Grab your ticket for ‘I Wish I’d Thought of That’

Struggling to come up with fundraising campaign ideas for 2024? SOFII, the charity created by fundraisers for fundraisers, has got you covered.

Their annual fundraising conference, I Wish I’d Thought of That (IWITOT) is taking place on Thursday 9 November.

But this isn’t your bog-standard conference.

The fun, fast-paced event is a showcase of fundraising innovation and inspiration, with a twist.

The format

A series of guest speakers will take to the floor to talk about fundraising campaigns or concepts that have inspired them (and they wish they’d thought of themselves).  

The campaigns can come from anywhere in the world, and from any fundraising discipline, but speakers have just seven minutes to present their ideas.

There’s just one rule: The speakers can’t share anything from their own organisations.

Why? Because IWITOT is all about championing other people’s great ideas.

To quote SOFFII, ‘all egos are left at the door’.

Wondering how it plays out? Check out Jen Ruthe’s presentation from the 2020 conference, which took place online, due to COVID restrictions.

In her video presentation, the third-sector copywriter explains why she wishes she’d come up with the concept of charity shops.

She kicks off with a brief history of charity shops and how they came about. She then celebrates the vital contribution they make to UK giving highlighting the amazing work done by the British Heart Foundation (BHF) shops.

It’s an inspiring watch.

The 2023 line-up

There’ll be more of the same this year.

The 2023 line-up comprises of fundraising veterans and newbies, including:

Jeff Boachie, Head of Digital at Guy’s and St Thomas‘ Foundation

Lynda Harwood-Compton, Director at Latch Fundraising

Damian Chapman, Director of Fundraising and Communications at Charity for Civil Servants

Muna Hussen, UK Country Lead (Growth) at Raisely

Rebecca Broad, Partnership Development Manager at Teenage Cancer Trust

Michelle Benson, Founder at Culture of Philanthropy

Nina Oakes, Interim Director of Innovation at UNICEF UK

The speakers are carefully chosen by SOFFII and mentored by veteran fundraisers.

Where, when, and how?

The hybrid conference is taking place at Holborn Studios (North London), and online, from 2pm to 5pm.

The live stream will be hosted via Fundraising Everywhere+ and there’ll be a chat function available to enable virtual attendees to connect with the hosts, speakers, and fellow attendees.

After the main event, there’ll be a short drinks reception for in-person attendees, from 5pm to 6pm.

Can’t make it in-person or online on the day? You don’t have to miss out on the fun. A recording will be available for a month after the event, so grab your ticket and SOFFII will send you a link.

Sound good? You can buy tickets here. But if you want to attend in-person, be quick, as places are limited.

In the meantime, if you’re looking for a fundraiser to implement your next campaign, we’ve got talent on tap. Call us on 0203 750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get started.

Register for the Big Give Christmas Challenge and double your donations this winter!

Want to add some much-needed coffers to the fundraising pot this Christmas? Sign your charity up for ‘The Big Give Christmas Challenge’.

What is the Christmas Challenge?

For the unfamiliar, The Christmas Challenge is the UK’s biggest, annual match-funded campaign. Run by The Big Give (a match-funding platform), it offers supporters of participating charities the opportunity to double their donations over a seven-day period.

How does it work?

During challenge week (this year it’s taking place from November 28 – December 5), every donation made by a member of the public to a Big Give charity partner is matched by a Big Give ‘Champion’ (high-net-worth individuals, foundations, corporates, philanthropists, statutory bodies, corporates, etc.) This year’s Champions include The Reed Foundation, The Childhood Trust, Candis, Coles Medlock Foundation, and the Julia & Hans Rausing Trust.

Essentially, a £50 donation from a supporter becomes £100 for you (minus a small processing fee).

Sounds good, right? All you have to do is sign up to take part and promote the Challenge to your supporters. (Big Give has a suite of resources to help with this).

Campaign Impact

Last year, 79,000 members of the public donated to the campaign, raising £28.6m for 1,021 charities. £82.3m of this went to small charities (with an income of £1m or less).

The Big Give released some figures on the campaign’s impact in their recent ‘Celebrating 15 years of impact’ report:

• 76% of participating charities say the Christmas Challenge’s match-funding results in more donations being made compared to a non-match-funded campaign

• 65% of charities say the Christmas Challenge’s match-funding results in bigger donations being made compared to a non-match-funded campaign.

