind-set. ... [Continue Reading]
Pre launch thoughts
Tony Elischer Foundation opens for business this week with much emotion and a sense of anticipation of what might be achieved in the coming months and years. Amidst the last minute hub-bub of getting ready for the launch event and making sure the website is all set, I managed to find a few minutes ... [Continue Reading]
Branding
The New Lexicon of Fundraising Part 8 “Love is friendship caught on fire.” Northern Exposure One of the core lessons of leadership and management is that people can only take so much change. So, on the basis that we have come to the last of an eight part blog series to define a new lexicon ... [Continue Reading]
‘Major Donors’, who are you kidding?
The New Lexicon of Fundraising Part 6 Greek word: ‘philanthropos’ = Humanity loving There has never been so much interest, focus or activity around what we have traditionally called ‘major donors’. The Sector has a new found confidence in this area and has realised that it can be approached ... [Continue Reading]
How Does Your Garden Grow?
The New Lexicon of Fundraising Part 7 ‘As with any journey, who you travel with can be more important than the destination.’ One of the most shameful statistics of 2013 came out of the AFP Fundraising Effectiveness report that concluded that overall donor retention was now only 39% in the USA! ... [Continue Reading]
Quality not Quantity is the Key to Future Growth
The New Lexicon of Fundraising: Part 3 “We are what we think. All that we are arises with our thoughts. With our thoughts we make the world.” Buddha So having looked at the very core of our profession, fundraising, and the centre of our world, the donor, we now move down the slippery slope of ... [Continue Reading]
What Does a Donor REALLY Mean To You?
The New Lexicon of Fundraising; Part 2 Change your words, change your mind, change your outlook, change your actions and change the world. In this second challenge piece on the words we use to describe our actions and profession I want to focus on the true ‘centre piece’ of our attentions and ... [Continue Reading]
Redefining the Critical Middle Ground
Thought paper by Tony Elischer Towards the end of 2014 and bridging into this year the sector seemed to have another intellectual push on why the future is about donor retention and donor development, rather than the constant machine of donor recruitment to make the numbers balance. Read the ... [Continue Reading]
Strategy
Mid-summer is a good time to start to reflect on where you are with your strategy; the autumn is usually a busy time for strategic planning, reviews and workshops whether your charity works on a calendar or fiscal year. Strategy seems to come in and out of favour with organisations, teams and ... [Continue Reading]
Strategy
Mid-summer is a good time to start to reflect on where you are with your strategy; the autumn is usually a busy time for strategic planning, reviews and workshops whether your charity works on a calendar or fiscal year. Strategy seems to come in and out of favour with organisations, teams and ... [Continue Reading]