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February 2015

A day in the life of a Fundraising Apprentice

By |February 23rd, 2015

I always start my day off with putting on the kettle, the tough question is always… Tea or coffee! After concluding my decisions, its then time to get down to business! Most mornings, I spend at least an hour checking social media, reading through Facebook and Twitter and current affairs, usually in the Guardian. Seeing what I can dig my teeth into that’s worth Tweeting/posting about!

I am really enjoying exploring different aspects of social media and seeing what will work well for different charities, I am already excited by what I have learnt so far and am excited to expand my knowledge further.

Then I read through my emails, most are newsletters I have signed up to informing me of funding updates. So, I spend a large part of the average day reading through funding opportunities seeing if any catch my eye for our clients, if they do I make sure their criteria is eligible, this can be quite a big task as we have quite a few clients. If they are eligible and look good for the client I add them to a funding applications diary. It can be frustrating but when you find the right one it is an amazing feeling – a feeling of real accomplishment!!

I have a work plan that is created at the beginning of every week, we go through my work plan from the week before checking that everything was completed and if it wasn’t we put it on the new work plan. This way we make sure all my tasks are being completed.  My week can vary in what I am doing depending on what work is needed to be done for our clients. However, I do spend […]

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December 2014

How good is your website? – A review by Jess

By |December 2nd, 2014

What do people want to see from your website? This should probably be the first question when designing a new website but many websites do not engage fully with their audience, the majority of people will always be able to find a criticism, so what do people really want to see on a website?

I’ve been reading over websites daily and reading through articles on the internet and here is my view on what people want to see on your website:

Firstly, people want to feel attracted to your website. You want to catch the audience’s eyes, you want them to look at your website and automatically feel satisfied that this is a website they can bare to look around, and that looks interesting. Nobody wants to read a boring, dull and full of facts website. Of course, a website needs to fit to the eyes of its audience, for example if your audience is young adults, your website needs to be colourful and get straight to the point with as little words as possible.

76% of people say that the most important factor in a websites design is that ‘the website makes it easy for me to find what I want’.

Your website needs to be easy to get around (navigate). It is recommended that it should take no more than 2 clicks for someone to find what they need, does your website do this? People get frustrated if they can’t find what they are looking for, or takes a long time to do so. Make buttons have easy navigable headings, so when people click on them they know what information it will lead them to. People prefer this as they can get what they need […]

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November 2014

Is a Fundraising Apprentice for you?

By |November 11th, 2014

Around this time last year, Steph and I began to talk about the possibility of recruiting another member of staff. We were very busy but were caught in a catch 22 where the idea of bringing in a new member of the team, inducting them and teaching them the job felt like too much (more) hard work! We were well aware that charities often struggle to recruit great fundraisers and so we felt as though our chances of doing so might be slim.

We work with numerous youth charities so are well aware of the problems young people face in finding employment and with university fees so high, many people are excluded from the opportunity to learn and develop once they leave school. The more we talked about the idea of an Apprentice, the more excited we got.

After some initial research we discovered that Rathbone offered a Fundraising Apprenticeship and once we’d seen the quality of the course there was no going back! The course content looked excellent and in a career where until recently there were very few people with recognised accreditations this seemed the perfect opportunity for us to help train and support the highest quality fundraiser.

The recruitment process was simple but the interviews were tough, I had forgotten how it feels to have to turn people down, especially when they are so keen and full of enthusiasm. The role of a fundraiser is demanding and we had to make sure we found someone who could cope with a heavy, varied workload but who could also show great understanding an empathy towards the charities we work with.

I am happy to say that we’ve found that person! Jess started working with us on the […]

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October 2014

Apprentice Fundraisers Blog – Social Media

By |October 2nd, 2014

For small charities media can be extremely helpful. Small charities can gain a lot of possibilities by simply having media sites. Websites such as Facebook, Twitter, YouTube and Instagram are fantastic ways to interact with people through social media. All these sites can be personalised so that they reflect your charities mission, allowing pictures, backgrounds and colour schemes.

Sites such as Facebook and Twitter allow you to comment on other posts, express feelings towards other things on your news feeds. You can retweet or like anything on Twitter and Facebook, retweeting is done when you agree with something after being retweeted it will appear on your own personal newsfeed; this is a fantastic way for charities to engage with other charities as it look like they will all share an interest.

