Fundraising Bright Spots

What do Great Fundraising Organisations do, that is different to the rest? Relatively few charities and non-profits achieve impressive, sustained growth over several years. But a few do. And as a result, they are able to make a much bigger difference for the communities they serve.For more than ten years, Alan Clayton has carried out detailed research into what makes the difference

Growing existing partnerships and winning new ones – these are the two main ways to increase corporate fundraising income for a charity. But they are easier said than done. Since joining her charity in a newly created role focused on corporate partnerships, Charlie (Charlotte) Richardson has grown partnerships income in both ways. In this interview she shares the techniques she l

Thinking (more) is a powerful way to grow results. Of course, in our busy and ever more distracted world, it’s not always easy to find time to think. That said, we’ve noticed that fundraisers who are very effective and also resilient, usually find a way to deliberately build thinking time into their week.If this idea appeals, but you often struggle to do it in practice, this ep

Looking for ideas or fundraising inspiration? Look no further than this special highlights episode.Rob is again joined by Bright Spot colleague and fellow fundraising trainer Ben Swart to talk about four episodes that proved especially popular and inspired us in 2024. Our discussion of fundraising strategies, tips and examples includes: how to take advantage of the opportunities an

If you’d like practical lessons and some inspiring examples from our fundraising podcast in 2024, or you’d like tips on what to listen to next, we recorded this special episode for you!Rob is joined by Bright Spot colleague and fellow fundraising trainer Ben Swart for this round up of our podcasting year. They pull out highlights from some episodes they’ve found most inspirin

How do we defend philanthropy? There have always been criticisms of charity in general and philanthropy in particular. But in recent years it seems that this has become more widespread, and that this issue may be having a detrimental effect on donations at all levels. If we work for a charity, understanding the issues is valuable for our own confidence and for the sector as a whole

Building a transformational strategic partnership is not easy. But this example shows it can be done. And the reward in furthering your mission is so great, for many charities it is absolutely worth aiming high and developing even stronger relationships with the very few partners who can make the biggest difference.In March 2024 Bowel Cancer UK launched a three-year partnership wit

Pitching or presenting to a group is a valuable skill in fundraising. Many people see the purpose of a presentation as sharing information. But we’ve found you get better results if you instead see it as a chance to persuade people to actually do something (or something different.)After your presentation, would you like your colleagues to actively support your fundraising project

Pitching or presenting to a group is not easy! It can feel stressful. In fact, many fundraisers dislike presenting so much they try to avoid it all together.And yet, after helping thousands of people to improve various skills that are useful in fundraising, Rob and Ben have found that everybody is able to become more skilful in this area. It is entirely learnable.And it’s certain

How do you attract and support content creators to help your charity? There are many thousands of people who create their own content and have a thousand followers or more. Many of them also care about good causes and would enjoy raising funds for charities that support those causes.This time Rob talks to Tom Downie of Tiltify. They discuss the content creator economy and the oppor