The Crowdfund Wales Programme is now well underway with 13 organisations receiving support with their digital fundraising appeals and they are working hard to reach their £1750 target to unlock the match funding from Localgiving. Programme members are benefitting from 1:1 mentoring sessions to ensure their appeals are planned and promoted well and fundraising messages are reaching far and wide through the their networks and beyond. Here is what Small World Theatre said about the programme: “We have received the right advice for our company so we can engage with the public on a local level as well as giving our supporters who live further afield the opportunity to donate. Localgiving offers marketing support and online tools to help with fundraising. It's been great to meet with Amy on Zoom and chat through ideas.  Thank you!”   No time like the present You might be thinking that now is not a good time to start a fundraising appeal, setting your sights on the summer months when we have hopefully transitioned out of lockdown and are moving into the nicer weather and more outdoor activity – this could be a big mistake! In the world of online fundraising, December and the build up to Christmas always does well in terms of appeals. People are feeling more generous at this time of year and it is the season synonymous with giving! However, spring is the season of re-birth, hope and anticipation for the year. April is the start of the financial year and when people generally start to get their finances in order, not to mention that at the beginning of the month, people will have just been paid. At the moment, during the UK-wide lockdown, we are all online a lot more as we are stuck in their houses. Whilst the pandemic has hit many people hard, resulting in higher levels of unemployment and less disposable income for many, for other people general expenditure has decreased and therefore people are happy to give to those in need. A report published in October 2020 from Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), showed that “between January and June 2020, the public donated a total of £5.4 billion to charity – an increase of £800 million compared to the same period in 2019”. If you are still determined to hold off until the summer, consider this first - how many other local groups may have the same idea as you? These are your direct competitors who will also be planning their outdoor fundraising events and reaching out to your potential donors at the same time. In addition to this, the potential audience for your fundraising messages may be reduced with people making plans with friends and family in the warm weather; no longer sitting in front of their devices ready to click and give. According to recent data from Statista, there are 46.6 million daily internet users in the UK. Think about these people being a captive audience right now – these are your potential donors and also the promotors of your fundraising messages!    Winning formula for appeals So now you have reconsidered the timing of your fundraising campaign, here are some top tips to consider when appealing to the masses and to make it easier for you, they all start with a ‘P’: Make sure your purpose for fundraising is clear. Convey your passion for the cause and ensure people connect with it. People generally need to feel an empathic connection with their donation so ensure you are clear about what you need money for and how their donation will make a difference Never underestimate the need to plan. Tying your launch in with a key date in the diary and segmenting off your network into donors, promoters and potential fundraisers all takes time. The more you plan for your appeal, the more it will pay off Work on your publicity and your press releases. Have you read the local papers lately? They are a bit light on news due to less general activity so now is a great time to get your appeal in the papers. Online versions can have a direct link to your Localgiving donation page too which is an added bonus Be proactive. You will have good days and bad days when it comes to donations so ensure you are promoting your successes and thanking your donors publicly for their support Don’t forget to praise yourself on your efforts. You can segment your appeal into key target milestones and this is psychologically beneficial as it breaks down your total into achievable chunks.   If you are a not-for-profit group in Wales and would like to take advantage of the Crowdfund Wales Programme - receiving more advice about your online fundraising and with the offer of £250 match funding when you have reached your target, you can get in touch with me here.

At Localgiving we like to highlight the inspirational challenges individual fundraisers carry out for our amazing charities and community groups. Every month I (Byron,Localgiving’s Membership Coordinator and helpline guy) will be picking out some of the very best active fundraisers on the platform. Here are some of the most inspiring causes and fundraising appeals we have seen this month: The Liberal Jewish Synagogue - 10,000 Steps commemorate Kindertransport Esta Charkham and Susannah Alexander walked a whopping 10,000 steps on the 2nd of Dec, more than deserving of a sequel Proclaimers song named after them. They achieved this feat to commemorates and celebrate the refugees who were welcomed into the UK in 1938. They have raised a massive £2,585 for  The Liberal Jewish Synagogue. Everyday throughout the year, the synagogue welcomes members and the broader community to a wide range of social, outreach, community care and educational services, activities and programmes for people of all ages. Somerset and Avon Rape and Sexual Abuse Support (SARSAS) - Little Vic Big Trek - Everest Base Camp for SARSAS This Christmas I've climbed a mountain novelty toblerone; Vic is climbing Everest! Vic’s challenge starts with 15 days in Nepal where she will have to acclimaise to the altitude. Best of luck from all of the Localgiving team! SARSAS provide free, confidential, trauma informed specialist support and counselling services to relieve the distress and rebuild the lives of survivors of rape and any kind of sexual abuse who are aged 13 and over. They specialise in working with women and girls. SARSAS raises awareness about rape and sexual abuse through informative campaigning, advocating for survivors voices to be heard and training for change.   Young People First- Skydive Challenge 2018 A big well done to every one of the 40 skydivers raising money for Young People First. Between them they have raised a sky-high £4,000! Young People First provides support to some of the most vulnerable and disadvantaged young people living in Warwickshire and Coventry. The vision is to inspire young people to reach their fullest potential and support them in overcoming the personal barriers preventing them from achieving. The charity is committed to providing a long-term, holistic service which is centred on building positive relationships of trust with each young person.    

