Thank you to everyone who has been so supportive and enthusiastic about what we are doing at Tony Elischer Foundation. It’s been a few weeks since our launch and word has definitely been spreading about the opportunities we offer for talented fundraisers. We’ve had contact from fundraisers from ... [Continue Reading]
Look Outside
One of my long term mantra’s has been to ‘use windows, not mirrors’, a simple way of reminding myself that truly to move forward, be in line with the market place and to have any hope of innovating, you have to focus on the outside world and not the internal world of an organisation. Charities ... [Continue Reading]
So we have some ‘investors’, now what?
The New Lexicon of Fundraising Part 5 “One loyal friend is worth 10,000 relatives.” Euripides We are all familiar with the normal division used in a direct marketing or individual giving teams: acquisition, development and high value; a simple way of dividing out the task of ensuring maximum ... [Continue Reading]
Do We Know What We Need?
The New Lexicon of Fundraising Part 4 “Emotions are the lubricants of reason.” F.Yakob When you first become a fundraiser the focus is on techniques, channels and strategies, learning the art and craft of fundraising. It takes time to realise that all of these elements are actually ... [Continue Reading]
Building a New Lexicon Part 1: Fundraising
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]