• 56% of charities say their existing supporters give more through the Big Give Christmas Challenge than they would normally donate.

• 94% of the charities received online donations from new donors who had not previously given to their charity.

• 74% of the charities believe that the Christmas Challenge has helped to raise their profile.

Key things to note

If you want to sign up and double your Christmas donations, be sure to do so before July 7.

Eligibility criteria

Charities of all sizes are invited to apply. To be eligible, you:

• must be a UK-registered charity with a Charity Commission number or tax-exempt status and an annual income of at least £25,000.

• need to register your charity on BigGive.org

The Application process

When applying, you’ll need to outline a specific project you’re looking to raise funds for and set a monetary target. Funds received during the campaign will be restricted to that project until you hit your target. If you receive donations after hitting it, they’ll be unrestricted Champion pledges make up part of the match funding pot. You’ll need to secure a minimum of £1k to be eligible for Champion funding.

Further information on eligibility and the application process can be found here.

Need a fundraiser to manage your funding applications? We can help. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 to get started!

New Charity Interns project offers internships for over-50’s

The number of people who are economically inactive has risen steeply since the beginning of the pandemic – largely driven by droves of over 50s quitting the workforce.

A new report from the Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy select committee blames the exodus on “ageist” organisations that have outdated policies and recruitment processes.

This rings true for Maya Bhose, Founder of Charity Interns – a project that will explore new routes into third sector employment for the over 50’s.

In an article in the ‘i paper’, Maya said, “at the age of 61, I am struggling to get a job. I have great skills, and I’ve held very senior roles in the commercial sector but still, somehow, I am struggling. In the past year, I have applied for over 40 jobs, and I have received just one interview. My CV hasn’t changed. My experience hasn’t changed. I am simply 61”.

Rather than accept the status quo, Maya turned her frustration into a solution. She continued, “the main motivation behind Charity Interns is to stop the waste of talent that is happening across all sectors and do something practical to make older people visible to employers, help them extend their careers, and allow charities to benefit from their skills, knowledge and unique perspectives.”

The project, which is being incubated by the NCVO, aims to help address the sector’s ongoing recruitment and skills shortage by tapping into the 50+ market - an often overlookedand under-utilised talent pool, while countering negative stereotypes around older workers.

The initial pilot programme will run for six months, from October 2023, and will see up to six candidates aged 50 and over, placed on a six-month paid internship with a charity.

The project will formally launch on 29 June 2023 with a live-streamed event. Internship applications for the pilot programme will also open on this date.

Opinion

Internships are generally seen as pathways for younger people to enter work or retrain. However, older workers also need supported routes into the sector. And there’s an abundance of over 50’s with relevant transferable skills and knowledge Looking for meaningful employment.

Charity Interns is a win-win.  It will enable over-50’s to gain valuable third-sector experience (without the worry of age being a barrier), and charities will fill vacancies and benefit from the sharing of ideas across co-generational teams.

Get involved!

The Alzheimer’s Society has been announced as the first of four internship partners. But Charity Interns is looking for three further organisations to take part.

To express your interest in hiring a skilled intern, or to find out more about the project,  visit the Charity Interns website or email maya@charityinterns.com.

Looking for a skilled fundraiser to complement your team? We can help. We’ve got talented candidates of every age looking for their next third-sector challenge. Contact us on 020 3750 3111 or info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get started.

New platform launched for grantseeker feedback

In 2022, the Charity Commission published a report titled Making it Count: Overcoming the barriers to better grant-making.

The report acknowledges the value of grant-giving foundations but says the way some funders disperse grants creates problems for charities and is holding the sector back from achieving its full potential.

The Commission suggests there are three key issues:

Short-termism: i.e. the length of time for which grants are offered, leads to uncertainty and inefficiency among grant-seekers, alongside a tendency to prioritise narrowly conceived projects in the present over investment in an organisation’s ability to develop and deliver its mission in the longer term.

Sub-optimal processes: these include expensive and cumbersome application and monitoring processes that directly reduce the value of funds, but also more strategic factors such as determining where and how to direct funds, meaning that funding does not always go to where it can have the most impact.

Reproduction of wider social inequalities: meaning that some groups disproportionately suffer the consequences of problems in the system, resulting in funding not always getting to those that most need it.

