Development Blogs.com

Two years ago, I donated a small amount of money to 15 Irish charities - all in the medium to large category - as part of the preparations for a presentation at a fundraising conference. The results were disappointing - 5 never sent me an email to say thanks, some didn’t even record any details. So, two years on, I thought I’d repeat the exercise to see if things have improved. We’ve selected 20 charities (the same 15 as 2006, plus 5 new ones) and made (or tried to make) an online donation. We’ll be tracking how each of the charities relate to us over the next couple of weeks. We’re going to be entirely open and upfront about what happens - not to point figures or take pleasure from failings, but to offer advice and suggestions on how to improve things to...

Your database is really at the heart of any direct marketing strategy. By knowing what your donors are interested in, what they respond to - and when - you can tailor you strategy so that you give your donors what THEY want, thereby ensuring a more lucrative, successful fundraising effort for your organisation. Here’s an example of how it’s done in the commercial world. Viking know I’ve ordered recycled paper in past so they’ve personalised the catalogue they’ve just sent me with a special me-only offer on the front page. Brilliant. Of course it would help if they spelled my name right. (Don’t under-estimate the importance of good data entry) And I won’t dwell on the irony of Viking trying to sell me recycled paper while at the same time...

… I really like the way they demolish the charity-bosses-get-paid-a-fortune myth by comparing Chelsea with Save the Children and Man Utd with the British Red Cross. The bit on Oxfam is worth quoting at length: …at Oxfam, director Barbara Stocking gets £87,265 a year (see PDF of annual report) – much less than Tony at the Opera House, but still a large amount. Wouldn’t this money be better spent on feeding the starving? Probably not. Oxfam is an enormous charity, working in dozens of countries and with an annual turnover of over £200 million. Making sure all that cash is well spent is a difficult job, and one that very few people can do. Those who can do it tend to be expensive. Very expensive. To put it in context, City firm Accenture pays mid-ranking managers about the...

Just imagine if there was an Irish version of this. The Charity Sleuths have finished their work and the Intelligent Giving site is live. And pretty impressive it is too. Sure there are gaps and glitches (if you’re a Mac user you’ll find it doesn’t work properly in Safari, but Firefox seems fine) but overall this is a hugely valuable resource for donors, providing overviews and reviews of hundreds (thousands?) of charities. Each charity is ranked on its accountability and the quality of its reporting. Whether or not it has an ethical investment policy. How long its reserves will last. How much they pay their highest staff. There’s a section that tackles some common charity myths, links to charity awards and a range of articles. And it’s all written in...