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  • 15 Oct 2015
    A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Characters
    Lessons on social media engagement for charities from the feline rulers of the internet Jeanne-Claire Morley is the Digital Marketing Executive at the Royal Horticultural Society, and previously at Doctors of the World UK. This is her favourite cat video. Cats run the web. We all know that. Chances are that everyone reading this has accessed at least one cat video in their internet lifetimes or been sent some version of a cat-based meme disguised as a meeting review. Cats have reached a level of online omnipresence usually only reserved for the Kardashians and they’ve done so without millions of pounds worth of PR. So what are the hard and fast rules about online content that we can learn from our four-legged friends? Lesson One: Who cares? Cats in the real world may be adorable, but they do not care about you. The internet has provided a place for all those affection-starved cat lovers to obtain the content they want without risking emotional rejection. Ridiculous as that might sound, cat videos provide the exact content that users who search for them are after. Can you say the same thing about your charity’s online presence? Your social media should always appeal directly to users who are emotionally involved in your mission. For example: if you’re a health charity then it may be people who have had loved ones affected by the illness your organisation is working against, or if you’re an advocacy charity then you may inflame the conscience of users with whom you’re politically aligned. Whatever it is, make sure that your content not only appeals to that passion trigger, but also constantly provides them with new and relevant information. If you’re serving your audience content that doesn’t consider their needs, your engagement will suffer. Lesson Two: Know your (visual) worth Cats are cute. They have tiny paws and noses and are fluffy. They’re also ridiculous creatures who often behave like they’ve been programmed by aliens. As a combination this makes for obviously persuasive viewing, whether that’s image or video-based, and also perfectly demonstrates what it is about cats that people want to engage with. Whatever your charity, there will be an aspect of it that will be visually compelling. At the Royal Horticultural Society we have the distinct advantage of representing flowers and plants, and as such our media tends to be lush and gorgeous to look at. In general if you think about what it is that makes the work your organisation does important you will get some good inspiration points to start building your social media content strategy. For example, Charity:Water use photos of kids and adults interacting with the water their organisation brings to remote areas of the globe to demonstrate the worth of their work. These types of images give a positive impression of the impact of your charity, and in turn drive good engagement with your charity online.  Lesson Three: Don’t panic about quality The best and most engaging cat content online generally doesn’t look like it’s been shot by Martin Scorsese. More often than not it’s the result of one smartphone pointed at the right cat at the right time. The content works because of the cat itself rather than the style of the photo or video. There’s a propensity when developing content for brand social media to get stuck on overthinking its development, but realistically your subject will do most of the talking for you. Remember lesson one and lesson two: keep in mind the people who care about what you do, and what it is about the work of your charity that matters. Take photos and videos of anything you encounter that fits either of these criteria (or, even better, both) and you will steadily build a library of content for social media without spending a penny.   Image "Turkish Van Cat"       Found this blog post useful? You may also like:   Storytelling Tips for Charities by Becky Slack 5 free tools to share your organisation's story by Nisha Kotecha Don’t save you Pitch for the Elevator by Emma BeestonHow Charities can tap into the hyperlocal by Zoe AmarThe Power of the Twitter Hour by Richard Barker   
    4729 Posted by Jeanne-Claire Morley
  • By Jeanne-Claire Morley
    A Picture Is Worth a Thousand Characters
    Lessons on social media engagement for charities from the feline rulers of the internet Jeanne-Claire Morley is the Digital Marketing Executive at the Royal Horticultural Society, and previously at Doctors of the World UK. This is her favourite cat video. Cats run the web. We all know that. Chances are that everyone reading this has accessed at least one cat video in their internet lifetimes or been sent some version of a cat-based meme disguised as a meeting review. Cats have reached a level of online omnipresence usually only reserved for the Kardashians and they’ve done so without millions of pounds worth of PR. So what are the hard and fast rules about online content that we can learn from our four-legged friends? Lesson One: Who cares? Cats in the real world may be adorable, but they do not care about you. The internet has provided a place for all those affection-starved cat lovers to obtain the content they want without risking emotional rejection. Ridiculous as that might sound, cat videos provide the exact content that users who search for them are after. Can you say the same thing about your charity’s online presence? Your social media should always appeal directly to users who are emotionally involved in your mission. For example: if you’re a health charity then it may be people who have had loved ones affected by the illness your