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Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) Learning and Skills Fund project

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Learning and Skills Fund Returns to Support Adults Facing Disadvantage

The Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Combined Authority (CPCA) Learning and Skills team has relaunched its funding programme for voluntary sector organisations. The fund supports projects that use learning to help adults who have experienced disadvantage move closer to employment or volunteering opportunities.

Following the success of last year’s pilot, the Learning and Skills Fund has returned as part of the CPCA’s broader programme of adult learning and skills development for residents across Cambridgeshire and Peterborough.

The fund is being administered by Cambridgeshire Community Foundation (CCF), with six projects receiving support from our team at Support Cambridgeshire and a further seven projects being supported by Peterborough CVS.

Let’s talk about trading

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We recently hosted an event – one of three this summer exploring funding diversification for charities. The focus of this event was on trading.

We kicked off with a presentation from Livia Velicu – an Associate in the Charity and Social Enterprise team at Bates Wells, followed by presentations from three local charities who are trading or in the process of developing their ideas on trading.

Livia gave us a whistle-stop tour of charities and trading looking at the legal basis on which charities can trade without creating a trading subsidiary. She then went on to explain when it might be advantageous to set up a trading subsidiary and the pros and cons of doing so.

The charities sharing their experiences around trading were:

Getting a wider perspective on fundraising: feedback from the Third Sector Fundraising Summit

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Earlier this month I attended the Fundraising Summit hosted by the Third Sector, which was a great opportunity to get a wider perspective on what is happening in the fundraising world for big and small VCSE groups. Here are some of my takeaways from the sessions:

Interdisciplinary Collaboration in Larger Charities

One of the interesting observations, made by several contributors, was around larger charities working in more interdisciplinary teams with fundraisers working more closely with marketing teams.  There is also a move for an even greater focus on supporter engagement and participation.

Public Interest in Fundraising Events

44% of the public are interested in fundraising events with young people showing particular interest. Research indicates that people who may not be able to donate still want to “give” through participating.

Wellbeing and long-distance running events are particularly popular. To maximise the impact of these fundraising events, groups need to ensure that both branding and information about the difference the group makes is available and accessible at events.

Impact of the Cost of Giving Crisis

Linked to the cost of giving crisis – the number of people donating has dropped (particularly those on lower incomes) but higher earners have continued to give.  People are donating to fewer charities.

In the last 3 months, there has been a slight drop in donation rates to children’s and to medical charities with an improvement in donations to animal charities.  But the only real growth area is in overseas aid, almost certainly in response to disaster relief campaigns.

Translating Social Media Engagement into Donations

Contributors also looked at how groups can translate good social media engagement into actual donations. Both individual donors and grant providers like to see the difference their donations will make.

So just as we are now all being asked to provide photographs and case studies in our grant reports, we can also use these in our social media posts to harness greater social media engagement.  For example, give tangible evidence e.g.: “your £10 provides….” And try to make the donation process as smooth as possible.

Targeting the Next Generation of Donors

Another topic exercising the conference contributors was how to target your next generation of donors. The Brain Tumour Charity has been looking at the next generation of philanthropists (Millennials and Gen Z – those born between 1981 and 2012).

One fundraising trend they are looking at is the concept of the Donor Advised Fund; (DAF) – these products are popular in the USA and are now appearing in the UK aimed at time-poor but high-net-worth individuals.

DAFs have the potential to alter the traditional relationship-building model of fundraising philanthropy as giving decisions are made by an algorithm based on the individual’s interests rather than an emotional response to an appeal. An example of a popular DAF is The Prism Gift Fun.

Engaging the Next Generation: UNICEF’s Approach

The UNICEF Next Generation engagement programme encompasses volunteering, donating and campaigning which tap into the less transactional approach the younger generation of donors are looking for.

Contributors suggested these younger donors want to use their expertise for volunteering.  For example, young professionals mentoring young people affected by a brain tumour.

They are also interested in micro-volunteering opportunities to engage e.g., careers advice sessions/ lunch and learn sessions just 30 minutes sharing expertise.

Communications with this younger age group need to be short and to the point such as WhatsApp, video clips, Tik Tok etc, not PDF documents or reports.

Fundraising on a Small Budget

Contributors also looked at the perennial question of how to fundraise successfully on a small budget. Tips shared by the presenter from the Macarthy Stone Foundation included working to clear objectives from the outset:

  • Build a clear case for support.
  • Manage expectations – be realistic but ambitious.
  • Income diversification: Long and short-term goals are important.
  • Have a specific spending plan.
  • Use your community and your existing resources.
  • Look at different ways to engage people.

Building a Strong Case for Support

Building a case for support answers key questions such as What is the need and why now? Why should I donate?  Why donate to this group? A well-crafted case for support:

  • Creates consensus and buy-in
  • Prevents mission drift
  • Brings your vision to life
  • Provides a blueprint for communications
  • Brings your work to life with impact clarity and purpose.

