The Blog.
Dates for the diary: Fundraising Conferences in 2024
Planning to attend a fundraising conference this year?
If not, you’re missing out.
They’re excellent opportunities to expand your knowledge, keep your finger on the pulse of industry trends, and build relationships with potential donors, volunteers, and suppliers.
And there are plenty to choose from.
Check out our top picks in the latest Bamboo blog post.
Planning to attend a fundraising conference this year?
If not, you’re missing out.
They’re excellent opportunities to expand your knowledge, keep your finger on the pulse of industry trends, and build relationships with potential donors, volunteers, and suppliers.
And there are plenty to choose from.
Here are our top picks.
Researchers in Fundraising (RiF)
Date: 29 January
Location: London
Cost: From £148.57
RiF is an opportunity for the prospect research community to come together and listen to experienced speakers talk about the most pressing trends, debates, and developments in the sector.
The theme of this year’s event is “Beyond Boundaries - Towards a new paradigm for prospect research."
Speakers: Rhodri Davies (Why Philanthropy), Ben Rymer (UNICEF), Molly Rowan (Terra Firma Capital Partners), Laura Owen (UNICEF), Beca Daniel (Xapien), Claire Miller (Save the Children UK), Suzie Stephens (The Prospect Development Company), Ed Raichura-Brown (Marble Prospects) and Hannah Clarke (UCL).
Fundraising Now
Date: 31 January & 1 February
Location: Online
Cost: From £149
Whether you’re a seasoned professional looking to stay up to date with the latest developments in fundraising, or a newcomer to the field looking to learn the basics, Fundraising Now has got you covered.
The two-day conference, hosted by the Director of Social Change covers everything, from individual giving to faith-based fundraising.
It’ll equip you with the knowledge and skills you need to boost your digital fundraising, and grants income, in 2024.
Why attend?
Gain actionable tactics to improve your fundraising programs
Learn best practices from leading charity professionals
Get ahead of trends with the latest techniques and strategies
Access inspiring and motivating perspectives from influencers
Build your professional network and collaborate with peers
Recharge your passion for fundraising and your charity’s mission
Speakers: George Knight, DSC
Tech Summit
Date: 7 February
Location: Online
Cost: From £25+VAT
Join senior charity leaders at Third Sector's Tech Summit to explore the potential of technology for the sector, including leveraging social media to create a sense of community with your donors and transforming your fundraising.
Why attend?
Understand practical and potential uses of technology in the third sector
Identify your needs and find the ideal digital approach that works best for your organisation
Meet senior leaders from local clubs through to national charities
Discover our community and engage with like-minded organisations from across the UK
Learn from charities at different stages of their technology journey, from pioneers to those at the beginning of their growth
Speakers: Emily Burt, (Third Sector), Athar Abidi (Cancer Research UK), Zoe Amar, (Zoe Amar Digital), Aisha Baker-Smith (UNICEF UK), Kevin Bould, (Teenage Cancer Trust), Russell Findlay (Speakers Trust), Noha Al Afifi (Arthritis Action)
Legacy Fundraising Virtual Conference
Date: 15 February
Location: Online
Cost: £51.57
Fundraising Everywhere is hosting a celebration of everything legacy fundraising, bringing together a mix of global experts from the UK and abroad to help you grow your gifts in wills and in-memory income.
Whether you’re an early-stage legacy fundraiser who wants to learn how to grow your legacy programme, or a seasoned professional who wants to innovate in a rapidly changing world, this one is for you.
Speakers: Juliet Hinton-Smith (Scope) Jake O'Dwyer (Stonewall Equality), Doug Clow, Legacy Foresight, Holly Wagg, (Good Works), Claire Routley (Legacy Voice)
Elevate
Date: 20 March
Location: London
Cost: From £99
Organised by Fundraising Magazine, Elevate ‘brings to life the issues facing fundraisers today.’
The programme focuses on three key areas:
fundraising skills & solutions
fundraising tools & trends
digital and technology
Incorporating a mix of plenary sessions, lively panel debates, and charity case studies, this year’s conference has been carefully designed to ensure you leave with the right strategies, processes, and systems in place to take your fundraising to the next level.
