In a previous blog I introduced some exciting new ideas on how to grow philanthropy in the United Kingdom, from the Beacon Collaborative.

In this blog I outline some of my own for how giving might be doubled.

The Beacon Collaborative believe they have some of the answers, with the draft of their National Strategy for Philanthropy. Which is a robust attempt to draw together new thinking from across the sector with the goal of developing a renewed culture of charitable giving across the UK. They have set an ambitious goal for the doubling of philanthropy up from 1% to 2% of GDP over the coming 10 years.

Companionate love is the love that we experience for family, friends or those who are otherwise close to us. It has deep links to wellbeing, and donors also experience a sense of temperature with it, specifically a feeling of warmth. There are many uses for companionate love in fundraising and it is important, but how do we use Companionate Love in fundraising?

We can probably all agree that some additional love is due. After all, without their kindness and generosity we’d have no way to pursue our missions and drive societal change.

Every other person seems to be asking me whether I thought AI was going to replace me as a fundraising copywriter. But although AI might be able to do the mechanics of my work, I seriously questioned whether it could build authentic relationships. I added AI to the list of things to ask Prof. Jen Shang about.  

Philanthropic psychology starts with the heart. It starts from assuming your donors are caring and loving people. Stronger relationships and connections lead to better wellbeing for your donors – and their gifts flow from that.  This ‘heart-first’ approach is a perspective shift.

Advocates of donor-centred fundraising and the community-centric fundraising movement have butted heads over the last few years. But what if we could invite donors to be part of something where the essence of who they are allows them to forge deeper connections than “donor as hero”?

Donor-centred fundraising was becoming a dirty concept. Pressure to move the fundraising story away from the donor was mounting. This made it very hard for fundraising copywriting practitioners like me. I even wondered whether I should bow out of fundraising copywriting altogether. But then I learned more about Philanthropic Psychology.

In the heart of historic Prague, the European Fundraising Association's (EFA) Skillshare 2023 unfolded, promising knowledge, innovation, and inspiration under the theme "ELEVATE & INNOVATE: EMPOWERING FUNDRAISING IN EUROPE." This event highlighted the vital role of Artificial Intelligence (AI) in the nonprofit sector and its future prospects. As a participant, I can affirm that it was an exceptional experience!

“Negatives raise more money than positives”, right? Maybe. But is it even the right debate to be having? We believe not. The discussion should be around how we can fundraise in a way which is meaningful to the donor and delivers them the opportunity to enhance their wellbeing. In this blog, Prof. Jen Shang explains more, with an example from USA for UNHCR.

Threats or danger posed by our environment are nothing new and have continuously challenged humans for centuries. Now we have new insight shedding light on how threats affect people’s intention to donate. What better time to understand the impact of threats on donation intention than right after a global pandemic? It turns out that this knowledge can seriously impact your fundraising!

For almost thirty years I’ve been championing the importing from the commercial world of satisfaction, commitment, and trust as relationship measures that can help nonprofits manage loyalty. But it’s long past time to stop our reliance on our for-profit colleagues and begin to create new models and perspectives for ourselves.

At IFSP we are just beginning to see the results from our new two-year study of donor loyalty and retention focused on the factors that drive actual future behaviour.

Vu Le’s provocative article on donor-centrism has caused heated debate within the sector. But what are the issues with this critique, how do differing definitions cause tension and how does donor wellbeing fit into the argument? Prof. Adrian Sargeant shares his thoughts on Vu’s arguments.

When deciding how to communicate about legacies, fundraisers should be conscious that supporters thinking about bequest giving are thinking in terms of a much longer timescale than those who are thinking about making a gift in the present. In 2008 we found that the language of lifetime and legacy giving was different. We share these key findings here, together with our more recent thinking on how to add genuinely more value for the donor and enhance the wellbeing that can accrue from the legacy decision making process.

Matched giving appeals seem to have become the norm in the USA, and there is evidence that they do work. But what match offer works best and would other approaches lead to better ROI? And are there better ways to care for our donors? This blog from Professors Adrian Sargeant and Jen Shang explores matched giving and examples using the new science of Philanthropic Psychology.

The knives are out for philanthropists. Editorial coverage of their motives, gifts, and impact is increasingly negative, particularly in the UK, but in the USA and elsewhere too. Does it matter? Many worry that it does. Is Philanthropist the identity we should use to define others when they give and how are we fuelling differences in terms of superiority/inferiority by using terms like major donor. This blog by Prof. Adrian Sargeant explores a post-modernist look at philanthropy.

I don’t see donor centricity as the dominant paradigm in fundraising. For that to be true, the majority of organizations in our sector would need to be able to identify donors needs and follow through on their satisfaction, and they do not. The metrics we use to assess our practice are almost exclusively financial and we care little for our supporters and how we make them feel. True donor centricity would require organizations to look to the wellbeing and growth of their supporters. And as a sector, we’re not there yet.

What does love have to do with fundraising? What happens when you combine identity, wellbeing and love? What is philanthropic psychology? To find the answers to all your questions, read on.

It has been five and a half years since the tragic death of Olive Cooke. Most fundraisers will remember the media furore that erupted in the months immediately following her death, when it was revealed she had been receiving close on 3000 mailings from charities in the course of a typical year. A report, and new regulator followed, promising the sector would do better. Yet how far have we really come?