organisation is working against, or if you’re an advocacy charity then you may inflame the conscience of users with whom you’re politically aligned. Whatever it is, make sure that your content not only appeals to that passion trigger, but also constantly provides them with new and relevant information. If you’re serving your audience content that doesn’t consider their needs, your engagement will suffer. Lesson Two: Know your (visual) worth Cats are cute. They have tiny paws and noses and are fluffy. They’re also ridiculous creatures who often behave like they’ve been programmed by aliens. As a combination this makes for obviously persuasive viewing, whether that’s image or video-based, and also perfectly demonstrates what it is about cats that people want to engage with. Whatever your charity, there will be an aspect of it that will be visually compelling. At the Royal Horticultural Society we have the distinct advantage of representing flowers and plants, and as such our media tends to be lush and gorgeous to look at. In general if you think about what it is that makes the work your organisation does important you will get some good inspiration points to start building your social media content strategy. For example, Charity:Water use photos of kids and adults interacting with the water their organisation brings to remote areas of the globe to demonstrate the worth of their work. These types of images give a positive impression of the impact of your charity, and in turn drive good engagement with your charity online.  Lesson Three: Don’t panic about quality The best and most engaging cat content online generally doesn’t look like it’s been shot by Martin Scorsese. More often than not it’s the result of one smartphone pointed at the right cat at the right time. The content works because of the cat itself rather than the style of the photo or video. There’s a propensity when developing content for brand social media to get stuck on overthinking its development, but realistically your subject will do most of the talking for you. Remember lesson one and lesson two: keep in mind the people who care about what you do, and what it is about the work of your charity that matters. Take photos and videos of anything you encounter that fits either of these criteria (or, even better, both) and you will steadily build a library of content for social media without spending a penny.   Image "Turkish Van Cat"       Found this blog post useful? You may also like:   Storytelling Tips for Charities by Becky Slack 5 free tools to share your organisation's story by Nisha Kotecha Don’t save you Pitch for the Elevator by Emma BeestonHow Charities can tap into the hyperlocal by Zoe AmarThe Power of the Twitter Hour by Richard Barker   
    Oct 15, 2015 4729
  • 12 Oct 2015
    Local Charity and Community Group Sustainability Report - 2015
    Over the summer, we sent out a survey to representatives from local charities and community groups asking for their viewpoints on the current issues affecting their organisations. Our aim was to gather perspectives from as many different cause areas, locations and types of group as possible, so as to gain an extensive overview of the local voluntary sector in the UK. Report findings Today, to coincide with the launch of Grow Your Tenner, we have released the findings of this study in our first Local Charity and Community Group Sustainability Report. Its results will help to better inform the work Localgiving does to support its members and advocate for local charities and community groups. Our hope is that it will also serve as a catalyst to inspire other key stakeholders across society to engage with the sector and work together to tackle the problems it faces. The report showcases some of the fantastic attributes that local voluntary organisations share, which make them such valuable assets to the communities they serve. However, it also serves to highlight some of the pressing issues facing many groups around the country. Whilst an increase in demand for services shows no sign of slowing, many organisations are left struggling to cover core costs and unable to plan for the future. At the same time, many feel much of the general public are unaware of their work, making it all the more difficult to build connections with new supporters. Grow Your Tenner This is where initiatives like Grow Your Tenner come in. Our hope is that this year’s campaign will help to further raise awareness and support for the sector, whilst also enabling groups to develop practical fundraising skills and build lasting connections with new supporters. Over the past three years we have seen some amazing results and heard some incredible stories from groups taking part. Now in it’s fourth year, we hope that Grow Your Tenner 2015 will engage more new people with the work of the local voluntary sector and serve as a beacon for our future plans to support these vital organisations and their work. How you can get involved: Double your donation Click here to find a local charity and donate now. We’ll match your donation pound-for-pound by up to £10. Or, choose to set up a monthly donation and we’ll match it by up to £10 a month for the first 3 months. Register your organisation If you’re a local charity or community group that is not currently a member of Localgiving, there’s still plenty of time to take part in this year’s Grow Your Tenner and benefit from up to £10,000 of match funding. Simply click here to join us now. We’ll aim to get you online and accepting donations within 1 working day of receiving your completed documents, with many groups up and running the same day! For more information about Grow Your Tenner, including FAQs, please click here.  
