Dan Lawes’ Post

As you scroll through LinkedIn, you will often come across posts about marketing strategies and customer-centric approaches. Yesterday I was hearing about an organisation(s) operating in a particular sector. Their customer interaction is unparalleled and is truly an opportunity for learning. They gather ongoing feedback (every time they came into contact with their customer), conduct focus groups and engage in regular consultations with their target audience. The insights gained from the audience drives innovation and helps design and improve services for real needs (not needs that are created through advertising). Listening to their audience on every step of their journey with this organisation across different channels, helps them not just understand why they use their services but also explores the obstacles that they face, which in turn helps solutions to be designed. If they couldn't help at one point of the journey they would be signposting to another organisation(s) through collaboration, not competition, that could pick up the customer - ensuring they were always coming first - and keeping their journey going. An example of user-led, service delivery that truly meets the needs of the target audience. While some corporates might view this approach as cutting-edge, this is just business as usual in the charity sector and Challenge Wales. This is what everyday looks like. And, the example above is directly taken from the local charity sector and a discussion the youth work sector were having. Just imagine if charities, particularly those small ones, didn't have to worry [as much] about [core] funding, plate-spinning, significant time on writing lots of extensive funding bids which sometimes aren't always taking into account the needs of beneficiaries or the charity, what the true impact could be as our service-users / customers / beneficiaries / the amazing people we work with have the opportunity to become the workforce, entrepreneurs and global citizens of tomorrow? #FoodForThought #Charity #Funding #YouthWork #OutdoorEducation

📣 Unlocking the Power of Emotions in Fundraising Recently I’ve been working with Fireside Fundraising on a few projects with a storytelling focus. Through interviews and workshops I’ve spoken with lots of charity staff - not just fundraisers - and supporters, working particularly on how to use emotion in fundraising asks. It took me longer than it should have to realise that, often, people default to assuming that by “emotion” we mean “make people feel sad”. I think the world has largely moved on from the pity model of charity asks but maybe there is still an assumption that, if we’re evoking feelings to fundraise, it’s probably about, as one person said to me, “tugging on the heartstrings”. Of course, we do usually want to demonstrate need. Typically there needs to be a problem that can be solved, or at least improved, if people give money. But the range of emotions we can harness in good storytelling is much broader than many people might initially assume. From stirring empathy to igniting hope, there’s a whole spectrum of emotions we can harness. And lots of them are positive ones! 1️⃣ Empathy: We can invite donors to step into the shoes of people their support will help. This is probably closest to what people are imagining when we talk about using emotion in fundraising but it’s often much more nuanced than just “here’s a sad story”. 2️⃣ Anger: We might share a story that will evoke a strong sense of injustice and outrage, and make people want to take action. 3️⃣ Hope: By sharing a vision of positive outcomes we can inspire people to want to take action because they believe in a brighter future. 4️⃣ Empowerment: We can empower people by highlighting the tangible impact of their support. This helps to instill a sense of agency, making them feel like active participants in creating change. 5️⃣ Inspiration: Sharing stories of resilience or triumph can inspire people to believe in the power of collective action, motivating them to contribute towards achieving ambitious goals. 6️⃣ Joy: Sharing key milestones and successes brings joy, reinforcing the positive outcomes that have been made possible and the promise of more to come. When we can harness these kinds of emotions in our fundraising asks, we can spark meaningful engagement - and drive impactful results. Have you seen any great examples of emotion in fundraising? Perhaps surprising ones? Please share in the comments below! 🌟 #Fundraising #Copywriting #Impact