Having social media accounts is also a fantastic way for small charities to see how many people are looking at what they’re doing,  and who is interested enough to follow you for recent updates.

It is a brilliant way for small charities to engage with people who support your charities cause. There are many ways to engage with followers by doing things such as launching like campaigns, Empower supporters to take action, build real relationships with social communication, Organize a twitter chat by creating a hashtag e.g #Jess’sblogsaregreat and  ask supporters to share photos or videos, create competitions to engage followers and finally treat your social networkers like V.I.P’s.

Creating a personal connection with your followers is very important, In a small charity it could be difficult to find the time for someone to pay attention to social media sites, but it is extremely important that if you have a social media site it should be checked, updated […]

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September 2014

Apprentice Fundraisers Blog – Legacies

By |September 22nd, 2014

What is a legacy and why do people leave them? This was a question I was asking myself only a few days ago, but since going on a course earlier this week I have learnt a lot about Legacy fundraising.

A legacy is any gift left in a persons will; an instruction for part of your estate to be given to an individual after your death, which can include a gift to charity. The legacy market is currently worth almost £2 billion which is almost 15% of all voluntary income, meaning that Legacy fundraising is the biggest source of voluntary income. Therefore you can understand how much legacies can impact on charities, helping them to expand. Some charities can rely fully on legacy income and without it they would be non-existent.
Even though 58% of people give to charity in their life time only 7% of people will leave something to a charity in their will. This may be for many reasons, but most of the time it’s just due to forgetting. Anyone can leave a legacy, to any charity, and normally Charities accept any donation you are willing to give them. Smaller charities benefit hugely from Legacies, as it brings income into the charity and it also brings the charity a sense of pride and gratitude as they know what they are doing is important and people can see that.
If you feel passionate about a charity then why not leave them a gift in your will? You can even have a say on what you would like the money being spent on! A lot of people who leave money to charity have seen a flaw in a system the charity provides and are keen to […]

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My first week as a Fundraising Apprentice

By |September 4th, 2014

So it’s official, my first week in the office! 18 years old and just finishing my A Levels, who would’ve thought that an apprenticeship in fundraising is where my career would begin. I’ve never been sure on what I wanted to do as a career, however I was always sure that I wanted a career ‘helping others’. I was constantly undecided whether to go to University or not, even though I was accepted I decided that the opportunity Fundraising Central offered me was too good to turn away and I am already thrilled that this is the pathway I chose.

I had a stereotypical view on what fundraising was about, thinking it was all about people getting sponsored to run a marathon or ride a bike in aid for charity! Well of course, people getting stuck in and passionate about something they believe strongly in has a massive impact on fundraising. But now I can see there is a lot more to fundraising such as bid writing, applications, hard work and dedication! I have already seen the impact that money has on charities and how it helps them grow and achieve their goals. Money does make a difference is something I’ve already learnt working at Fundraising Central and that with money and direction anything is achievable. It is eye opening to see the change that money can make to charities, whether it be a few thousands to a hundred thousand.

My colleagues, Stephanie and Louisa have already made me feel at home in the office. They have been extremely helpful with expanding my knowledge in fundraising over the summer in my induction days and making sure I understand what they’re talking about. I feel confident […]

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August 2014

ESF Funding Opportunities 2015

By |August 4th, 2014

There will be more ESF funding opportunities in 2015 for voluntary organisations from the ESF 2014-2020 programme, at the moment it looks as though these will be available from January 2015. Funding will be used to support projects promoting social inclusion and combating poverty, helping those furthest from the labour market to gain skills, and improve their employment and learning opportunities.

The funding calls will be available European Funding website as soon they are announced.

In the meantime read your local European Structural and Investment Fund (ESIF) strategy  drafted by your Local Enterprise Partnership. The projects you have in mind will need to meet local priorities as outlined in these LEP ESIF strategies.

You can also register your interest with the Big Lottery to receive information from your local PDF once they have been appointed.

For more information about EU funding, NCVO’s European Funding Network website. is very useful

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July 2014

11 personal characteristics or traits of fundraisers

By |July 23rd, 2014

Earlier this month at the Institute of Fundraising’s National Convention, Beth Breeze, director of the Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent, presented early findings from her three-year project, The Formation of Fundraisers: the Role of Personal Skills in Asking for Money. They included a list of 11 personal characteristics and traits that she has discovered so far in the kind of people who make a career out of asking for money.