    9571 Posted by Lou Coady
  • By Lou Coady
    Local Charity and Community Group Sustainability Report - 2015
    Over the summer, we sent out a survey to representatives from local charities and community groups asking for their viewpoints on the current issues affecting their organisations. Our aim was to gather perspectives from as many different cause areas, locations and types of group as possible, so as to gain an extensive overview of the local voluntary sector in the UK. Report findings Today, to coincide with the launch of Grow Your Tenner, we have released the findings of this study in our first Local Charity and Community Group Sustainability Report. Its results will help to better inform the work Localgiving does to support its members and advocate for local charities and community groups. Our hope is that it will also serve as a catalyst to inspire other key stakeholders across society to engage with the sector and work together to tackle the problems it faces. The report showcases some of the fantastic attributes that local voluntary organisations share, which make them such valuable assets to the communities they serve. However, it also serves to highlight some of the pressing issues facing many groups around the country. Whilst an increase in demand for services shows no sign of slowing, many organisations are left struggling to cover core costs and unable to plan for the future. At the same time, many feel much of the general public are unaware of their work, making it all the more difficult to build connections with new supporters. Grow Your Tenner This is where initiatives like Grow Your Tenner come in. Our hope is that this year’s campaign will help to further raise awareness and support for the sector, whilst also enabling groups to develop practical fundraising skills and build lasting connections with new supporters. Over the past three years we have seen some amazing results and heard some incredible stories from groups taking part. Now in it’s fourth year, we hope that Grow Your Tenner 2015 will engage more new people with the work of the local voluntary sector and serve as a beacon for our future plans to support these vital organisations and their work. How you can get involved: Double your donation Click here to find a local charity and donate now. We’ll match your donation pound-for-pound by up to £10. Or, choose to set up a monthly donation and we’ll match it by up to £10 a month for the first 3 months. Register your organisation If you’re a local charity or community group that is not currently a member of Localgiving, there’s still plenty of time to take part in this year’s Grow Your Tenner and benefit from up to £10,000 of match funding. Simply click here to join us now. We’ll aim to get you online and accepting donations within 1 working day of receiving your completed documents, with many groups up and running the same day! For more information about Grow Your Tenner, including FAQs, please click here.  
    Oct 12, 2015 9571
  • 07 Oct 2015
    It’s nearly time to start growing those tenners!
    The winter may be coming, but there’s still something growing – your tenners! Grow Your Tenner, our annual match fund campaign, starts next week and we’re excited to help double donations to local charities and community groups across the UK. How does it work Single donations are matched pound-for-pound up to £10, and monthly donations up to £10 per month for 3 months. All charities with active Localgiving memberships are eligible to receive up to a maximum of £10,000 of match funding.  The campaign will run across the whole of the UK. With Gift Aid, a one-time donation of £10 made through Localgiving.com during Grow Your Tenner will generate £21.67. This means that when someone sets up a monthly donation for your cause this  would result in £65.31 (including Gift Aid) after the three months of matching, and will continue to bring in £11.77 a month until it is stopped. Just think about what 5 Direct Debits set up could bring in for your charity after 12 months! £856.20 to be exact. Read our FAQs and terms and conditions for more information. It starts with £10 Part of the mission of Grow Your Tenner is to help local voluntary organisations engage new supporters for their cause. £10 is a great starting point for many people who haven’t donated to a charity or community group before. During the campaign, a charity receives over double from a donation that is eligible for Gift Aid made by a new supporter. But that’s not all, for any supporter that opts-in to communications, a charity can collect their contact information and keep these new supporters engaged with their work. 81% of donors say it is important that they receive some form of communication from a charity after making a donation. While a personal thank you is great, donors also care about the impact their donations have made - why not update them about the difference their money has made after the campaign, too? Keeping supporters engaged with the projects your charity is working on increases the likelihood that they will donate to a cause again (and again, and again) and less likely that they will cancel a monthly donation they’ve set up. How we can help make it a success We’ve been busy at Localgiving HQ making resources to help give you the best chance of a successful campaign. Check out our resources for Grow Your Tenner. These includes tips for social media, story-telling and encouraging monthly donations, as well as templates to help you get started with emails and contacting the press. For some inspiration - see the award winners and runners up of last year’s campaign and see how they fundraised here. Still time to join in Not yet a member of Localgiving? Don't worry, there is no time limit for inclusion. If you're a local voluntary organisation then sign up and be included in the campaign straight away! Click here to join us. Happy fundraising!
    4581 Posted by Steph Heyden
  • By Steph Heyden
    It’s nearly time to start growing those tenners!