Sessions and speakers:
The subscription solution: Evolving fundraising models to reach new audiences, Kirsty Alexander, Shelterbox
Maximising face-to-face fundraising with a retention-first mindset, Abena Bentum, GOSH
Out with accessibility, in with inclusive design, Robin Christopherson, AbilityNet
A collective vision for change and transformation - lessons learned, Cam St-Omer Donaldson, British Red Cross
Why do digitally mature charities raise more? Trends and tips to harness technology and data in your fundraising, Rebecca Williams, Blackbaud
Employing developments in AI for smarter fundraising, Zoe Amar, Zoe Amar digital, Pierre du Bois, Paul Strickland Scanner Centre
Navigating a CRM migration project, Chloe Butler, RNID
Navigating the future of fundraising: technology, trends, and timeless principles, Will De Ath, Everfund
Shock, hope, and fear – being bold with emotive campaigns to grab headlines, Stephen Cotterill, Fundraising magazine, Noha Al Afifi, Arthritis Action, Tracey Pritchard, RSPCA
On the hunt for a fundraiser? We can help. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 or email us at info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get started.
Peer-to-peer fundraising hit an all-time high on JustGiving in 2023
According to JustGiving, 2023 was a record-breaking year for fundraising.
Despite the challenges posed by the cost-of-living crisis, £550 million was raised through the platform, the highest amount since it launched in 2020.
In our first blog post of 2024, we share some fundraising takeaways from 2023 and look at some of the inspirational fundraisers that contributed to that record-breaking total.
Happy New Year folks!
We hope you enjoyed some downtime over the Christmas break and have returned to work feeling refreshed, recharged, and positive about the year ahead.
If not, this blog post should change your mindset.
Here’s some good news to kick off 2024.
Fundraising is on the up
According to JustGiving, 2023 was a record-breaking year for fundraising.
Despite the challenges posed by the cost-of-living crisis, a whopping £550 million was raised through the platform, benefitting 20,000 good causes across the UK.
The highest amount raised since JustGiving launched in 2020, the numbers tell us two things:
1. People are still giving.
2. Peer-to-peer (p2p) fundraising is on the rise.
With this in mind, here are a few key takeaways from 2023 to inform your fundraising strategy for the year ahead.
According to JustGiving:
950,000 JustGiving fundraising pages were set up, an average of 2,600 pages per day (9% more than 2022).
There were two million more donations to charities in 2023 compared to 2022, with 3.5 million people donating to a good cause more than once.
The most popular fundraising activities were running, walking, cycling, and swimming. Over 65 million miles were recorded on fundraisers’ Fitbits and Strava apps (the equivalent of 2600 laps around Earth, or 169 trips to the moon!).
Skipping challenges saw a 286% increase in popularity from 2022, raising almost £230,000.
London Marathon fundraisers raised over £39 million, including £2m+ on race day alone.
£1.5 million was raised through live streaming, via Twitch, YouTube, and TikTok.
Thousands of brave fundraisers jumped out of planes for good causes, collectively raising £5.5 million (a 40% increase on 2022).
Norwich proved to be the most charitable city in 2023, (22% of residents donating to good causes), followed by Bristol, Reading, and Cambridge.
Schools across the UK raised an incredible £605,000.
Fundraising in action
Those are the stats. Now let’s look at some of the inspirational fundraisers that contributed to that incredible total.
Prepare to have your cockles warmed.
Seren Price
At just five years old, Seren Price became the youngest person ever to complete the Three Peaks Challenge.
Together with her father, Glynn, Seren battled snow, poor visibility, and -18C temperatures, to conquer the summits of Yr Wyddfa, (formally known as Snowdon) in North Wales, Ben Nevis in Scotland, and Scafell Pike in northern England in little under two days.
The duo had intended to complete the challenge in 24 hours but stopped to help a fellow climber on Ben Nevis who had become fatigued and needed help back down the mountain.
The selfless young climber raised over £7,000 for Birmingham Children’s Hospital.