Creative Fundraising Examples: Wakefield Theatre

An example of different ways to engage donors was given by Wakefield Theatre. The theatre ran Rhubarb Ruby’s Full House where a local supporter, dressed as the famous local character Rhubarb Ruby, (plus costume changes) was sponsored to see how many of the theatre’s 500 seats on 3 tiers he could sit on in an hour while dressed in drag.

The team live streamed on Facebook (filmed on their own phones) – people engaged at the time, and they got lots of great content for social media – raised £800, not a huge amount – but importantly it engaged new donors and raised the theatre’s profile. It also encouraged other supporters to offer to fundraise.

The theatre is now running a Facebook challenge involving people visiting well-known buildings in the area with theatrical links.

Taking the First Step

Taking the first step is often the most challenging but making and taking the time to think about and discuss what you want fundraising to look like within your organisation (big or small) is a great start.

It is important to look at your organisation’s priorities and then begin to look at implementing what works for you as an organisation and your stakeholders.

None of these are fixed points and all are in constant motion so it’s also important to accept change and flexibility as part of the process, which is perhaps the hardest challenge of them all.

7 essential things to think about when doing digital fundraising or crowdfunding

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These are the key takeaways from the training that we run on this subject.

New technology, social media, and the different ways we connect as individuals and organisations have changed how fundraising works.

This has to be recognised by organisations and it needs to be built into how fundraising happens.

There is no right or wrong thing to be doing and different organisations will find different ways to bring digital into their fundraising. It is important that you do what will work for you and that this fits into your strategy.

Whatever you are planning then these tips will be key to working out how best to move forward.

As with all fundraising, this will take time and it is not a simple, quick or easy way to meet your targets

There is no simple quick fix to raising the money your organisation needs, if there were I would have retired on the fundraising franchise I would have developed, and all charities and community groups would be following that plan.

You won’t go viral unless you are both hardworking and lucky, but if you do then make sure you let me know and we will add it to our impact story.

If your trustees or managers have ‘make viral funding video’ in their plan then take it out as this makes as much sense as saying ‘wait for the multi-million-pound legacy to arrive’.

If it happens it is great but assume it won’t and be prepared to put in the time and hard work to meet your funding targets and not rely on a windfall.

It is easy to get distracted or put off, by new ideas, new platforms and new digital toys. Don’t!

Some will love them, and some will loathe them, but you have to focus on which digital tools will be most beneficial to you.

This will depend on many things including who your actual and potential audiences are and where they connect. (It is no good having the best Facebook campaign if all your audience has left to join TikTok).

Make sure that you invest time and money into the areas that are going to reap the best rewards. It may be that you need to do some testing to find the right way to maximise digital income and this is a great way of working out how to focus your efforts.

Just because you are an early adopter or a closet Luddite don’t let that influence your decisions and remember it is what works for the whole organisation.

Your website will be central to your whole digital success – get it right

However, if you are raising money digitally it is likely that your website will have a part to play.

It is essential that your website is accessible across different platforms and that it is clear and easy to understand. It is also vital that the donation journey is smooth and that you only take the information you use.

It is also vital that you follow up on any donations and most importantly that you thank your donors. One of the key reasons people don’t continue giving is that they are not thanked, so often using digital techniques can be automated so there is no excuse to not make it a priority.

Your story is key – tell it well

Whatever digital fundraising you are planning you have to tell a compelling story. All the tools in the world won’t make up for a story that does not grab a person’s imagination and make them feel something.

There is a whole training session on storytelling (keep an eye on the CCVS website training and events page. Jonah Sachs in his book Winning the Story Wars (which I really liked) says your story should be:

  • TANGIBLE – Stories present information that makes concepts visible and human scale. They make you feel you can touch and see an idea.
  • RELATABLE – Stories matter because their characters carry values that we want to see rewarded or punished.
  • IMMERSIVE – Stories allow people to feel that they have experienced things that they have only heard.
  • MEMORABLE – Stories use rich scenes and metaphors that help us to remember their message without conscious effort.
  • EMOTIONAL – Stories elevate emotional engagement to the level of, and often beyond, intellectual understanding.

In essence, it is not about facts and appealing to the head it is about emotion and appealing to the heart. This is especially true if you are limited in space and competing with other organisations’ stories.

If people want the facts the impact and the accounts these should be available on your website, but you have to draw them in to want to look before they will contemplate giving you their hard-earned money.

Build your tribe

Digital fundraising, and especially crowdfunding, is about a lot of small donations rather than a few large ones (but the large ones are always welcome).

It is also about gaining supporters and raising the profile of your organisation. It is about getting followers who will share your messages and requests with their followers. It is all about mobilising people behind what you are doing, in effect you need to build your tribe.

Your tribe will be made up of different groups.

Your core followers or true believers

They will be the ones who will most likely donate and will be instrumental in making your plan work. They may be staff, volunteers or trustees; they could be some of those you work with or their families.

Your more casual members.

These are the people who will normally share your message, may well donate and will be removed from your core followers.

Influencers.

These are people who can share your message to much wider audiences, they may be local reporters or key people in your community or the local voluntary sector. They will be key to getting your message out as widely as possible.

