If your charity is relatively small or less well known, how do you increase your chances of winning valuable partnerships and media appeals? This time Rob spoke to Beatrice Sayer, a smart corporate fundraiser at the UK charity Magic Breakfast, about the innovative approach she used when applying to the Times and Sunday Times Christmas Appeal 2022. She explains why she feels a ‘WOW moment’ was essential to lift their chances of winning, and how she followed through on her good ideas. Rob and Beatrice agree that you can’t do this every time, but for when it is worth the risk, they share various tips to help you execute your own WOW factor idea. If you want to share this episode with others you think it would help, THANK YOU SO MUCH! We would love to hear what you think. Beatrice and Rob are both on Linked In and on twitter Rob is @woods_rob, or you can follow Bright Spot on Instagram at @brightspotfundraising.

Most fundraisers agree that you won’t achieve serious growth without first investing in fundraising. But how do you actually persuade the board to invest? In this episode from the archive, originally released in December 2019, Rob Woods talks to Adam Heuman. In three separate charities, of varying sizes, Adam has asked the board to invest, and all three times his request has been successful. Rob and Adam talk about what holds many fundraising directors back from even exploring the issue, and why Adam feels it’s so important to address it. He explains the particular things he does when he prepares. Using stories from across his career, Adam explains the crucial question he always asks the board; the mistake he once made which wasted time and why it’s usually right to start the process even if you don’t yet know all the answers.

120. How to add Wow Factor to funding applications, with David Burgess by Rob Woods, Bright Spot

Clearly influencers can boost your charity’s effectiveness in various ways, including through more successful fundraising. But assuming you don’t already have amazing personal connections, how can you find and work with influential people who could further your cause? Rob was delighted to interview Paul Katz, who has been helping charities and non-profits do this for the last 18 years. Paul has found that regardless of the size of your charity, if you do certain things in a certain order, you can achieve valuable results. He explains this process and shares practical things that any charity / non-profit can do to work effectively with celebrities and other influencers. If you want to share this episode with others you think it would help, THANK YOU! And we would love to hear what you think. Paul and Rob are both on Linked In and on twitter Paul is @PaulKatzNYC and Rob is @woods_rob; or you can follow Bright Spot on Instagram at @brightspotfundraising.

If you’d like to hear some key ideas and stories from the podcast in 2022, or you’d like tips for what you or your team could listen to, to help with current challenges, here is the second of our special round-ups. Rob is joined by the brilliant Louise Morris to talk about a handful of ideas / episodes they’ve been finding most helpful in the last 12 months. They discuss inspiring stories from the last 30 episodes, including: thankathons – how (and why are they so effective!); major and mid-value donor strategies; how to transform gift aid sign up results; and effective (staff) retention strategies. If you’d like to get in touch or share this episode with other charities, THANK YOU SO MUCH - we really appreciate your help! (Or please let us know your own favourite episode.) You can find us both on Linked In and on twitter Louise is @summitfundraise and Rob is @woods_rob.

If you’d like to hear some useful lessons and stories from the podcast in 2022, or you’d like tips for you or your team on what to listen to next, we recorded this special episode to help. Rob is joined by the always-inspiring Louise Morris of Summit Fundraising to talk about a handful of episodes they’ve been finding most helpful in the last year. They discuss inspiring stories from the show this year, including: a really effective habit that helps you look after yourself in spite of tough times; how to win more pitches; working with ‘experts by experience’ to improve fundraising; and how to proactively create your own match fund to inspire spectacular individual giving results, even now. If you’d like to get in touch or share this episode with other charities, THANK YOU SO MUCH! You can find us both on Linked In and on twitter Louise is @summitfundraise and Rob is @woods_rob.

In conducting thousands of fundraising experiments, Tim has found that the most reliable way any charity can grow digital income (and boost the other fundraising streams) is to develop what he calls an effective Value Proposition. Rob and Tim discuss what he has found to be the four key elements of effective propositions: Appeal, Exclusivity, Credibility and Clarity. They offer tips to help you test and improve your own charity’s messaging in this way and they share the example of a charity which used this idea to increase website donations by 147.5%. If you want to share this episode with others you think it would help, THANK YOU! And we would love to hear what you think. Tim and Rob are both on Linked In and on twitter Tim is @DigitalDonor and Rob is @woods_rob; or you can follow Bright Spot on Instagram at @brightspotfundraising.

This time Rob talks to the brilliant Louisa Dodd about several ideas that have brought her success this year. This includes: getting super clear on who your ideal donors / partners / supporters are; adding genuine value to them; how to be outcome-focused; and story-telling. These themes sometimes get discussed in fundraising, but they’re not always easy to apply, so we hope you find these examples helpful. If you want to share this episode with others you think it would help, THANK YOU SO MUCH! And we would love to hear what you think. Louisa and Rob are both on Linked In and on twitter Rob is @woods_rob; or you can follow Bright Spot on Instagram at @brightspotfundraising.

What can charities do to maintain and grow income at a time when the cost of living is making life so difficult? In this episode Rob talks to Tim Kachuriak, founder of the digital fundraising agency and research lab, Next After. They explore why a testing mentality is so valuable. And Tim shares three practical examples of things you can do now to increase digital / individual giving income for your charity. If you want to share this episode with others you think it would help, THANK YOU! And we would love to hear what you think. Tim and Rob are both on Linked In and on twitter Rob is @woods_rob; or you can follow Bright Spot on Instagram at @brightspotfundraising.

One tactic that can transform fundraising results is match funding. But how do you achieve the initial gifts from major donors, and how can you make effective use of the enticing offer? In this episode Rob talks to an innovative fundraiser named Ilana Jackman about how one university has made match funding work in exciting, new ways this year. She explains how the match has inspired more donors to set up regular gifts and encouraged many existing donors to upgrade their giving per month. If you want to share this episode with others you think it would help, THANK YOU! And we would love to hear what you think. Ilana and Rob are both on Linked In and on twitter Rob is @woods_rob.