The 21 habits of poor fundraisers…

We look for the best in fundraisers….but too often we find the worst. No ones perfect. No one does everything right. But the fundraiser living happily in this list probably needs to find a new home.

So, the top 20 habits of poor fundraisers – in no particular order of sadness..

1. Not listening – the donor know best, but not according to some
2. Thinking it’s all about money – it’s not a transaction, it’s a gift. Money is the outcome of feeling good, trust, inspiration, engagement and action
3. Trying to do it all themselves – from selling tickets to flogging stuff. We are nothing without the active, committed goodwill and actions of volunteers, philanthropists, leaders
4. Claiming income that isn’t theirs to meet their budget – me first, charity second, donor third. Mercenary above common good
5. Flogging stuff that no one wants – Look at my clever thing, you simply must be interested
6. Not doing what you say you will when you say you will do it – most simple to fix, most often done, most common complaint
7. Not saying thank you – cardinal sin. Fundraisers who don’t say thank you or show appreciation should be tortured (this is metaphorical in case you don’t have a sense of humour – see point 21)
8. Not asking - the core of the job but remarkably difficult for some, with most displaying a brilliant capacity to fill time with everything else
9. Not working with others or seeing the bigger picture – no perspective or ability to see outside their own world leads to fundraising and relational cul-de-sacs
10. Not knowing the difference and impact each donation makes – easy to get wrong in the focus to get cash, often just forgotten though
11. Not thinking ahead and building a pipeline – short-term, poor planning, ineffective management
12. Not having a personal story or connection with what you are fundraising for, or not even trying to connect – if you don’t care why should they? It about credibility and authenticity.
13. Being frightened to do the right thing – easier said than done maybe. One to mull over a glass or two
14. Not my job syndrome – 1970′s union nonsense. Displays the worst values
15. Not keeping up with what’s going on out there – dinosaurs, no curiosity, no edge
16. Wearing bad shoes – looking a mess wont get confidence, and wont get gifts
17. Not trying to improve each time – no capacity for learning and self-improvement means falling behind not growing or being better
18. Not being able to function without a pack – ‘packitis’ – a common medical condition with symptoms involving a fixed staring empty expression, with the afflicted unable to have a conversation without a reassuring toolkit to hand. Excuse for doing nothing usually, (even if a toolkit or pack helps of course)
19. Not aspiring high enough – boring, no passion, small, letting your cause down
20. Creating division rather than harmony – life’s too short to put up with these people
21. Having absolutely no perspective or sense of humour – self-explanatory, see point 7

Donors demand better. Charities need better. The world deserves better.

How to hold your own state funeral

The national funeral of Baroness Thatcher (whatever your view) – a spectacular experience of remembrance, theatre and private reflection.

Planned with the complicated combination of state protocol and private wishes, Baroness Thatcher’s funeral displays the difficult balance between the expected ritual and show for all and the family space for grief, words, music and faith. The death and funeral of a public figure however is, in truth, no different from the death and funeral of a private citizen – just the scale maybe, perhaps the complexity and variety, the diversity. Some people die without anyone left or anyone remembering them. Some people die with the whole world remembering them.

Albert Vaughan, a Second World War veteran with 12 years of service as a marine and with 6 medals to his name, died in a care home in Tamworth. Albert had outlived his children and care workers were concerned that only 6 people would attend his funeral. So, they launched a Facebook campaign. The response was extraordinary. Hundreds attended including military veterans who carried his coffin.

The contrast between each of these funerals appears stark, but each shares more than divides them. Loneliness and isolation exist for public figures, just as forgotten achievements are not isolated to the private forgotten soldier. What binds them together is the need to be remembered, the need to have some respect and space, some ritual, some forgiveness, some thanks for a life lived, some acknowledgement, some way of passing on.

We shy away from planning ahead. But for those that do, the rest of us can perhaps admire their foresight. So, why not plan your own state funeral? You can have whatever you want. 21 gun salute? Horse drawn carriage? TV coverage? Or perhaps something a little more modest to commit to before we disappear like Mrs Thatcher or Albert Vaughan.

