Originally published March 2019 What comes to mind when you think of Sydney’s Botanic Gardens? Flowers? Beautiful locations? Weddings? Picnics? Not partnerships, I suspect? And definitely not a partnership centred around botanically inspired gin! But gin and other product partnerships are not only providing the Gardens with a sustainable and growing income stream but also with a platform to reach new audiences, and opportunities to educate on the importance of protecting Australia’s precious plant life. Did you know that the Gardens have one of the most significant science and conservation programs in Australia? As well as providing stunning horticultural displays in spectacular locations, the Botanic Gardens in Sydney CBD, Mount…
Originally published March 2019 Major gifts can be a game-changer for an organisation’s fundraising. They are usually the largest donations an organisation receives and provide an opportunity for the donor to be a significant partner in the organisation’s mission. Major gift fundraising is an area of strong growth in Australia. One of the key reasons for this is the highly attractive return on investment. Recent Australian studies into charitable giving have identified a shift in giving trends towards big gift fundraising. And with good reason, it seems. According to QUT’s Giving Australia 2016 report, fewer people are giving more and there has been a reduction in the number of Australians…
First published 9 April, 2019 Nicola Long asks Fiona Pattison to share her experiences and thoughts on how to get diversity right or get it wrong. Nicola Long: Fiona, I guess we need to start with the big question around how we define diversity. It’s often a stumbling block at many organisations which then creates debate and blockage for progress. Fiona Pattison: The definition that I love is that diversity and inclusion means allowing all people to be more of who they truly are. Personally, I much prefer a concept that not only allows but encourages people to self-identify. And it covers the full range of human differences including the…
I’ve said many times in this column that organisations need to spend more time focused on understanding donor identity. What people are saying about themselves when they give is massively more interesting and significant than their motives for giving per se. As a sector we understand a great deal about why people give, but we understand very little about the identities individuals are articulating when they do so. Why does this matter? It matters because if you understand that someone is giving because they are a caring person, a moral person, a parent, a liberal, a patriot, an environmentalist etc, you can celebrate that identity and make the donor feel…
Jo with her rescue dog Lilly (adopted from HAART – Homeless and Abused Animal Rescue Team). PetRescue runs its donation drives on a shoestring, keeping it exclusively digital to minimise spend to maximise the impact of gifts. At tax time last year – for the first time ever – PetRescue finally had the in-house web development resources to build a fully-integrated, mobile-friendly and customised donation call-to-action on the PetRescue website. And thanks to corporate partner, Woolworths Pet Insurance, generously matching all gifts in the week running up to June 30, the appeal raised almost $360,000 – a record-breaking return on investment of 2,946%. What does that mean for rescue pets?…
Left: Gifts-in-wills fundraisers from Australia in London. Left to right (back row): Laura Henschke, MS Ltd; Nadia Aden, The Fred Hollows Foundation; Ross Anderson, consultant, and Naomi Schofield, IFAW – International Fund for Animal Welfare. Left to right (front row): Vicki Rasmussen, Charlies Foundation for Research; Jakki Travers, The Smith Family, and Eyvette Turner, The Heart Foundation (SA). Left: Gifts-in-wills fundraisers from Australia in London. Left to right (back row): Laura Henschke, MS Ltd; Nadia Aden, The Fred Hollows Foundation; Ross Anderson, consultant, and Naomi Schofield, IFAW – International Fund for Animal Welfare. Left to right (front row): Vicki Rasmussen, Charlies Foundation for Research; Jakki Travers, The Smith Family, and…
What can you do in seven weeks? Revise your fundraising strategy? Engage supporters on your database and turn them into committed donors? Launch new telemarketing programs? Create a new digital fundraising program with the best ROI for your charity? Jeremy Bennett, owner and Chief Consultant of Bigfoot Fundraising (formerly Acquisition Manager for Amnesty International Australia), was seconded for seven weeks over the summer of 2017/18 to Amnesty International Taiwan in Taipei to do exactly this – help grow their fundraising… Quickly! He shares his experience with F&P. BACKGROUND In 2017 Amnesty International (AI) Taiwan were in the early stages of implementing a fundraising program with big growth plans in order…
Melissa Westgate – Foundation Manager at St Peter’s Girls’ School. WHAT DID YOU WANT TO BE WHEN YOU GREW UP? I’m originally a crazy Canuck from Canada, so when I was in high school I wanted to be a professional ice hockey player! I also considered going to the Olympics for track and field and/or being a physical education teacher. HOW DID YOU GET INTO FUNDRAISING? I started my Australian career in the field of sport sponsorship and marketing and my first ‘real job’ here was working for an SANFL team in Adelaide, the Sturt Football Club. Being Canadian and new to Australia, I didn’t know anything about Aussie Rules…
In 2019, one of the trends that will shape the future of the nonprofit industry will be a move towards more unified marketing practices. Many nonprofits have shifted to datafocused marketing strategies, with tailored communications personalised to each individual supporter. This is great because it’s building better supporter engagement across the industry. This has, however, led to a problem: many organisations are now too clever for their CRM platforms, and have to use add-on programs to achieve their goals. It’s commonplace for a charity to have a CRM program, an email platform, a fundraising platform, and manage their own website. It’s complicated, and time-wasting, and makes insightful reporting impossible. New…