    The winter may be coming, but there’s still something growing – your tenners! Grow Your Tenner, our annual match fund campaign, starts next week and we’re excited to help double donations to local charities and community groups across the UK. How does it work Single donations are matched pound-for-pound up to £10, and monthly donations up to £10 per month for 3 months. All charities with active Localgiving memberships are eligible to receive up to a maximum of £10,000 of match funding.  The campaign will run across the whole of the UK. With Gift Aid, a one-time donation of £10 made through Localgiving.com during Grow Your Tenner will generate £21.67. This means that when someone sets up a monthly donation for your cause this  would result in £65.31 (including Gift Aid) after the three months of matching, and will continue to bring in £11.77 a month until it is stopped. Just think about what 5 Direct Debits set up could bring in for your charity after 12 months! £856.20 to be exact. Read our FAQs and terms and conditions for more information. It starts with £10 Part of the mission of Grow Your Tenner is to help local voluntary organisations engage new supporters for their cause. £10 is a great starting point for many people who haven’t donated to a charity or community group before. During the campaign, a charity receives over double from a donation that is eligible for Gift Aid made by a new supporter. But that’s not all, for any supporter that opts-in to communications, a charity can collect their contact information and keep these new supporters engaged with their work. 81% of donors say it is important that they receive some form of communication from a charity after making a donation. While a personal thank you is great, donors also care about the impact their donations have made - why not update them about the difference their money has made after the campaign, too? Keeping supporters engaged with the projects your charity is working on increases the likelihood that they will donate to a cause again (and again, and again) and less likely that they will cancel a monthly donation they’ve set up. How we can help make it a success We’ve been busy at Localgiving HQ making resources to help give you the best chance of a successful campaign. Check out our resources for Grow Your Tenner. These includes tips for social media, story-telling and encouraging monthly donations, as well as templates to help you get started with emails and contacting the press. For some inspiration - see the award winners and runners up of last year’s campaign and see how they fundraised here. Still time to join in Not yet a member of Localgiving? Don't worry, there is no time limit for inclusion. If you're a local voluntary organisation then sign up and be included in the campaign straight away! Click here to join us. Happy fundraising!
    Oct 07, 2015 4581
  • 06 Oct 2015
    5 ways to communicate your group's work effectively
    Our members often ask us 'How can we ask for money? What are people interested in hearing about?' The key to successful fundraising is the ability to communicate what you do in a way which garners public support. The aim is to get the right balance between (a) building trust in your work by providing specific details, and (b) creating an emotional connection with your supporters by showing the impact of your work on your service users. Here are our 5 tips for effectively communicating what you do.... If you need any help with developing a 'pitch' for your group, get in touch with us on 0300 111 2340. Or, email a draft to help@localgiving.com.
    4165 Posted by Cara Sanquest
  • By Cara Sanquest
    5 ways to communicate your group's work effectively
    Our members often ask us 'How can we ask for money? What are people interested in hearing about?' The key to successful fundraising is the ability to communicate what you do in a way which garners public support. The aim is to get the right balance between (a) building trust in your work by providing specific details, and (b) creating an emotional connection with your supporters by showing the impact of your work on your service users. Here are our 5 tips for effectively communicating what you do.... If you need any help with developing a 'pitch' for your group, get in touch with us on 0300 111 2340. Or, email a draft to help@localgiving.com.
    Oct 06, 2015 4165
  • 22 Dec 2015
    Give as you Live: A simple way to boost your fundraising
    Greg Hallett has been a qualified accountant for almost 30 years. He has always worked within the smaller company environment. He believes passionately in people and in charity – that’s why he came to work with Give as you Live – this allows him to combine his passions with his business and finance background.  As MD, Greg insists that the DNA of Give as you Live is all about charity, all about people and all about honesty and integrity. Fundraising can be tough when you have a target to reach and you’ve exhausted all your contacts. But what if you could add to your fundraising target by doing something you do everyday? A great way to help boost your fundraising efforts is Give as you Live – an online shopping platform that allows you to shop online and raise money for a cause you care about. With over 4,000 stores participating in the scheme and the stores covering the cost of the donation – all you need to do is decide what you’re going to buy.  A new car insurance policy at More Than can raise on average £35 A weekly online food shop at Sainsbury’s can raise 50p A new phone contract at Carphone Warehouse can raise up to £20 The way it works is by affiliate marketing. Give as you Live gets paid a commission for driving a sale to the retailer, they then share this with the users chosen charity – making it completely free for the charity and the supporter to raise funds. You don’t have to sacrifice where you shop with most household names signed up including John Lewis, Argos, M&S, Amazon and more. And more importantly you don’t have to drastically change the way you shop. Want to try it? Step 1: Go to Give.as/localgiving and choose a Localgiving cause of your choice. Step 2: Enter your name and email to sign up with Give as you Live. Step 3: Search for the retailer you want to shop with and start shopping! Once you’ve clicked through to the retailer’s website, just continue to shop as normal. You’ll receive an email from Give as you Live within 1 to 7 days to let you know how much you’ve raised. For more information about Give as you Live and how it works, check out the FAQs here    