Here’s a starter list then (because I will forget to do it like everyone else)…..I would like….

1. Enough people to attend who on balance think I was a good guy rather than a bad one
2. That what I did in life wont hurt anyone in death
3. My music choices make people smile – Young Hearts, Run Free…
4. Some room for sadness as well as celebration – but mostly celebration
5. People to walk away after and think ‘right, that’s made me think, better get on with that now, not much time left’
6. To have left enough money behind the bar for afterwards so everyone needs to get a taxi home
7. People I love to be looked after
8. Spirit, solemnity and faith to be balanced by jokes and humour
9. Some nice words but some nice deeds to follow – including loads of cash raised for charity, a gift in my will, and definitely no flowers
10. My net end of life outcome would be better than if I hadn’t been around – and finally…….that the funeral procession is 15 minutes late….I always was in life …

And your’s…?

The 20 best films for fundraising inspiration…

The power of story is the core of great fundraising. Sometimes the power of story to connect and amplify emotional connection is what fundraisers need to help craft their own stories.

So here are my 20 top films (in no special order) that might help fundraisers and givers to fan a few flames of inspiration.

1. Field of Dreams - the power of conviction, belief and faith when everyone else can’t see what you can
2. Up – unlikely alliances make dreams come true
3. Forrest Gump – the triumph of optimism and seeing the very best in people
4. A matter of life or death – a 1946 classic where love and conviction overcomes the impossible
5. Schindlers List - in the midst of the worst of human depravity, one man, Oskar Schindler, makes a  difference
6. The Bucket List - the dying wishes and last hopes of two men, one rich and one poor are explored, expanded and enriched in their last days. A living in memoriam testament.
7. A Song for Marion – loss and grief give way to a celebration of life and new beginnings
8. The Shawshank Redemption –  hope, redemption and triumph through small acts of kindness
9. The Exorcist - nothing to do with fundraising, I just like the bit where the head spins 360 – actually that’s just like fundraising
10. Citizen Kane - a lost childhood affects your whole life. Whilst money can’t buy love, fundraisers might argue differently
11. It’s a wonderful life - the perfect christmas appeal. An ordinary life made extraordinary every day by recognising that each act with each person matters
12. Slumdog Millionaire - through honesty and integrity, life’s experiences give you the answers you need
13. The Help – ‘you is kind, you is smart, you is important’ – the best affirmation for any one
14. Back to the Future – nostalgia – delicate but potent according to Don Draper. This romp back and forth in time explores what ifs better than any film…..and even the film itself is nostalgic
15. The Kings Speech - human fear and frailty at elite levels, reminding us that we are all human from whatever part of society
16. Rain Man - Simply the acceptance of others through consistency and recognised difference. A perfect lesson in diversity
17. Titanic - so-called experts can get it wrong in spectacular style sometimes
18. Brief Encounter - doing the right thing
19. Star Wars - good triumphs evil against all odds, especially if you have a light saber, the force and a Jedi knight as a mate
20. The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel - nothing is ever too late

And finally – 21. Dead Poets Society – whatever happens, carpe diem, seize the day….

Name your job in 3 words…

When Ernest Hemingway wrote a six word story ‘For sale; baby shoes, never worn’ he began a worldwide challenge to follow. In a world where a job is described in pages of tasks, what if we could describe it in just 3 words?

Six word stories and epitaphs make us condense the essence into a short sharp sentence. How would you sum up your life in six words? My attempt is this

After much debate, not bad considering

It’s made me smile a lot, this attempt. Enough to describe, and enough mystery to be puzzled over. So a job in three? It won’t be a task list, or a set of duties. It won’t be an organisation chart or a person spec. But it should be a higher order describer….three transforming aims, three aspirations, three powerful statements. So…a Fundraiser….

Enabler, connector, transformer

Just like three little words – I love you, that says it all, what are your three words to describe what you do?