Good stories are personal. Great stories make your supporters feel like they are a part of them. If your supporters can interact with your story in real-time–by making a donation or volunteering–it means you are giving them an avenue to get invested in your cause. That kind of storytelling is uniquely useful for nonprofits. Your efforts as an organization directly help the people in your stories and involve your donors and volunteers. So how do you tell personal, interactive stories? The ways you communicate with your audience is just as important as the story itself. Choosing your storytelling medium Traditionally, email, social media, etc. are all good ways to get your story out to your supporters. It’s efficient, letting you reach a ton of people at once. And it works, convincing a lot of them to make a donation to your cause. But ask them about the gift a week later, and most would have already forgotten all about it. It’s evident in the numbers–The average nonprofit receives a repeat donation from less than half their yearly donors*. A significant amount of supporters stop giving because they don’t remember donating and because of minimal or non-existent communication on the part of the nonprofit.   Today’s donors crave and are more likely to remember authentic, personal interactions with the organizations that they support.  Doing that means reaching out to people as individuals, and a channel like text messaging is excellent at that.  Text messaging in the UK Smartphone ownership is only set to grow in the UK, with a predicted 92% ownership by 2023. With the texting being so ubiquitous, it makes sense for charities to use texting as one of their primary modes of communication with supporters. Another factor to consider is what donors really want from your communications.  According to the 2014 UK Giving Report, 68% of respondents agreed that charities proving their impact was most likely to be valued by supporters. You probably want to show your supporters the successes you have had in your campaigns. The challenge is showing the impact in a way that reaches people. Supporters aren’t going to visit your website unless they have a reason to, and the standard email open rate is not very impressive. Communicating the impact your organization makes towards your campaigns needs to be done in a way that is direct and likely to be seen.  A channel that has a high chance of being read, like texting lets you do that and make your communications personal at the same time. Using text messages to tell and promote stories Messaging, whether it is through SMS, Whatsapp, or even Facebook Messenger, lets you have conversations with your supporters in real-time, without having to meet face-to-face. That means being able to provide updates on the people you are helping and answer questions as your supporters ask them. Of course, it’s not possible to reply to every text in person. You could automate texts to go out based on keywords in the messages you receive and jump in whenever you need to. Storytelling in the form of a text conversation Having conversations about your charity’s missions and goals can be made more personal and persuasive through peer-to-peer texting. With a messaging software, a single volunteer can have around one thousand conversations every hour.  For example, an initial text message could introduce them to your latest campaign and ask them if they would like to know more instead of asking them for a donation up front. If they respond positively, you can send a link to your donation page. After a successful donation, thank them through the same conversation. One thing to note about storytelling through text messages is that the story is in the form of a conversation. For it to be most effective, you need to keep them updated on how your mission is progressing, and how their support is helping your cause. Keep your supporters up-to-date and invested with your cause through follow up texts. Your next text could tell them about the funds raised from the last campaign: Your final update should let them know about how their funds were used and tell the stories of those who were positively impacted by your campaign. Your supporters will appreciate your transparency and willingness to keep them looped in. An invested and informed supporter is more likely to make further donations or volunteer for your cause. How else can you use texting? An alternative to peer-to-peer texting is to use text messages strictly as a way to link to your blog and website. This can be a broadcast message to all your supporters, telling them they can learn more about your campaign by following the link. There can be many other ways to use texting to engage your supporters. You can send reminders to campaigners and supporters to attend upcoming events and rallies (with their corresponding venue/timing details). Depending upon the volunteer’s role, you can also send texts reminding them of their respective duties on upcoming campaigns. It is evident that telling a charity’s stories in a way that can bring in donors and keep them engaged needs nonprofits to rethink donor communications. Channels like texting let supporters talk to you directly and make them feel like they truly are an important part of your cause. Augustus Franklin is the founder and CEO of CallHub, a California-based Voice and SMS service company bridging the communication gap for political campaigns and advocacy groups. When he is not working, he is either making toys with his kids or training for a marathon. *2018 Fundraising Effectiveness Survey Report  