    4417 Posted by Greg Hallett
  • By Greg Hallett
    Give as you Live: A simple way to boost your fundraising
    Greg Hallett has been a qualified accountant for almost 30 years. He has always worked within the smaller company environment. He believes passionately in people and in charity – that’s why he came to work with Give as you Live – this allows him to combine his passions with his business and finance background.  As MD, Greg insists that the DNA of Give as you Live is all about charity, all about people and all about honesty and integrity. Fundraising can be tough when you have a target to reach and you’ve exhausted all your contacts. But what if you could add to your fundraising target by doing something you do everyday? A great way to help boost your fundraising efforts is Give as you Live – an online shopping platform that allows you to shop online and raise money for a cause you care about. With over 4,000 stores participating in the scheme and the stores covering the cost of the donation – all you need to do is decide what you’re going to buy.  A new car insurance policy at More Than can raise on average £35 A weekly online food shop at Sainsbury’s can raise 50p A new phone contract at Carphone Warehouse can raise up to £20 The way it works is by affiliate marketing. Give as you Live gets paid a commission for driving a sale to the retailer, they then share this with the users chosen charity – making it completely free for the charity and the supporter to raise funds. You don’t have to sacrifice where you shop with most household names signed up including John Lewis, Argos, M&S, Amazon and more. And more importantly you don’t have to drastically change the way you shop. Want to try it? Step 1: Go to Give.as/localgiving and choose a Localgiving cause of your choice. Step 2: Enter your name and email to sign up with Give as you Live. Step 3: Search for the retailer you want to shop with and start shopping! Once you’ve clicked through to the retailer’s website, just continue to shop as normal. You’ll receive an email from Give as you Live within 1 to 7 days to let you know how much you’ve raised. For more information about Give as you Live and how it works, check out the FAQs here    
    Dec 22, 2015 4417
  • 24 Sep 2015
    How the Fundraising Regulation Review Impacts Local Charities
    On Wednesday, the report of the cross party review of fundraising regulation, chaired by Sir Stuart Etherington of NCVO, was released. The report includes recommendations for improved regulation to help better protect donors, as well as measures to ensure the future sustainability of voluntary sector organisations. Recommendations include greater accountability for Trustees, and a new fundraising regulator for the sector. The report highlights the need for clear separation of roles and interests. It recommends that the Institute of Fundraising and Public Fundraising Regulatory Association merge to help better provide the sector with help and advice, whilst also handing over their regulatory responsibilities to the new regulator. But what does this mean specifically for local charities and community groups? Localgiving’s viewpoint is that much of the negative press surrounding fundraising over the summer has been down to methodology primarily applied by larger charities - meaning that its impact on local groups has been minimal. In fact, we would assert that the core concepts laid out in the report for responsible, self-regulated fundraising are those that many local charities already employ to great effect. The report states: "Fundraising needs to move above and beyond regulation and compliance, from simply just doing things right to also doing the right thing. Charities need to view and approach fundraising no longer as just a money-raising technique, but as a way in which they can provide a connection between the donor and the cause. We welcome therefore the proposal from senior fundraisers and academics to establish a ’Commission on the Donor Experience’, with an emphasis on strengthening relationships between fundraising organisations and donors. And we welcome any move that shifts fundraising away from aggressive or pushy techniques and instead towards inspiring people to give and creating long-term, sustainable relationships." These are sentiments that we very much echo. We believe that: Local charities, in particular, have a key advantage at creating these kinds of long-term sustainable relationships by actively engaging with people from their community. Face-to-face interaction coupled with digital technology has the ability to create powerful connections between local people that facilitates the kind of fundraising advocated by the review. This kind of honest, value-based fundraising is eminently more sustainable than more aggressive methods - such as cold-calling - which require a large amount of resources and can suffer from various pitfalls, including negative donor experience. Find out more For those that are interested in learning more about the key points of the fundraising review, the Guardian has published an excellent rundown of the implications of the report for the voluntary sector. If you have any further questions about the report or fundraising best practice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for free advice and support at help@localgiving.com or on 0300 111 2340.