As we took part in Beth’s study we were intrigued to see what these were!

  1. A high emotional intelligence, including being self-aware and aware of how others are feeling.
  2. Formative experiences which mean they are comfortable asking – Breeze said fundraisers tended to come from backgrounds where it was completely natural to ask for help or to borrow a cup of sugar.
  3. A tendency to engage with people and communities outside the day job
  4. A love of reading – the study found fundraisers were particularly likely to enjoy popular psychology books
  5. An ability to read people and situations, and to understand body language
  6. An enjoyment of giving – 87 per cent of fundraisers said they love to give gifts, and 32 per cent donate blood, compared to 5 per cent in the general population
  7. A great memory for faces, names and personal details
  8. An ability to be “Janus-faced” – fundraisers are charming, laid back and fun in front of donors, but ruthlessly well organised behind the scenes
  9. A focus on organisational rather than personal success – fundraisers saw themselves as enablers and scene setters rather than visible leaders seeking recognition
  10. A lack of egotism – Breeze said fundraisers understood that “the plaques are for donors, not askers”
  11. A tendency not to describe themselves as fundraisers – Breeze said fundraisers rarely described themselves as fundraisers.

What do you […]

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March 2014

Crowdfunding for charities – ten key points to consider

By |March 27th, 2014

Crowdfunding is an increasingly popular way to raise funds for specific projects. An excellent example of this is The Bicycle Academy, which raised £40,000 in six days. It’s worth noting though that not all Crowdfunding projects achieve their goals and not all projects are suitable for Crowdfunding so make sure that the project you chose is easy to explain and understand.

Bear in mind these 10 key points:

  1. Crowdfunding only works if you can make a good connection with donors so be clear and specific – you may decide to make a short video to pitch your idea or a short but compelling narrative. This is your chance to get people interested!
  2. Be realistic – don’t set your targets so high that they put people off
  3. Be transparent – what is the money raised going to do? Include a budget
  4. Plan your social media campaign – crowdfunding only works if you make the most of your online networks. Make sure that as many people as possible hear about your campaign, use Twitter, Facebook, your website, newsletter
  5. What rewards will you offer in return for funding? (remember that this needs to cover the cost of using the platform and of honouring any rewards)
  6. Pick the right platform – look at the costs and the audience –  this website is helpful www.crowdingin.com
  7. Submit your pitch –Make sure you have checked and double checked for any errors. It’s worth asking someone who knows nothing about your work for their feedback. All pitches are checked before going live so expect a delay
  8. Get others to help – word of mouth is what it’s all about. Approach your regular supporters first – crowd funding has a snowball effect – people are more likely to give if they see […]
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February 2014

The Integrity Advantage

By |February 14th, 2014

Integrity comes in many forms, but honesty and openness are traits that are expected in most workplace situations, they are certainly traits any potential donor wants to see in a charity. Without responsible behaviour, distrust can make a working in a charity tense and even downright uncomfortable. Demonstrating a strong work ethic shows co-workers and potential donors that you’re reliable and take your responsibilities seriously. Polite communication, respectable behaviour and fiscal responsibility also help you stand out as a charity worth investing in.

We often describe ourselves as a values based organisation, we truthfully believe in our core values of openess, honesty and integrity and we look for these shared values in our own clients because we know that we can be more successful by working in this way.

How charities can build their ‘integrity capital’

A charity needs to present a united front. Not everyone will be supportive of a plan to change the status quo, but by preparing for a degree of resistance you can help to head off any negativity. The best way to do this is to say why the charity will benefit from being able to show integrity such as improved reputation and increased donations.

  • Be consistent in your approach to tasks and responsibilities:

From trustee to entry level employee aim to demonstrate consistent professionalism.

  • Bring to the table different skills, experiences and perspectives, and new solutions:

Make sure the skills you need to deliver your goals properly are available to you.

  • Increase the organisation’s access to new knowledge, networks and connections, helping to open doors and increase the charity’s public profile:

Build networks and communicate a consistent message. Make it clear what you stand for.

  • Bring unique characteristics to the organisation – for example, young people often help […]
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