Sharing fundraising stories

Fundraising for small charities is different. It’s not simply a scaled-down version of what larger organisations are doing. There are significant challenges – staff time is always scarce, grants are hard to come by, brand-name charities dominate local awareness and we live in an almost uniquely difficult political climate.

I found some fascinating examples of organisations that have given their individual givers a clear sense of control over how their money is used

That said, what I’m just as sure about is that small charities are home to an embarrassment of riches in terms of expertise, experience, passion and knowledge. From my own time fundraising within small and medium-sized organisations, I knew there was a wealth of inspiring activity taking place. But it seemed that these fundraising stories were less well-told and their successes shared less frequently.

Over the past 18 months, supported by Creative Scotland and Macrobert Arts Centre, I’ve collected some of these experiences. I’ve found stories of failure, overwhelming success and surprising turns of events. They’ve been eye-opening, insightful and honest, and some key themes have emerged.

Donor care

Rather than bemoan the challenges facing smaller organisations, I wanted to highlight opportunities that are particularly accessible to small charities. Donor care is perhaps the most apparent. Many of us count the number of our individual financial supporters in tens, rather than thousands. While more would always be welcome, we can use this opportunity to get to know our givers, and to provide personal and genuinely motivational thank yous to ensure our donors stay with us.

Scottish Opera uses its costumes, resources and skills to create money-can’t-buy thank you presents for its supporters. It fashioned ladies’ scarves from off-cuts of the material that formed the Queen of the Night’s dress in the performance of The Magic Flute. It created mini-versions of the score of a new commission, signed by the composer and librettist. It thanked major donors from its capital campaign with fountain and ballpoint pens created from the same birch timber cladding used in the theatre interior.

When thinking about donor care, consider:

What resources does your organisation already have?
How could you give donors an extra insight into your work?
What would really excite your supporters?

Fundraising events

When it comes to running successful fundraising events, smaller organisations face challenges related to smaller networks of supporters, less access to corporate sponsors and the prohibitive costs of running a large-scale or high-profile event. Yet there are small organisations achieving significant success.

The Rock Trust, a charity for homeless young people, organises a postcard exhibition and auction in Edinburgh every two years. Each exhibition hosts up to 250 exclusive pieces of postcard-sized artwork donated by artists. The postcards are displayed publicly and in an online gallery, where members of the public bid for their favourite. When the exhibition closes, the postcards are awarded to those making the highest bid. Donations typically total around £12,000.

When thinking about events, consider the following:

What’s more important – raising money or raising awareness?
Will your event be linked to your cause? If not, how will you ensure attenders know who you are?
Is there an existing need or desire that your event could meet? For example, Scottish Love in Action, raised close to £20,000 by running its own Fireworks Extravaganza.
How will you get people involved? Are you targeting new or existing supporters?
What plans do you have to follow on from the event to keep attenders engaged?

Tangible giving opportunities

For many, unrestricted income is the holy grail of fundraising and one of the main factors in choosing to pursue individual giving. However, many individual donors prefer to understand exactly where and how their donation will be used and respond more positively to tangible giving opportunities.

I found some fascinating examples of organisations that have given their individual givers a clear sense of control over how their money is used.

Glasgow Women’s Aid uses an Amazon wish-list to give donors a tangible sense of how their donation will be used. Similar to a wedding registry, the list was the brainchild of the charity’s support workers, who hoped that individual gifts might help them to furnish a refuge. Later, and with significant press coverage, the list was extended and now provides the organisation with a regular supply of workshop materials and Christmas presents.

If you’re trying to decide which approach to take, consider:

How important is unrestricted giving to your organisation? Are there opportunities for donors to directly support aspects of your work?
Can you plan to progress donors from one type of giving to another?
Would a tangible giving opportunity bring in new supporters or lever additional gifts from your existing donors?

Sharing and learning

These are just a few themes that arose from my conversations and found their way into the Innovation in Fundraising report, which you can find on CultureHive. The thing that’s struck me the most is how much we all have to gain from sharing those lessons with one another.

People have been unfailingly generous with their experience, and I’ve discovered that almost everyone has a lesson or two that can be used and built on by others. I hope the report will act as a starting point for ongoing conversations between fundraisers, and that sharing more diverse experiences will help many more organisations to spark an idea that will enhance their work.

Kathryn Welch is Development Manager at Macrobert Arts Centre and a 2017 Clore Social Leadership Fellow.
macrobertartscentre.org
Tw @kathryn_welch_

CultureHive is run by the Arts Marketing Association, with funding from Arts Council England. The fundraising strand of CultureHive is delivered in partnership with the Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy Programme.