Joshua Patterson
For most people, one marathon is a struggle. But not for Josh Patterson.
Last year, the TV personality and mental health campaigner ran 76 marathons in 76 days in each of the UK’s 76 cities, to raise awareness and money for mental health charity, Samaritans.
He started his epic challenge in February, in Inverness, and crossed the finish line in London’s Pall Mall on May 13, to the cheers of hundreds of supporters.
He travelled across the UK in a camper van and battled all weather conditions to complete the challenge.
By the end of the 11 weeks, he’d covered a whopping 1992 miles, bagged himself a Guinness World Record for ‘the most cities to run a marathon distance in, on consecutive days’, and raised more than £320,000 for Samaritans.
Gabriel Clark
13-year-old Gabriel is a bit of a whizz when it comes to woodwork.
The teen first went viral in 2022 after launching a unique fundraiser to help children affected by the war in Ukraine.
Gabriel spent hours crafting a wooden bowl, which he dubbed 'Bowl for Ukraine'. He finished the bowl off by etching a blue-and-yellow ring round it in the colours of the country's flag.
His father, Richard launched a raffle on social media, which attracted thousands of entries and a phenomenal £250,000 for Save the Children.
Spurred on by the success of Bowl for Ukraine, the 13-year-old, who taught himself woodwork and has been honing his craft since the age of four, created 'The Hope Bowl' in 2023, to support children further afield.
The bowl, which took him ten hours to turn, comprised of three types of wood – ash, sapele, and zebrano – representing three of the main areas of Save the Children’s work around the world – education, food, and medicine.
Gabriel’s efforts raised more than £24,000 for the charity’s Emergency Fund to support children in crisis globally, taking his fundraising total to nearly £275,000.
Final Word
Looking to add a community fundraiser to your team in 2024? We can help. Give us a call on 0203 750 3111 or email info@bamboofundraising.co.uk to get started.
Six ways a recruitment agency can supercharge your job hunt
Having a top-notch recruiter in your corner is like having your own personal advocate, someone who can help you find the right role, help you prepare for the interview and negotiate the salary. The best bit? It won’t cost you a penny.
With this in mind, here are six benefits of using a fundraising recruitment agency.
Looking for a new fundraising job? Your timing couldn’t be better. Today’s candidate-driven market means you’re in a strong position to find one.
But is the do-it-yourself approach the most effective way to find one? Not necessarily.
If you’re spending hours trawling job boards, filling out endless application forms, and not getting any responses, it might be time to try a different approach.
This is where professional recruiters come in.
Having a top-notch recruiter in your corner is like having your own personal advocate, someone who can help you find the right role, help you prepare for interview and negotiate the salary.
The best bit? It won’t cost you a penny.
With this in mind, here are six benefits of using a fundraising recruitment agency.
1. They do the heavy lifting
You know that endless trawling we mentioned earlier? You won’t need to do that if you partner with an agency, as they’ll do it for you.
They’ll sift through the jobs and present you with roles that fit your skillset, qualifications, and interests.
All you have to do is decide which ones you want to apply for.
2. Access to more jobs
Some fundraising jobs aren’t advertised on job boards. Some charities only post roles on their website. Others work exclusively with recruitment agencies to find high-quality candidates.
If you partner with one, it’ll open the door to lots more opportunities.
3. Coaching
The best recruiters don’t just find people jobs. They coach them through the process.
They know what employers are looking for and what an ideal candidate looks like.
They’ll use this insider knowledge to help you improve your CV, hone your application, and interview like a pro.
4. Influence
Recruitment agencies put a lot of time and effort into developing strong relationships with their clients.
As a result, they have a lot of influence when it comes to recommending candidates.
A good recruiter will advocate for you. They’ll highlight your talents and skills to the employer and vouch for your soft skills. This is important as soft skills are difficult to gauge from a CV and cover letter, but they’re crucial to employers.
In fact, research by PeopleScout found that 92% of employers value soft skills equally, or more than hard skills.
Another benefit of having a recruiter in your corner? If you don’t interview well but they know you’re a great fit, they may be able to sway the hiring manager’s decision.