GrantAdvisor UK

In an attempt to improve the grant-making process, CAST, in partnership with the Minnesota Council of Nonprofits has rolled out GrantAdvisor UK - a platform that enables grant seekers to share their positive and negative experiences of working with funders.

How does it work?

Charities are invited to leave a review on the platform. It’s free to do and reviews can be left for any UK funder (even if it’s not yet listed), for any period over the past ten years. The review process takes around five minutes to complete, although reviewers can leave more comprehensive feedback if they wish. 

Funders are alerted when a new review is posted and are encouraged to respond. 

Oh, and in case you’re concerned about damaging relationships with your funders, reviews are published anonymously.

The aim of Grant Advisor UK

The free service aims to help funders review and improve their practices, and act as a resource for fundraisers to gain peer-to-peer insights to help with funding applications.

Emily Dyson, Deputy Director of The Institute for Voluntary Action Research (IVAR) commented:

“One of the biggest challenges funders face is hearing authentic feedback from applicants and grantees. The GrantAdvisor UK platform provides an exciting opportunity for funders to hear regular, honest feedback – where the possibility of receiving funding is not a factor. We look forward to seeing how this opens up conversations about grantseekers’ experiences and needs as they evolve over time, providing important information to grant makers about their practice. We will be sharing the platform with our Open and Trusting funder community and look forward to working with GrantAdvisor UK – and CAST – to make life easier for grantseekers.”

Call to action

CAST is calling on charities to provide feedback and funders to add their organisations to the site, to help refine their systems in line with applicants’ needs.

Final Word

Looking for an experienced Trust Fundraiser to boost your grant income? We’re well connected. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 to start the search.

The Small Charities Advisory Panel

There’s some good news for small charities.

In Spring 2022, the Small Charities Coalition (SCC) was forced to close due to shortfall in funding. The organisation championed small charities by providing low-cost training and events, information, and mentoring to ensure they had access to the skills and resources they need to thrive.

In a further blow, the Foundation for Social Improvement (a membership body that provides free advice and heavily subsidised training in strategy, governance, fundraising and impact to small charities) announced that they will also be winding up this Spring, due to a lack of funding.

The good news

To address the gap in provision, the Foundation for Social Improvement (FSI) teamed up with the National Council for Voluntary Organisations (NCVO) to create the Small Charities Advisory Panel as part of a deal to take over its services, and those of the defunct SCC.

Launched last month, the panel will champion the voices and experiences of small charities and ensure that they can continue to access tailored help, support, and advocacy.

About the panel

There are 14 members on the panel, including representatives from six small charities, two funders and six infrastructure organisations.

It’s being jointly chaired by Ray Coyle, director of volunteering charity Oxford Hub, and Vicki Beevers, chief executive of The Sleep Charity.

Other members include Becky Gilbert, co-founder of Baby Bank Network, Matt Plen, former chief executive of Masorti Judaism, and Amina Ali, a consultant at the charity think tank NPC. 

The chair of the FSI, Noorzaman Rashid, will also sit on the committee.

The role of the panel

The panel will help the NCVO and their partners anticipate and meet the needs of smaller voluntary sector organisations. They will also work with organisations across the sector to ensure that wider support offer is comprehensive, responsive, and coherent.

Among other responsibilities, the panel will:

• ·Share and explore insights and emerging trends, identifying gaps in support for small charities and finding ways to fill them.

• Share expertise to improve the practical support offering from the NCVO.

• Actively engage and represent the panel in appropriate forums and discussions, including being the ‘voice’ of small charities with a seat at the table in policy making forums.

Bring lived experience of small charities and best practice of small charity infrastructure support to guide the strategic direction of support for small charities.

Holding the NCVO accountable to ensure the voice of small charities is heard at all levels.

You can find out more about the panel and its members on the NCVO’s website.

Final Word

Infrastructure is a vital part of the voluntary sector ecosystem, providing support, connection and voice to government, so charities can focus on delivering their mission. And yet, over 1,000 infrastructure charities have closed in the last decade.

The launch of the Small Charities Advisory Panel and the commitment by the NCVO to secure and build on the legacy of the SCC and FIS will ensure that small charities are given a voice and are equipped to continue to provide their vital services to communities throughout the UK.

Looking for a savvy fundraiser? Whether your charity is large or small, we can help. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to find out how.