Fundraising Bright Spots

In times of rapid change, all charities and social good organisations are having to adapt if we are to survive and continue to make an impact.The Sustainable Restaurant Association (SRA) has faced plenty of challenges in the last five years, given the turmoil that the hospitality industry has faced since the COVID pandemic. In December 2024, income was so low that the organisations’ very survival was at risk. One year later, they have had their best year to date, passing £1m in revenue. In this interview, Juliane Caillouette Noble, Managing Director of the SRA, shares the strategies they’ve used to achieve this stunning comeback. It includes lessons about adapting your strategy, the huge benefits of getting clear about who your ideal partner is, storytelling and how to hang in there during the tough times. We’d love to know what you think! And thank you so much for supporting our show, e.g. by sharing it with colleagues or on social media. We are both on LinkedIn.

As the funding environment becomes ever more competitive, being ambitious, open to opportunities and willing to adapt is extremely valuable for charities. Inspire to Ignite is a small, fast-growing not for profit organisation based in Cambridgeshire in the UK. Rob was delighted to talk to the co-founder Sam Squire to understand how they’ve managed to quickly grow to serve so many young people in just three years. In this down-to-earth conversation, Sam shares examples and tactics that have helped on the journey so far. The conversation includes how to be open-minded, co-creation with funders, the Five Yard Rule for growing your impact and how to move swiftly and confidently when an opportunity presents itself.We’d love to know what you think! And thank you so much for supporting our show by sharing it with colleagues or on social media. We are both on LinkedIn.

Major Donors can make a huge difference to fundraising income, but fundraising with High Net Worth people can also be really challenging. Debbie Johnson has been making wonderful progress in her fundraising. In the year she took part in Bright Spot’s Major Gifts Mastery programme, she increased major donor income for her wildlife charity by 200% compared to the previous year... and these wonderful results continue to flow.In this podcast she and Rob discuss several powerful distinctions from the training that have helped achieve this success, including: a powerful strategy she uses every day to improve relationships with donors; a technique that improves results when she meets supporters; being yourself; listening skills; and an insight that transformed one major gift from five figures to an amazing six figure value.We’d love to know what you think! And thank you so much for supporting our show, e.g. by sharing it with colleagues or on social media. We are both on LinkedIn.

Fundraising with trusts and foundations has become ever more competitive recently.What can you do to increase your success rate with these funders? Atul is a curious and shrewd fundraiser who has spent many years exploring how to grow fundraising income in this area. In this conversation Atul and Rob discuss several of his most effective strategies. It includes ways to find more funders who definitely care about your cause; what to call your project (spoiler, it makes an astonishing difference to results!) and strategies to leverage game-changing bids by sequencing them with smaller, easier ones. We’d love to know what you think! And thank you so much for supporting our show, e.g. by sharing it with colleagues or on social media. We are both on LinkedIn.

There are plenty of really good books specifically about fundraising. We’ve also found it invaluable for fundraisers to read well-written books on related subjects. But which ones are worth your time? If you’re on the lookout for a good read and some different perspectives, we’ve created a Books that Inspire Fundraisers – The Super Six, which you can access with this link. And in this episode Bright Spot trainers Rob and Ben share the first three on our list. We explain why we love each book, and a bunch of ideas you can apply in your fundraising, even if you don’t have time to read the books.Among other things, this conversation includes: a fascinating insight about how to improve valuable skills more quickly; two ideas for inspiring supporters; and a little-known technique that increases your confidence in important meetings.We’d love to know what you think! And thank you so much for supporting our show, e.g. by sharing it with colleagues or on social media. We are both on LinkedIn.

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.

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.

‘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.