5. Feedback
Lack of feedback is a major bugbear for jobseekers.
According to a study by StandOut CV, 63% of candidates are unhappy with the lack of communication they receive from employers after applying for a job.
This won’t be a problem if you go down the recruitment agency route.
You’ll receive feedback at each stage of the process. And, if you don’t get the job, the agency will tell you why and give you some handy pointers to help you bag the next one.
6. Negotiation
Job seekers are often their own worst enemies when it comes to negotiating salary.
Some are so excited to receive a job offer; they snap up whatever salary is on offer without question. Others lowball themselves and accept a salary they’re not happy with out of fear of asking for too much and not getting the job.
This is where working with a recruiter pays dividends.
Their access to the latest market trends and salary data means you’ll have an ally with sector-specific insight and acumen to negotiate a compensation package you and your new employer will be happy with.
Final Word
When it comes to finding a job — that is, finding the right job — two heads are better than one. And when it comes to fundraising, you won’t find a better ‘second head’ than Bamboo.
But don’t take our word for it. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 to find out how we can help.
Five ways supporters can donate cash without spending a penny
Times are tough for donors and charities. But there are loads of ways people can support you without spending a penny …
Intrigued? Read our latest blog post to find out more.
We’re living in challenging times. As a result of the sharp increase in the cost of food, fuel, and other essentials, driven by soaring energy costs and the highest inflation in 40 years, everyone is feeling the pinch.
For charities, running costs and demand for services are increasing, but income is falling as people have less to give.
Research by StepChange suggests that 60% of donors have cut back on charitable giving in the last 6 months as families struggle with the impact of the cost-of-living crisis.
That’s the bad news.
The good news? Donors can continue to support you without spending a penny.
Here are five initiatives to promote in your next newsletter.
Nectar Donate
In 2020, Crowdfunder and Nectar teamed up to launch Nectar Donate, an initiative that enables people to donate their Nectar points to a charity of their choice.
The setup is quick and easy. All donors need to do is set up a Crowdfunder account, link their Nectar account to it, and decide how many points to donate.
Points can be donated in increments of 200, with a maximum of 1 million per donation.
To give you an idea, 500 points are worth £2.50.
Nectar card points can be collected at hundreds of outlets including Sainsbury's, Argos, eBay, VUE, Asos, Sky, and British Airways. So this is an easy way for donors to accumulate points, and give for free. Oh, and 100% of every donation goes to charity.
Sign your charity up to benefit here.
Giveacar
Giveacar is a not-for-profit social enterprise that turns people’s vehicles into cash for charity.
The organisation collects unwanted cars, vans, and motorbikes for free. They then either sell them at auction or scrap them, and donate the proceeds (minus a service fee) to the donor’s chosen charity.
Giveacar’s salvage partners deconstruct older polluting vehicles and sell the parts separately, maximising their value for charity.
The British Heart Foundation has received £72,000 through the scheme, so it’s well worth ‘driving’ support from your donors.
Sign your charity up to benefit here.
Charitable Travel
Charitable Travel is a not-for-profit social enterprise travel agency that enables customers to donate a portion of the cost of their holiday to a charity of their choice.
To qualify, customers must donate 5% of the cost of their holiday to a charity of their choice (the charity must be registered on JustGiving and the donation made through the platform). Once the donation has been made, Charitable Travel will discount the cost of their holiday by 5%, effectively making the donation free.
The organisation offers everything from beach getaways to safaris, both in the UK and abroad.
Sign your charity up to benefit here.
eBay for Charity
eBay for Charity is a free and easy way for ebayers to support causes they care about.
All they have to do is tick the “donate a portion to charity” box when listing an item and choose a cause to support (they can donate between 10-100%)
Once the item has sold, eBay collects donations via PayPal Giving Fund, claims Gift Aid (if eligible), and passes 100% of the money on to the charity. They then allocate a fee credit equal to the percentage they donate to the seller’s eBay account.
Charity listings are distinguished by the blue and yellow eBay for Charity ribbon.