At Localgiving we like to highlight the amazing work fundraisers do for our charities and community groups. Every month I (Byron, Localgiving’s Membership Coordinator and helpline guy) pick out some some of the very best in fundraising events. Here are some of the most inspiring causes and fundraising appeals we have seen this month The 2020 TransAm Bike Race Many people say that everything is bigger in America: the cars, the food the buildings - and now apparently the bike rides. Mike is riding 4,300 miles across America. The Bradley Wiggins of Nottingham is taking on this fantastic feat in aid of Harmless. Mike is  aiming to raise a total of £5000 in aid of the charity Harmless. Harmless is an organisation that combines personal and professional experience to support people who self harm, their friends and families, and professionals. Harmless believe in recovery, and through their work they want to promote health and well being. So many people who self harm feel overwhelmed by their emotions, and this is something they want to work hard to change.Harmless was set up by people who understand self harm and at the heart of our service is a real sense of hope. All the very best from all of us here at Localgiving.   The Retirement fight This is Martin’s last fight before he hangs up his gloves. Martin is a keen boxer and says that it will be thrilling to do what he enjoys best and get to raise money for a worthwhile cause at the same time. Martin is aim to the raise £500 for the Riff Raff Society.The Riff Raff Society is an association of like minded well-doers. Riff Raff’s aim is to accept funding applications in the Greater Manchester area from people who are facing challenging situations in relation to ill health/disability or any other relevant misfortune.The Society aims to provide assistance by funding requests for life enhancing equipment, respite breaks, home improvements, or other beneficial services to those that we support.             3 Marathons in 3 Months for Cancer April is not running just one marathon but three! This fantastic feat of endurance is in aid a local cancer charity that was set up in memory of her friend Faye-Knowles Chapman. April is not only hoping to hit her target of £1000 but to raise awareness around cancer. The Faye Knowles Chapman Foundation was set up in March 2013, Faye Knowles-Chapman sadly lost her battle against Cervical Cancer at the young age of 27.  In memory of Faye they are trying to raise awareness amongst young women and people in general. They are campaigning to get the minimum age for screening reduced or even removed altogether.        

  Dorset Parent Infant Partnership have just launched a new appeal on Localgiving! DorPIP work to ensure that parents and babies can access the support they need to build secure, long-term attachments. This includes providing psychotherapeutic intervention and promoting the importance of investment in early relationship building between parents and their children. As Vivian Allen, the founder and CEO of Dorset Parent Infant Partnership explains: "After 10 years of working as a counsellor, helping children, teenagers and adults who suffer from the effects of poor attachment, I started to look at where their pain had begun and often found it started right at the very beginning of life during the first 1001 critical days, when ‘natural bonding’ should have taken place. Having also experienced problems bonding with my own children i was inspired to set up a specialist community based preventative service to help families when bonding does not come naturally”.   They need to raise a total of £3,600 to run their our #keepintouch groups. These groups ensure that families receive ongoing specialist support during the vital first 2 years of a child’s life. “This support is good for babies, good for families and good for our society too. Please donate now to our appeal. These #keepintouch groups are a lifeline to parents and babies who really need your support." Help DorPIP to continue to provide this invaluable service to parents and babies in Dorset: Make a donation here      

As an organisation who work on abortion rights, which is still considered controversial in Northern Ireland, we were delighted when Isobel Anderson approached us to collaborate on a music video project. Isobel wrote a song in 2015, “4284_ / I'm A Life” using the words of one woman’s journey to England to access an abortion she should have been able to get here. We felt that suddenly this gave us an opportunity to speak to people who may not normally engage with political posts on social media or may not be aware of what the situation is still in Northern Ireland. Isobel has worked closely with Alliance for Choice since September last year and has high hopes for the music video, she explains, “I had wanted to write about the abuse of reproductive rights in Northern Ireland since I had moved to Belfast in 2009, but I found it difficult to know exactly how without misrepresenting people’s lived experience of the issue. Then, more and more people started sharing their stories online, and when I read Janet’s incredibly moving account, the song came together” Having had a number of successful appeals on Localgiving already, we knew it would be a great place to host our music video appeal. If we can raise our £5K target by 2nd March, we will launch the video live at a Queer Feminist Activist-run space in Belfast, with live music from local acts. We saw the power of stories with the referendum campaign in the Republic of Ireland, so we know how much more people can empathise when they can picture themselves in someone else’s shoes. Alliance for Choice have worked on a variety of education projects over the years and witnessed the incredible power of creating a space where people feel comfortable talking about their experiences of abortion, sex education, pregnancy and all of those stigmas. Reaching our target means we can make many more of these workshops and events happen. We are so proud of the video and so delighted that the song is so beautiful. Janet, whose incredible words are used for the song told us when she watched the video; “I cried. The opening line had me catch my breath, and the next thing I knew I was crying. They were complex tears, of surprise, tinged with sadness & then of joy. When I shared my story 4 years ago, I had no idea of the impact it would have, I am deeply honoured to hear some of my words in Isobel's song and I hope it had a profound effect on people as it did me. All of the people in the video have been involved one way or another, some people have travelled for abortion care, some people have helped others access it in Northern Ireland, others have been campaigning on the issue since the 1970s, there’s a whole range of activists and abortion seekers present in the video. To watch the teaser please go here: https://youtu.be/VFgHLjxWhiI To donate to the campaign please visit: https://localgiving.org/imalife For further information about Alliance for Choice please visit http://www.alliance4choice.com/ For further information about Isobel Anderson please visit http://www.isobelanderson.com/about     Emma Campbell is Co-Chair of Alliance for Choice, mother of Luca (nearly 2!) and a practising photographic artist. Alliance for Choice won the Liberty Long Walk to Freedom award with London Irish Abortion Rights Campaign and the FPA in 2017 and the Political Studies Association Campaign of the Year Award of 2018 for our work aiding the Repeal referendum in Ireland and the continuing work in NI