So, when I was asked to blog about Volunteer Engagement for the January blog, my heart sunk and now we are here in January, it’s safe to say the January blues are here and in full effect. The parties are over, the weather is cold (minus 1 degree at the time of writing), and motivation is at an all time low. We’re all looking forward to the end of the month and the long awaited pay day! But even payday doesn’t offer any solace for our volunteers, they support us for free and yet their support is invaluable – so how can you keep them motivated and make January a brighter month for all? I’ve pondered this question and come up with a few suggestions!

Advertise your projects for the year- Why not use this time to show donors exactly what you have planned for the year and what events you will be running. This way it gives donors the choice to decide if there is particular project they wish to donate to. It may be a fun run they wish to sign up to and help fundraise, or there may be a specific project close to their heart. It may be a skydive that they need a few months to build themselves up for but the ability for them (and you) to plan ahead will be welcome as the year progresses.

Make ‘Blue Monday’  a happy day! – The last Monday before January payday has started to become known as Blue Monday. Why not use this day as a mini fundraising campaign to give people the opportunity to do something fun on this day. Local companies could ask employees to wear a bright colour on the […]

It’s almost Christmas and your festive fundraising is about to go into full swing. Have you ever thought about using Twitter to help you advance your donations? Technology Trust have published a very useful guide on how to make the most of Twitter for your Christmas campaign.

The guide offers a great step by step guide to three main features of Twitter, the first of which is Twitter Moments. This new feature allows charities to create a story and add Tweets that they have liked – or Tweets followers have sent –  to this story. This feature can be great for showing how a campaign is going or giving updates of fundraising events. See this moment recently posted by Children in Need to update on their Rickshaw Challenge.

Secondly, the guide references the use of media on Twitter. Statistics show that Tweets with images or videos receive a lot more likes and retweets. The article gives examples of charities making great use of media on Twitter such as Dogs Trust. Have a look at their page and see how almost every Tweet has an image with it, you will also note that the image is always relevant to the Tweet to make it as effective as possible. Why not post a video of a fundraising event, or even of one of your services in action? This is a great platform to show donors exactly what it is you do and how their money is spent.

The third feature highlighted is Conversational Ads. This is something that may be useful for a larger campaign as while it initially doesn’t cost anything, Twitter do charge for click-throughs. It’s definitely worth considering  how much you can benefit from this […]

Do you often wish you could effectively demonstrate the impact of your work? Do you struggle to find the time to gather the thoughts and feedback of your service users?

Over the years we have worked with numerous charities who struggle when it comes to finding an appropriate, affordable solution to service user consultation and the evaluation of projects and services.

Next month, we are launching a new venture Client Voice –  set up specifically to deliver this kind of feedback. Client Voice will specialise in gathering the feedback you need through consultation, research and evaluation, all with a focus on service-user engagement.

We believe that evidence-based service development, building on the expertise of service users, is integral to the development and continuation of effective projects. Also, as many of you will be aware, this is fast becoming a requirement of funders.

Louisa has previously worked with Community Research Company (CRC UK), an innovative training and research company, founded by Jon Adamson and Graham Fletcher. Their work specialised in social research and evaluation and also provided training and support for peer-led research. Louisa was involved in a number of key pieces of research including:

o Mixed-methods research – including survey, depth interviews, focus groups and a peer-led research project – funded by AstraZeneca and undertaken on behalf of National Homeless Charity, DePaul UK and as part of Making it Matter: Improving the health of homeless young people.

o The co-facilitation of training and workshops as part of a youth-led research project on child poverty in Leicestershire – the findings of which are incorporated into the 2011 report Child Poverty in Leicestershire.

o Depth interviews and focus groups with service users of Women at the Well, a day centre […]

With Christmas fast approaching (only 95 days to go!), it’s time to start thinking of how you can maximise fundraising during the season of goodwill. This time of year sees people embracing the festive spirit and offering their support to charities in many different ways, much more so than at other times of the year. December is the  month that fundraisers can expect to generate a higher amount of income through individual giving than any other month of the year.

If as a fundraiser, you are finding yourself thinking “Oh no, Christmas! I don’t want to dress up as Santa and stand in the town centre freezing with a bucket again!”, fear not! For here we have some alternative methods to fundraising at Christmas. While Christmas Markets and Carol Services are very effective and festive, there are other ways to maximise the Christmas spirit in terms of fundraising. Here are 5 Christmas tips for alternative fundraising methods:

1. Corporate Partners – I know from my own experience in the Corporate Sector that December is often the month of ‘festive fun’ at work. This month see’s fundraising days and events such as ‘Christmas Jumper Day’. Having a relationship with a Corporate Partner can be very useful to charities at Christmas time. There are many ways they can help with fundraising, from fundraising events to asking their employees to donate their last hour of pay for the year. You could even ask that they have donating buckets at their Christmas parties, as we all know people are more charitable after a few drinks!

2. Search Engines – The technology era is upon us, and we are spending more and more time online to do our shopping than we […]