A Fundraising Director tells all - four failures shaping their career Michael Dent from WWF-UK reveals four learnings 💪🏾 As innovators, we often discuss embracing failure as a crucial step to success. But the culture of most organisations does not celebrate failure as a critical building block. It was therefore really refreshing to witness Michael, the WWF's 🐼 Director of Supporter Income & Engagement, bravely take to the stage in front of a packed room at the CIOF National Convention to talk about some of his most spectacular fundraising disasters. This is the kind of brave leadership the charity sector needs. When discussing failure, it's important to acknowledge that some groups find it easier to speak freely about their failures. White men are often viewed with more forgiveness than others. That said - many successful white male leaders still choose not to discuss in minute detail any of the car crash moments they have overseen. So fair play Mr Dent! Failure #1 1. Wonderland Chalet Chic - at Macmillan This idea came from a desire to fill a gap in the fundraising portfolio. Macmillan had no Christmas offer, and Michael was eying Save the Children's Christmas jumper day with a touch of envy. At the time, there was a trend for apres-ski as a social event. Macmillan had a supporter segment called Trend-Seekers. Voila Chalet Chic was born. The campaign went all in on a big launch. No test-and-learn approach was used (regretfully, he added) Registrations were pretty good. Around 13,000 in total. But fundraised income was poor: £500k spent £60K raised The campaign was deemed a huge failure and never repeated. Some of the critical learnings shared were: ➡️ The event date was a busy Friday in December. There were many competing demands for time and charity fundraising was low on the list. ➡️ After the event, when the inquest began, it was discovered that registrants didn't realise they were supposed to fundraise. The fundraising pack was fulfilled electronically - and quickly lost amongst a flurry of Christmas-related emails. When people signed up for Coffee Morning, they received a sizeable physical fundraising pack. This set donor expectations that they must fundraise having registered. ➡️ The team did not create a first-year Minimum Viable Product (MVP). They should have used the first year for lower-cost learning. Then, roll it out if successful. They went big on scale from the start without validating some of the key assumptions sitting behind the product Big learning - always launch small-scale if you can - with a test-and-learn approach If you want to hear failures 2,3 AND 4 - the rest are detailed in our latest Flying Cars blog. The link is in the comments! 😎 Please like and share this post so your network can benefit from the learning too 👍🏽 #fundraising #innovation

📣 Follow my CSR-7 series on LinkedIn (#CSR7), where I will be sharing my 7️⃣ top CSR tips with you, over the next 7️⃣ weeks 💜 Each chapter I will be sharing a key learning on how charity fundraising can benefit your community, engage your team and boost your business. And once the series has concluded, our latest eBook ‘CSR-7 – Balancing Purpose with Profit’ will be available to download for free via the Search Seven website. Please ring my 🔔 to follow my posts, and to get at the front of the queue for the eBook, simply sign up to our mailing list via our website. Chapter 1: Engage your Team, will be first up next week 🙌💜 Followed by: 2: Engage your Community 🥰 3: Give Charities a Platform 📣 4: Sponsorship is Key 🗝 5: Create Campaigns and Goals 🎯 6: Show your Impact 💜 7: Put ‘FUN’ into your FUNdraising! ☺ I want this series to be informative and engaging, as I want to know what you are all doing in each topic area so we can share ideas and make sure we are all thinking about how our businesses can be used as a vehicle for good! 🙏 For now, please see our blog post below ⤵ which has an overview of all the chapters that are to come – and I hope you enjoy the series! 💜 #CSR7 #Community #purposedriven #agencylife #fundraising #charitytuesday

At Six Circles, our mission has always been to help organisations Grow, Manage, and Engage their communities. We understand that "community" can mean different things: members, clients, service users, corporate partners, and more. No matter how you define it, building an engaged and well-managed community is the key to sustainable growth. Over the past few months, we have been working closely and tracking the progress of a couple of our fantastic clients, showing how they have grown in their own way! 1. A large network organization They have seen incredible growth thanks to the tools and support provided by Six Circles. By utilising our platform, they’ve streamlined their event management processes, resulting in more successful events with higher attendance rates. By streamlining their solution, they have now got the chance to build bigger and better events for their members, as well as offer promotional and advertisement spaces found nowhere else. This focus on creating engaging experiences has led to a consistent increase in new members. We're proud to have played a small part in their journey and look forward to their continued success! 2. A Small, Non-Profit Organisation with members worldwide. Another inspiring story comes from a small charitable organisation that initially sought our help to connect with their fewer than 50 staff, volunteers and partners, within the UK and overseas. With the power of Six Circles, they didn't just improve their communication; they transformed it. What started as a simple connection platform has now become a vibrant hub for regular donations, global projects, and much more, with the use of both desktop and App optimisations. 125 members may not seem a huge number for some, but for this organisation, this is a huge transformation. This remarkable growth is a testament to the dedication of their team and the power of the Six Circles platform. We're excited to see what the future holds for them! These stories highlight just how diverse and impactful the right tools and support can be. Whether you're a large network or a small organisation, Six Circles is here to help you Grow, Manage, and Engage your community effectively. #SixCirclesSuccess #CommunityGrowth #ClientSpotlight #EngageAndGrow