    4942 Posted by Lou Coady
  • By Lou Coady
    How the Fundraising Regulation Review Impacts Local Charities
    On Wednesday, the report of the cross party review of fundraising regulation, chaired by Sir Stuart Etherington of NCVO, was released. The report includes recommendations for improved regulation to help better protect donors, as well as measures to ensure the future sustainability of voluntary sector organisations. Recommendations include greater accountability for Trustees, and a new fundraising regulator for the sector. The report highlights the need for clear separation of roles and interests. It recommends that the Institute of Fundraising and Public Fundraising Regulatory Association merge to help better provide the sector with help and advice, whilst also handing over their regulatory responsibilities to the new regulator. But what does this mean specifically for local charities and community groups? Localgiving’s viewpoint is that much of the negative press surrounding fundraising over the summer has been down to methodology primarily applied by larger charities - meaning that its impact on local groups has been minimal. In fact, we would assert that the core concepts laid out in the report for responsible, self-regulated fundraising are those that many local charities already employ to great effect. The report states: "Fundraising needs to move above and beyond regulation and compliance, from simply just doing things right to also doing the right thing. Charities need to view and approach fundraising no longer as just a money-raising technique, but as a way in which they can provide a connection between the donor and the cause. We welcome therefore the proposal from senior fundraisers and academics to establish a ’Commission on the Donor Experience’, with an emphasis on strengthening relationships between fundraising organisations and donors. And we welcome any move that shifts fundraising away from aggressive or pushy techniques and instead towards inspiring people to give and creating long-term, sustainable relationships." These are sentiments that we very much echo. We believe that: Local charities, in particular, have a key advantage at creating these kinds of long-term sustainable relationships by actively engaging with people from their community. Face-to-face interaction coupled with digital technology has the ability to create powerful connections between local people that facilitates the kind of fundraising advocated by the review. This kind of honest, value-based fundraising is eminently more sustainable than more aggressive methods - such as cold-calling - which require a large amount of resources and can suffer from various pitfalls, including negative donor experience. Find out more For those that are interested in learning more about the key points of the fundraising review, the Guardian has published an excellent rundown of the implications of the report for the voluntary sector. If you have any further questions about the report or fundraising best practice, please don’t hesitate to get in touch with us for free advice and support at help@localgiving.com or on 0300 111 2340.
    Sep 24, 2015 4942
  • 29 Sep 2015
    5 free tools to use to share your organisation's story
    Your organisation is doing incredible work – you know it, your staff and volunteers know it, but does anyone else? By sharing stories of your work and the impact it is having you can attract more supporters, volunteers, staff, and even the people you are helping. While it is worth the effort in the long term, it is not easy to get your story the attention it deserves. With more and more content being shared it is really important to do everything you can to make your content stand out. Here are five free tools you can use to get your story heard: 1) Pixabay You will have heard the phrase ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. It is so true, especially today with more and more people and organisations writing blogs and newsletters. Having a good image can bring your story to life. Using your own photos of your work is ideal but if you need to use a stock photo Pixabay is the place to go. It can be difficult to find free images that are high quality, plus you need to think about copyright issues and attribution requirements. With Pixabay you have access – for free – to thousands of high quality royalty free stock images. You can use any image without attribution, so the only thing you need to spend time on is finding the image you want to use.  A photo found on Pixabay 2) Canva You have great images now, but what are you going to do with them? And how can you make them unique? Canva, an incredible tool which is free to use (for the most part), will help you create designs for the Internet or print. You can make graphics for your blog posts, presentations, Facebook covers, flyers, Christmas cards, event invitations, and more – all for free. Some of the images available do have a small charge ($1) but with the images available to you via Pixabay you shouldn’t need to pay for any images on Canva. Canva is so easy to use, you really don’t need to be an experienced designer to be able to create something on there.  Each month I update the Good News Shared Facebook cover using Canva 3) Mailchimp Once you have people interested in your organisation it is important to build a relationship with them. Mailchimp is a great tool to use for this, as you can manage your contacts and send them an email regularly without it taking up too much of your time. Best of all, it’s free for up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. 4) Charity Comms Ask Charity Service The AskCharity service is a great way for you to get your story seen and used by journalists. Charities sign up to receive requests from journalists looking for case studies, interviews or information. When you see a request your charity can help with you simply get in touch with the journalist using the contact details they have given. Smaller charities do not always have the time to pitch to journalists. Being part of the AskCharity service gives organisations the chance of raising awareness of their work by being included in articles without having to spend lots of time finding contacts and building relationships with journalists. 