|
|
|
The search for meaningful response
Submitted by stephengeorge on 26 February, 2008 - 19:18.
What drives legacy fundraising in the UK? The search for meaningful response, thats what. Nothing wrong with that then - except maybe its who is driving that response and why that appears to be the problem.
For years now, the legacy world has by and large been obsessed with pledges. If a donor tells us they have a) left a gift or b) going to, then we put another notch on the totem. Fundraisers are staisfied. Everyone is happy. Except,it appears the donor. Research, lots of feedback and focus groups tell us that donors by and large hate letting on, they still think its private and they distrust our motives. As many of our gifts are from people we have never met the cunning donor seems content to ignore our best efforts. The disconnect between our experience, the donors world and our continued practice are startling. So, is our search for meaningful response driven by a marketing approach that is out of date? Isn't a fundraising approach - a major giving approach more appropriate here than a direct marketing one? And what if we let that inform and reinvent the marketing way?
Its time to be brave. Donors want something else. Charities need something else.
- stephengeorge's blog
- Login or register to post comments
- Email this page
- Printer friendly version
- 463 reads
Navigation
User login
GLOW STICKS
light up your fundraising
GLOW STICKS
Use Discount Code: PTA001 For 15% Off
Latest jobs
Active forum topics
New forum topics
Recent comments
- stephengeorge
- humanityatheart
- chrisjdavies
- gerrybeldon
Bloggers
Latest suppliers
Events
Latest events added
- 23/09/2008 - 09:00
- 02/10/2008 - 13:30
- 02/10/2008 - 09:30
- 01/10/2008 - 13:30
- 01/10/2008 - 09:30
Upcoming events
- National Convention(Training courses)(1 day)
- National Archaeology Week(Event)(6 days)
- Accredited Project Management (3 day course)(Training courses)(8 days)
- Beijing Olympics begins(Event)(34 days)
- Fundraising from America(Training courses)(39 days)
Notches
I've certainly been guilty of the notch-up-a-pledge mentality when I was fundraising for legacies. But how do we move from there, given our ever-more-obsessed-with-metrics approach to fundraising?
Is it the face-to-face or in-home visits approach to potential or existing legacy pledgers? I remember Oxfam was taking this approach in the late 1980s when I first started as a fundraiser with them, and other charities have followed.
But aren't there many pledgers who feel they've done their bit by pledging and actually don't want anything else from the charity, except perhaps the occasional update? In which case the need to connect and communicate with them might be equally misplaced and address more our need as a fundraiser rather than their wants as a donor.
I suppose, as always, the answer is - it depends. Each donor will probably have different communication needs.