Subject: Secrets of local fundraising. Discussion from a new Charity Talk

I suppose this may be a very broad question, but with Christian Aid doing so much work overseas, how do you chose who the beneficiaries of the aid that is raised are, with so much Third-World poverty being seen? Do you prioritise by the severity of the poverty, or are other factors in play?

This was a very infomrative talk, giving me plenty to think about. Particularly useful were the points on branding. Coming from Citizens Advice, with an enviable 98% recognistion of our logo, we have the brand that people know. Our biggest problem is getting the message across that we an independent charity, as opposed to the general conception that we are part of government,m locally or nationally. Any thoughts as to how to overcome this would be welcome, as it is something we have struggled with for a long time.

As markets become more noisy as we all compete for the same shilling, we tend to respond by making more noise. In these situations it is easy for charities to react by retrenching into their own affinity groups making more demands upon their members. A new game plan is needed.  What will this be and how will information technology enable this to happen?

Its interesting in the review of who gives what to charity, people of faith are noted as the most likely to give to international development organisations.  I wonder whether this is skewed by the success of charities such as Christian Aid, or whether people of no faith can be equally inclined to support people overseas?

Christian Aid has grown new income streams and sought to develop new donor relationships. However many churches have a policy of giving a proportion of their budget to "outward giving" perhaps a mix of organisations and individual partnerships. Is it realistic (and right)to expect to grow income competitively or does Christian Aid need toadopt a policy of collaboration working in partnership both in this space and with other "mega charities" in the aid and advocay field?

On the second point there is an increasing public expectation about collaboration and avoiding duplication.  

Brand is a difficult area - particularly where in the case of CAB there is the perception that the Government is involved.  It might be worth just revisiting the messages you make to not only your internal "customers" but also to the external community.  Sometimes it is a question of saying the "same old thing" without realising that this is just reinforcing what is perceived.  I am sure that this has been done but look at the values and beliefs behind CAB and see if by looking at these you might have further thoughts.  There is a Brand Onion which was devised for the for profit sector but it is quite helpful in terms of demonstrating the breadth of the target audience.  But what I would say, as I did last night, beware of rushing into rebranding - what you have is known - it is the message that needs changing and the method of delivery perhaps.

Turning to the question of the markets being crowded and people shouting louder.  I believe that it perhaps time to stop - and say what is the message we are "shouting" about.  I am not sure if your own members are also donors (other than perhaps membership fees) and is this where you are retrenching to ask for more - or is it a demand on your members "doing" more within their own communities.  In either case I think looking at the impact of your work is still important and may enable you to build that new plan linking in with new technologies such as the e-marketing.  Adrian Sargeant has undertaken some research on e-marketing which you might find of interest.

Thanks for the comments.
At a time of recession it is easy for charities ( and others) to cut costs and retrench into safe areas. This may not always be suitable. In difficult times we need to look after our regular and loyal supporters but also look for new markets and audiences. We in Christian Aid are investing a new charity in Spain and new programmes in Britain (Programme2 and ctl.alt.shift). The recession will end some day and we need to be prepared to grow and get returns on investments.

Overseas charities whether faith based or seccular are popular for the public and we have seen especially after humanitarian crises they can raise lots of funds. Oxfam, ActionAid, Save the Children and many others are not faith based but are big. I believe people of all faiths and none will give if we have a record that we have impact and are run well. I am not convinced that all our supporters are church going christians. Remember the case study of Christian Aid week was run by people from local churches but they went out to raise money from the public........house to house collections and collections in supermarkets and stations etc.

Charities are learning to work together. In disiasters 12 of us in the Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) raise funds together. We do many capaigns together to influence politicians in coalitions or networks Eg The Jubilee 2000 campaign to cancel third world debt and the new Climate Change campaign to influence the UN talks in Copenhagen Dec. 2009

We will not be able to end poverty alone and we will need to work with others. We in Christian Aid do this with sister agencies in Europe, North America and in the UK

Listen to Daleep and Sue talking about local fundraising and download the references from the local fundraising Charity Talk.