Growing your confidence to talk to supporters makes a big difference.

What’s the key to increasing High Value Fundraising Income for your charity? Build stronger relationships with people who care about your cause. 

There are many ways to do this, but even in this tech-savvy era, the most effective thing is to have actual conversations with those people! And a greatly under-used way to do that, is to call them on the phone. Obviously, it’s not always possible. But when it is, we’ve noticed that very successful fundraisers often call their supporters.

Many people know this in theory but talk themselves out of doing it! 

Bright Spot trainers Ben Swart and Rob Woods share some practical things you can do to overcome your (understandable) concerns. And they share examples to boost your confidence so you can connect with your charities’ donors and partners.

We’d love to know what you think! And thank you for supporting our show, e.g. by sharing it with colleagues or on social media. We are both on LinkedIn.

How do you beat tough odds in fundraising? For many fundraisers, the odds are now tougher than ever. Whether it's because your cause is less popular, or your charity is small or less well-known… There are many reasons you may feel like an underdog.

Interestingly, some charities do secure valuable gifts, partnerships and grants, in spite of big disadvantages. Clearly this fact does not make life fair or make fundraising easy.  But it means that if we seek them, we can find valuable insights.

Having studied dozens of examples, in this episode Rob reveals two strategies that successful ‘underdog charities’ use when they succeed against difficult odds. In discussion with fellow Bright Spot trainer Ben Swart, he uses examples to show how these techniques can help you slay your own fundraising dragons.

We’d love to know what you think! And thank you for supporting our show by sharing it with colleagues or on social media. You can find us both on LinkedIn.

The power of your reason why can be immense.

Charities often focus too much attention on how they help. They act and speak as though what they do is the most important and interesting thing. 

When you clarify and reconnect to the reason why your charity exists, it can be a fabulous catalyst for growth. You get new creativity and energy. When the South African non-profit Feenix did this in 2017, it unlocked a period of extraordinary growth. During the next five years up to 2022, fundraising income grew by 630%! Their impact was transformed.

Cara Jean Peterson, CEO of Feenix, joins Rob on the podcast to tell the rollercoaster story of how they did it. She shares insights from this exciting journey. And she offers tips to help other charities that are determined to grow their impact.

We’d love to know what you think about these ideas! Thank you for sharing our podcast, so it can help as many good causes as possible. Cara Jean and Rob are both on LinkedIn.

How to attract younger donors is a valuable issue for a charity to solve. 

Younger supporters tend to see the world differently to older generations – as charities, how can we respond? For answers and encouragement Rob talks to philanthropist and best-selling author Lisa Greer.

As a so-called ‘major donor’ Lisa has a valuable perspective on charity relationships with High Net Worth individuals. And one of the fascinating themes in her latest book The Essential Fundraiser’s Handbook is how charities can effectively raise funds with younger supporters. 

In the interview Lisa explains why the traditional approach to high value fundraising does not suit most supporters who are Millennial, Generation Z and younger. And she offers practical suggestions for what charities can do differently to improve fundraising results.

We’d love to know what you think about these ideas! Thank you for sharing our podcast, so it can help as many good causes as possible. Lisa and Rob are both on LinkedIn.

‘We aced all three big pitches – here’s how.’ As most fundraisers are all too aware, pitching to funders is a complex and difficult process.

In recent months, the UK charity Refuge created the chance to pitch for three corporate partnerships. For all three, the stakes were high. In fact, one of them is worth millions of pounds and will make a massive difference to their services protecting women and children from domestic abuse.

All three pitches were successful. 

In this episode Rob Woods talks to Katie Hillitt, Head of Philanthropy at Refuge. She shares the approach that has proved so effective, with tips and encouragement to help other charities with their pitches.

We’d love to know what you think about these ideas! Thank you for sharing the episode, so it helps as many charities as possible. Katie and Rob are both on LinkedIn.

High performance culture is invaluable for charities seeking to make a bigger difference. What can we do to encourage an approach to fundraising that strengthens relationships and increases fundraising income?

The High Value and Legacies fundraising department at Alzheimer’s Society has achieved impressive growth over the last 5 years. Rob talks to Charlotte Matier, Associate Director at the department to hear about the culture, processes and priorities that have helped achieve these results. In particular, she shares the three pillars they use to guide decision-making and ways of working.

Using examples, Charlotte shares how her team strive to build firm foundations upon which successful fundraising can take place; to create exceptional experiences; and to maximise value for both supporters and the charity.

We’d love to know what you think about these ideas! Thank you for sharing the episode, so it can help as many charities as possible. Charlotte and Rob are both on LinkedIn.

What do Great Fundraising Organisations do, that is different to the rest? 

Relatively few charities and non-profits achieve impressive, sustained growth over several years. But a few do. And as a result, they are able to make a much bigger difference for the communities they serve.

For more than ten years, Alan Clayton has carried out detailed research into what makes the difference. In this episode he and Rob discuss the valuable distinctions he has discovered. And Alan brings these ideas to life with lots of recent examples and he offers guidance for other charities determined to grow long-term fundraising income, with less stress.

We’d love to know what you think about these ideas! Thank you for sharing the episode, so it can help as many charities as possible. Alan and Rob are both on LinkedIn.

Growing existing partnerships and winning new ones – these are the two main ways to increase corporate fundraising income for a charity. But they are easier said than done. Since joining her charity in a newly created role focused on corporate partnerships, Charlie (Charlotte) Richardson has grown partnerships income in both ways. 

In this interview she shares the techniques she learned on the Corporate Partnerships Mastery programme that she’s used to deepen relationships and add value with her charities’ partners – this has led to an increase in income of £100,000 in the last year with one partner – as well as how she’s found and built brand new partnerships – one worth £50,000 - from scratch.

We’d love to know what you think about these ideas! Thank you for sharing the episode, so it helps as many charities as possible. Charlie and Rob are both on LinkedIn.

Thinking (more) is a powerful way to grow results. 

Of course, in our busy and ever more distracted world, it’s not always easy to find time to think. That said, we’ve noticed that fundraisers who are very effective and also resilient, usually find a way to deliberately build thinking time into their week.

If this idea appeals, but you often struggle to do it in practice, this episode is for you. Jhumar Johnson is Chief of Staff to the Vice Chancellor at the Open University. Her demanding role includes that of Development Director, so she has a lot to get done. 

Five years ago, a mentor showed her the power of ‘think time’, and she’s found it a hugely valuable habit ever since. In the interview Jhumar explains why she finds it so helpful. She also shares practical tips for how other fundraisers and leaders can build more thinking time into their work. 

We’d love to know what you think about these ideas! Jhumar and Rob are both on LinkedIn.

Looking for ideas or fundraising inspiration? Look no further than this special highlights episode.

Rob is again joined by Bright Spot colleague and fellow fundraising trainer Ben Swart to talk about four episodes that proved especially popular and inspired us in 2024. 

Our discussion of fundraising strategies, tips and examples includes: how to take advantage of the opportunities and resources already available to you (many of them are currently hidden); how to smash silos and help your whole charity pull together towards the common goal; a fabulous stewardship technique that helped one small cancer charity achieve its most successful year for corporate fundraising ever; how to use LinkedIn differently, and become a magnet attracts funders to reach out to you instead of the other way around.

If you’d like to get in touch or share this episode with other charities, thank you! You can find us both on Linked In.