There are 22 million active eBayers in the UK, selling everything from electronics to cars, so this is a no-brainer.
Sign your charity up to benefit here.
Movement for Good Awards
The Benefact Group is an international family of specialist financial services companies that donate over £1million to good causes each year.
The Movement for Good Awards is their annual programme of giving.
It functions like a lottery: members of the public nominate charities to receive £1,000 award via an online form and the charities are entered into a draw.
Winners are drawn at random at various points during the year.
The organisation also picks ten charities to receive £5,000 in each draw.
Details of these are announced on their social media channels.
Bonus Tip: This year, the Group will be awarding grants of £10,000 and more. To be considered for a larger grant, register your interest here.
Need a fundraiser to manage these fundraising initiatives? We’ve got plenty waiting in the wings. Give us a call on 0203 750 3111 to get the conversation started.
How to unlock the hidden job market
Jobseekers, we’re going to let you into a secret: The job market is not what it seems. Sure, plenty of fundraising jobs get posted on job boards and charity websites, but there’s a ‘hidden’ job market that’s rife with opportunities.
In this post, we’re going to explore what the hidden market is and tell you how you can tap into it.
Jobseekers, we’re going to let you into a secret: The job market is not what it seems.
Sure, plenty of fundraising jobs get posted on job boards and charity websites, but there’s a ‘hidden’ job market that’s rife with opportunities.
In this post, we’re going to explore what the hidden market is and tell you how you can tap into it.
What is the hidden job market?
As elusive as it sounds, the hidden job market isn’t an exclusive club you can only access if you have the right credentials. It’s a term used to describe vacancies that employers don't advertise publicly.
Believe it or not, According to My Job Search, 70% of jobs don’t make it online.
Instead, these roles are filled by internal candidates, via referrals, or recruitment agencies.
Why ‘hide’ jobs?
‘Hiding’ jobs is counterintuitive, isn’t it? Surely charities want their jobs to be seen by as many people as possible?
Not necessarily.
Charities choose not to advertise their roles for various reasons. Some aren’t equipped to process the volume of applications generated by their ads; some don’t have the budget for glossy recruitment campaigns. And others may be looking to backfill positions of employees who are yet to leave.
Whatever the reason, there are loads of great fundraising jobs out there that you won’t find by trawling the job boards. If you don’t tap into the hidden market, you could miss out on your ideal role.
How can you crack the hidden job market?
Be proactive. Rather than sitting back and waiting for jobs to fall into your lap, get out there and find them.
Here are three ways to do it.
1. Send speculative applications
Got a hit list of charities you want to work for, but can’t see any job openings? Fire off some speculative applications.
A speculative application is essentially an unsolicited job application. It’s a way to introduce yourself to potential employees, sell your skills, and convince them they need you before a job comes up.
Considering many charities recruit on an ongoing basis, this is a savvy way to get a head start on the competition.
If you nail it, you might get snapped up. If not, you’ll be on their radar when a position matching your skillset crops up.
Want to give it a go? Find out how in this article.
2. Network
According to writersblocklive, 85% of people get a job through some form of networking. If you want to be one of them it’s time to get schmoozing.
Here’s how.
Reach out to your LinkedIn contacts. Let them know you’re on the market for a job. Explain what you’re looking for and ask them to introduce you to anyone who may be able to help.
Industry events
Charity sector conferences, seminars, and trade shows can be invaluable resources for finding new opportunities. You never know who you might run into or what connections they may have.
If you go down this route though, remember that networking is a two-way street. Before shooting off any emails, think about what you can offer others in return.
3. Partner with a recruitment agency
Some charities work exclusively with recruitment agencies, like Bamboo, to find high-quality candidates. If you partner with one, it’ll open the door to lots of opportunities.
Having a top-notch recruiter in your corner is like having your own personal advocate. Someone who’ll help you find the right role, vouch for you, help you prepare for interviews, and negotiate the salary.
The best bit? It won’t cost you a penny. What have you got to lose?
At Bamboo, we specialise in placing talented fundraisers in rewarding, world-changing roles. Give us a call on 0203 750 3111 to talk tactics.