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.

If you’ve ever been inspired by a good fundraising idea or principle, but failed to put it into practice, I hope you’re going to find this a valuable listen. Grace Cannings is a smart fundraiser who has found a way to improve her chances of building proactive habits that generate improved fundraising results. In this episode she explains the technique and offers tips to help you try it yourself. 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. Grace 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 you do to build better, more long-term relationships with funders? In my second interview with trusts and foundations fundraising expert, Neela Jane Stansfield, we explore ideas for creating fabulous stewardship and stronger relationships with funders. Our conversation includes creativity, the personal touch, story-telling and the importance of nurturing relationships with colleagues. 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. Neela Jane and Rob are both on Linked In and on twitter Rob is @woods_rob; or you can follow Bright Spot on Instagram at @brightspotfundraising.

This time we’re looking at successful fundraising with trusts and foundations, with an interview with Neela Jane Stansfield, author of Grants Fundraising, a new book published by the DSC. Central to Neela Jane’s philosophy is the importance of working hard to build relationships with funders. This is not always easy, so I was delighted to discuss various things that fundraisers can do in practice. We share a range of ideas to help you grow fundraising income through better insight and connection with funders. 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. Neela Jane 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 shift power to those with lived experience of the issues the charity addresses? And how can this approach improve fundraising? Lulu Smithwick is Senior Public Fundraising Manager at Refugee Action, and Shukry Adan is a former Expert by Experience Fundraising Advisor. In this, the second half of Rob’s recent interview, they talk about applying this approach to corporate partnerships, major donor fundraising and what Shukry did as guest editor of the supporters’ magazine. 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. Lulu and Rob are on Linked In and on twitter Rob is @woods_rob.