How confident are you with your current plans to grow income into the next financial year? As a fundraiser are you familiar with current benchmarking? If you answered "not very", it might be advisable to start taking advantage of information sharing and chat with agency partners too. A lot of this information is available for free and will give you a better idea about how your achievements are measuring up in the industry and where there are gaps. In the 2023 #StatusofANZFundraising report produced by Blackbaud - Asia Pacific, we noted some interesting trends that we are seeing too, and can safely say that organisations we work closely with to build longer term strategies are benefiting from both greater confidence and more sustainable income; 🧚♀️ Organisations with income under $1M were less optimistic and less willing to spend on necessary planning and data segmentation – we see Lack of investment in proper planning impacting fundraising income and producing fewer and less reliable income streams 👫 Fundraising through events has seen a downturn – but fundraisers who work across teams to integrate supporter journeys with appropriate segmentation are more likely to grow sustainable income from these leads 💡 Organisations who invest in appropriate technology have greater capacity to diversify and outsource. Interestingly, according to the benchmarking report, smaller organisations are equally represented when it comes to digital maturity, so size does not seem to be barrier to putting the right technology in place, especially a CRM. So the big takeaway for us from the #2023BenchmarkReport, is that when confidence is lifted, organisations embark on longer-term, intentional fundraising strategies that promote growth in Regular Giving. These organisations are in a much better position to weather the economic downturn. 🦄 Relying on organic and ad hoc RG acquisition is not enough. As an agency, it’s our job to keep abreast of the benchmarks and trends…this is how we can confidently share our results, know they measure up, set reasonable budgets and targets and guide our charity partners as to the programs that are right for them. 📞 Please reach out to us and have a chat we love this sort of stuff 😊 #telefundraising #fundraisingstrategy #fundraising #socialgood #NFP #benchmarking Raisers Hub #sustainablefundraising #sustainableincome

Came across this article by Forbes which highlighted the common mistakes non-profits make within their Corporate Sponsorship Program. In over 25 years of fundraising and business development within the charitable and NPO sectors, I've always felt that if you take the time to build the relationships the investments for both parties will follow and that includes building out a program that focuses on the sponsors goals, objectives and value proposition first and foremost. To that end, knowing the pitfalls can not only reduce the likelihood of repeating these mistakes, but more importantly make your program look like it is truly geared towards a win-win relationship building opportunity. Definitely positive reinforcement and worth the read. https://lnkd.in/gzKgdKeB

Did you know that 82% of charities recognise the need for fundraising innovation, but few understand what ‘innovation’ truly means or how to implement it effectively? This uncertainty can leave fundraisers feeling anxious, left out, and overwhelmed. I'm really thrilled to be partnering with Fundraising Everywhere as an Event Ambassador to get the word out about something that will help support fundraisers unlock the power of innovation in your fundraising. The sessions will support fundraisers in four key areas: 1. What is ‘innovation’? 2. How to ‘do’ innovation at any scale and size 3. How to know it’s working 4. How to keep going With workshops, presentations, and breakout sessions for charities of all sizes, this conference will give you the insights, understanding, and confidence to kick-start or elevate innovation at your charity. Secure your spot today! Use JANINE15 when checking out to get 15% off the early bird price. https://lnkd.in/gMhXVvbv #AD #FundraisingInnovation #NonProfit #VirtualConference #Innovation

Are you the decision maker in the business who wants to connect more with local charities, social enterprises, and your community❓ 🤝 We have a solution for you! 💡 At Networking with Purpose, our in-person events make it super easy for you to connect with amazing registered charities and social enterprises in your local area - They're doing brilliant work that can and will help you drive forward your social and community goals 🌍✨#esg #csr #socialvalue Our events provide a space for both sectors to share time, skills, expertise, resources, and finances, fostering connections to create sustainable cross-sector partnerships that drive social value - Registered Non-profits expand their reach and impact through the support of their business partners, while businesses enhance both their commercial and social value. Result! Win: Win!! 🔄 The tide is turning, and businesses are seeing the benefit of engaging with their community to meet their business goals, reduce risk, attract investment, procure talent, retain staff, and cultivate a culture focused on doing good as well as making money 📈💼 #sustainability #supplychain 😩 Tired of the same old painful pitches, business card bombers, and people trying to sell you something❓ Well come to something a bit different, we're changing the script - Join us to network and conduct business with a Purpose! 🌟 A huge thank you to our incredible hosts and sponsors who are championing social value, making our upcoming event an exciting fun summer one for all to attend Oliver Thain Julia Hul Cambscuisine Martin Newbould Hyatt Centric Locke Hotels Fionnulla Brooks Nick Finlayson-Brown Mills & Reeve Deborah Dawson Kevin Appleton Group 1 Automotive 🤝 🎟 Priority booking is going to our With Purpose members, a platform where business and nonprofits are collaborating in person and online to do the city good - So if you aren't a member yet 🎫 join today to get priority access to these events, many other perks and a chance to secure a spot before they go! We can't promise we will have any left - get in quick! #withpurpose #charity #business #partnerships Want to know more, drop me an email - [email protected] 📧