Two brand TV Ads…how do they get it so right?…

Take a long hard look at this new John Lewis TV ad for christmas 2011 and this ad for Thomson Holidays…what can you learn..?

These sum up insight, brand values, emotional connection, creativity, love, the blend of image and sound, the identification with the customer and audience, aspiration, bravery, boldness, gentle and subtle, powerful.  They make you think about you..and its not about the money spent. Its fascinating that they are a department store and a travel agent …and we change the world. Here they have got it so right …and too many times we get it so wrong….we need to raise the bar…..

7 lessons from a house to house collection…

I finally got round to doing my annual house to house collection for the Royal British Legion. As each doorbell, letter box and door knock wore on, I rediscovered a few old lessons and insights that are hopefully worth sharing…

The Poppy Appeal is one of those great annual galvanizing giving moments in the UK…it commands an almost universal appeal and a wave of goodwill.  So, knocking on doors for cash and giving a poppy to wear, compete with collections in the street, through shops and via text, mail, TV and online. But its the transaction of cash that remains fascinating. An exchange of human nature, an almost forced moment now of human contact. It’s difficult to find cash collectors, but it teaches us a lot about ourselves and the people whose support we need. So, after 90 minutes door to door here are my 7 lessons and insights.

1. Say more than thank you….say how kind that is, how much you appreciate the gift, a heartfelt thanks whatever the sum

2. Concentrate and celebrate the kind ones, move on from the self obsessed and can’t be bothered

3. Give a bit more….I found myself giving out 2 or 3 poppies in case they lost one…people sort of liked that….

4. But make sure it’s not seen as waste. People want to make their gift have impact and not be spent on anything other than that impact

5 Leave something behind…I left a poppy at each door of those who weren’t at home, the next time they see a tin, they are more likely to give

6. Take a gift aid declaration. two people asked me for this as they wanted to maximise their giving. There must be a better way of making the most of this?

7. If they want to chat….listen, ask and understand….

As we can easily hide behind social media, direct mail and e-mail there’s sometimes no better way to reconnect now and then by stomping the streets and knocking on doors…..maybe all fundraisers should have a go at least once a year….but always, always shut the gate….

Where were you when….

There are some events that bind us all together. The assassination of JFK, the landing on the moon, the death of Diana and the one event that changed this century – 9/11.

The question, “where were you when…” is based on our common experience. A shared point of reference, but an emotional insight about ourselves and about each other. We all remember the moment when we heard of the horror unfolding. The subsequent shock and disbelief. The grief. The anguish. I was, like most others, fixed on a TV screen at our office having heard the news in the car as I drove back with a colleague. When the towers fell, we all left, wanting to be with our families. The impact, the memory, the enormity and the emotion was, as it was for most, deep and lasting. 10 years on and the question ‘where were we when’ is the embrace that holds us all together around those moments.

Sometimes the big event, strung together by the connected world of news and communications, hides the quiet, ordinary events that we forget, discount or ignore. What if, at a time of such collective memory, we stopped and gave permission to touch those small moments we may have lost? Here are 20 where were you when’s to remind you of the ordinary stuff that passes us by that is so easy to forget. Why not start a different where were you when conversation….?

Where were you when….

1. You had your first kiss….2. You saw the best ever sunset..3. You climbed your highest mountain..4. You first saw Star Wars.!!..5. You heard that someone you loved had died…6. You decided to take your first job….7. You made your first regular gift….8. You first saw a fax come through…9. You did your first radio or TV interview…10. You made your biggest mistake…11. You realised that x was the love of your life…12. You knew what you wanted to be in life…13. You had your first drink in a pub… 14. You did the thing you are most proud of..15. You first went to the opera.. 16. You gave the best gift you ever made … 17. You did your worst ever karaoke performance..18. You did your personal best at your favourite sport….19. You last said I love you and really meant it…20. You decided to take the lead and not follow.

Where were you when, doesn’t have to be bad or big…..but it should mean something….