5) Do-it Trust While there are so many tools available now to help charities share their story, using any or all of them can still be too time-consuming for smaller charities. A way to overcome this problem is to find people who can help by signing up to the Do-it Trust website. Do-it Trust, the UK’s first national database service for volunteering, has over 100,000 volunteers from across the UK signed up. It is quick and easy to use, and will help you find the volunteers you are looking for in no time at all. ---- Nisha Kotecha is the Founder of Good News Shared, a website showcasing the impact and achievements of charitable organisations around the world. Nisha also hosts the Good News Shared podcast where she interviews volunteers to highlight stories that deserve to be heard.   Found this Blog useful? You may also like:   The Power of Storytelling: Six Top Tips by Mike Zywina  Lessons for charities from Knee surgery by Richard Sved  Get your Charity's voice heard by Duncan Hatfield  
    15218 Posted by Nisha Kotecha
  • By Nisha Kotecha
    5 free tools to use to share your organisation's story
    Your organisation is doing incredible work – you know it, your staff and volunteers know it, but does anyone else? By sharing stories of your work and the impact it is having you can attract more supporters, volunteers, staff, and even the people you are helping. While it is worth the effort in the long term, it is not easy to get your story the attention it deserves. With more and more content being shared it is really important to do everything you can to make your content stand out. Here are five free tools you can use to get your story heard: 1) Pixabay You will have heard the phrase ‘a picture is worth a thousand words’. It is so true, especially today with more and more people and organisations writing blogs and newsletters. Having a good image can bring your story to life. Using your own photos of your work is ideal but if you need to use a stock photo Pixabay is the place to go. It can be difficult to find free images that are high quality, plus you need to think about copyright issues and attribution requirements. With Pixabay you have access – for free – to thousands of high quality royalty free stock images. You can use any image without attribution, so the only thing you need to spend time on is finding the image you want to use.  A photo found on Pixabay 2) Canva You have great images now, but what are you going to do with them? And how can you make them unique? Canva, an incredible tool which is free to use (for the most part), will help you create designs for the Internet or print. You can make graphics for your blog posts, presentations, Facebook covers, flyers, Christmas cards, event invitations, and more – all for free. Some of the images available do have a small charge ($1) but with the images available to you via Pixabay you shouldn’t need to pay for any images on Canva. Canva is so easy to use, you really don’t need to be an experienced designer to be able to create something on there.  Each month I update the Good News Shared Facebook cover using Canva 3) Mailchimp Once you have people interested in your organisation it is important to build a relationship with them. Mailchimp is a great tool to use for this, as you can manage your contacts and send them an email regularly without it taking up too much of your time. Best of all, it’s free for up to 2,000 subscribers and 12,000 emails per month. 4) Charity Comms Ask Charity Service The AskCharity service is a great way for you to get your story seen and used by journalists. Charities sign up to receive requests from journalists looking for case studies, interviews or information. When you see a request your charity can help with you simply get in touch with the journalist using the contact details they have given. Smaller charities do not always have the time to pitch to journalists. Being part of the AskCharity service gives organisations the chance of raising awareness of their work by being included in articles without having to spend lots of time finding contacts and building relationships with journalists. 5) Do-it Trust While there are so many tools available now to help charities share their story, using any or all of them can still be too time-consuming for smaller charities. A way to overcome this problem is to find people who can help by signing up to the Do-it Trust website. Do-it Trust, the UK’s first national database service for volunteering, has over 100,000 volunteers from across the UK signed up. It is quick and easy to use, and will help you find the volunteers you are looking for in no time at all. ---- Nisha Kotecha is the Founder of Good News Shared, a website showcasing the impact and achievements of charitable organisations around the world. Nisha also hosts the Good News Shared podcast where she interviews volunteers to highlight stories that deserve to be heard.   Found this Blog useful? You may also like:   The Power of Storytelling: Six Top Tips by Mike Zywina  Lessons for charities from Knee surgery by Richard Sved  Get your Charity's voice heard by Duncan Hatfield  
    Sep 29, 2015 15218
  • 18 Sep 2015
    All Geared up for Action