There may be other subgroups who you can identify but it is important that you work out who these people are. You need to concentrate on all the different parts of your tribe and motivate them with the right message, and importantly you have to find ways to build the numbers of them.

Planning is everything

You must have a plan for your digital campaign. It is unlikely that you will be the only person involved in making it a success, so a plan helps keep everyone on the same page and ensures that you maximise the impact for the minimum effort.

Think about the story, the tribe and everything else and detail it in the plan. Ensure you map the key points of the campaign and that you know what messages you are sending to who. (And who is sending them).

Your plan needs to be a working document. You have to be able to adapt to unforeseen events and make the most of unexpected opportunities.

There is a rise of people who are motivated by inverse giving, this is when a negative story encourages people to give to a cause.

You need to think about how you react to this type of opportunity even if you don’t know what it might be and if, or when, it will happen. In short, the better the plan is and the more detail it has the more likely you are to reach your fundraising goals.

Data is important don’t neglect it

In the digital world, the data geek is king (or at least is the kingmaker). There will be lots of opportunities to collect data on donors as you develop your digital strategy. It is important that you use data in the ways that you have said you would and not for anything else.

It is important that all the data collected is yours to use and not retained by a platform. It is important that you store your data in a secure place, and you stick to all the rules on this and how you process the data.

Don’t ignore how proper analysis of your data can help build the success of your digital fundraising, ensure you are investing in this and in the skills of the staff or volunteers who are tasked with the analysis.

AI will be a thing but…

This is an extra point.

AI will start to impact more and more on how you fundraise. I am not sure how this will turn out, but I firmly believe that the above 7 points will remain as valuable.

You will still need to invest time, but this may change. Your story and your tribe will remain key even if they are connected and built in a different way. You will still need to plan, and data may well become even more important.

Conclusion

Digital fundraising is here. How people give and where they choose to give is changing.

Technology will continue to evolve. Charities and community groups of all sizes need to think about how they can adapt and develop the new fundraising techniques that will best suit them.

This will mean ensuring people have the skills and knowledge to manage the process and the technology, but it will also mean that the organisation commits to the investment that is needed to make things work.

Insights from the Charity Digital Online Fundraising Conference October 2023

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The Charity Digital Online Fundraising Conference in October 2023 brought together industry leaders, experts, and charity fundraisers to explore trends and ideas in digital fundraising.  The sessions included looking at a range of topics from essential digital tools, to harnessing the power of storytelling.

The New Generous Generation: Engaging Gen Z with Ashley Fontaine

According to recent research Generation Z is the age group most likely to donate to charity. Ashley highlighted the unique characteristics of Gen Z and their preferences in giving.

Generation Z comprises people born between 1996 and 2010. This generation’s identity has been shaped by the digital age, climate anxiety, a shifting financial landscape, and COVID-19.

Social fundraising, powered through social connections, was a key focus of Ashley’s talk. The session explored platforms such as TikTok and highlighted the importance of building emotional connections to attract and retain Gen Z donors.

Ashley recommended creating an audience profile to help identify key patterns of behaviour.  Gen Z giving trends include:

  • Flexible giving
  • Gripping storytelling
  • Mobile friendly donations
  • Charity authenticity
  • Social giving
  • Charity cause research

40% of GenZ donors learn about new causes from social media.  The top 3 platforms are:

  • You Tube
  • Instagram
  • TikTok

A TikTok example is the British Red Cross which utilised the donation sticker on TikTok. They raised £90k in 12 months and kept things current, for example by linking in with the new Barbie film and the trend for thrifting.

A storytelling example was Mind’s 2022 #SpeakToUs campaign where a relatable character candidly shared their mental health journey.  It was intended as an awareness campaign that resulted in donations.

Ashley also highlighted that Gen Z is likely to want to have a relationship with the cause they donate to, they respond to well-managed stewardship and share stories around impact.

Maximizing the Donation Funnel: Insights from Fresh Egg

A presentation from Jake Lambert from Fresh Egg, a donation platform. He highlighted five things you can do to maximise donations:

  • Talk to your users – understand their needs don’t just rely on analytics it doesn’t tell you why they do things. Segment those who currently donate/used to donate/don’t donate to you but may donate elsewhere – Consider user testing e.g. usertesting.com or ask people to engage with you and run your own tester sessions.
  • Build and maintain an emotional connection – maintain this throughout the donor’s journey, and keep them engaged particularly when they reach a hurdle – such as filling in a donor form.  Use strong consistent imagery and phrases.  Remember a key reason people give is because it makes them feel good – reinforce this at every stage.
  • Test your default levels – Fresh Egg experimented and found that when using suggested donation figures it can be effective to set an ‘anchor’ figure at the high end – this encourages people to be more generous.
  • Nudge to regular giving show one-off donors what they could help you achieve if they donated regularly, but still be suitably appreciative of one-off donations
  • Show your impact for example – £10 could answer 2 calls to our advice line for isolated older people needing support.

The importance of talking to users, building emotional connections, and reducing hurdles in the donation process were key takeaways. The session emphasized the significance of maintaining a consistent and engaging narrative throughout the donor journey.

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