    In our recent blog, The Refugee Crisis: make a difference on your doorstep, we highlighted some of the practical ways that people can support refugees through local initiatives. While the headlines focus on the need for emergency assistance, it is important to remember that, once in the UK, refugees and asylum seekers face many additional challenges and barriers - from alienation, to housing to health. Much of the support available is provided by small, local charities and solidarity organisations. These groups not only have an acute understanding of the particular needs in their area and community but many also provide unique, innovative solutions. A perfect example of this is The Bike Project. Jem Stein set up The Bike Project in 2013 after witnessing first-hand the problems for refugees and asylum seekers caused by London’s soaring transport costs. Jem’s solution was simple - to get refugees cycling! By repairing abandoned bikes and giving them to refugees, The Bike Project estimate they save each refugee over £1000 per year. Since 2013 the project has gone from strength to strength. To date, they have distributed over 980 bikes to refugees as well as venturing into new areas such as cycle training for refugee women. This week we met Jem amid the wheel-lined walls of The Bike Project’s HQ in South London. Here we took the opportunity to discuss how the project started, its successes so far and new initiatives. We also looked at how the project is benefitting from its business partnerships. What was your inspiration behind the Bike Project? “When I was at university I started mentoring a refugee. He was 16 and had fled the Darfuri genocide. He was placed in the outskirts of London. Beside all the terrible things he had experienced, one of the biggest challenges he faced was that he couldn’t get anywhere. London transport is so expensive. As an asylum seeker you get £36 per week to live off and a bus pass is £21 per week. As you can’t work this leaves you very little”. “I grew up in Oxford - a cycling city - one of the first things I did to help him therefore was try to get him a bike. This enabled him to access education, healthcare, base community and psychological support”. “I founded The Bike project in my spare time while at my last charity. I left that charity to run it full time in March 2013. So we’ve been going two and a half years”. Talk us through how The Bike Project works? “Our core work involves collecting bikes donated through individuals, police, local councils and various different organisations. These bikes are refurbished by the mechanics in our workshop”. “Refugees can come and get a bike from us - most are referred from refugee organisations but people can turn up on the door.” “We have just started providing basic cycle safety training to refugees too. Every refugee receives a set of lights, a lock and a helmet. Many choose to become regular volunteers with us – this way they are also involved in the process of fixing the bikes” “We also have a project that teaches refugee women to cycle. It quickly came to our attention that we were becoming very male dominated. When we did some research we realised that this was because most refugee women come from patriarchal societies where it is not socially acceptable for women to cycle. We got a little bit of funding from TFL and a private trust. We run that project every Tuesday with the Jesuit refugee service”. Have you had any specific success stories? “One of our success stories is Resom (pictured above) who is working next door. He initially came to us as a refugee and soon started volunteering for us. As he had leave to remain, he was allowed to work. He had a knack for bike mechanics so we supported him to train as a mechanic. We now employ him 3 and a bit days per week.” You have recently been sponsored by the Law firm Winckworth – Sherwood to become a member of Localgiving. Have you explored working with businesses before and would you say there are any particular benefits from working with businesses? “We are really grateful to Winckworth - Sherwood for supporting us. We encourage them to visit and see what we do. We look forward to working with them in the future”. “We are a charity and social enterprise. Part of our income comes from providing bike servicing to firms in the city with commuter cyclists - so we work with a lot of big and medium sized businesses” “The great thing about working with businesses is that people who work in the private sector really like to feel that their skills can be useful (to charities). You can get a lot out of a relationship if you can find a way to use these skills. For example, our treasurer is the financial director of a private equity firm in the city. It is important for him to be able to use his skills in a way that helps a charity.” “When working with a business if there is a way for you to utilise their skills, this can be the core of a really productive relationship in terms of volunteering and potentially financially.”    To find out more about the bike project or donate please visit: The Bike Project To find out about groups supporting refugees and asylum seekers in your area, you can search for relevant charities HERE.     
    4325 Posted by Lewis Garland
  • By Lewis Garland
    All Geared up for Action
    In our recent blog, The Refugee Crisis: make a difference on your doorstep, we highlighted some of the practical ways that people can support refugees through local initiatives. While the headlines focus on the need for emergency assistance, it is important to remember that, once in the UK, refugees and asylum seekers face many additional challenges and barriers - from alienation, to housing to health. Much of the support available is provided by small, local charities and solidarity organisations. These groups not only have an acute understanding of the particular needs in their area and community but many also provide unique, innovative solutions. A perfect example of this is The Bike Project. Jem Stein set up The Bike Project in 2013 after witnessing first-hand the problems for refugees and asylum seekers caused by London’s soaring transport costs. Jem’s solution was simple - to get refugees cycling! By repairing abandoned bikes and giving them to refugees, The Bike Project estimate they save each refugee over £1000 per year. Since 2013 the project has gone from strength to strength. To date, they have distributed over 980 bikes to refugees as well as venturing into new areas such as cycle training for refugee women. This week we met Jem amid the wheel-lined walls of The Bike Project’s HQ in South London. Here we took the opportunity to discuss how the project started, its successes so far and new initiatives. We also looked at how the project is benefitting from its business partnerships. What was your inspiration behind the Bike Project? “When I was at university I started mentoring a refugee. He was 16 and had fled the Darfuri genocide. He was placed in the outskirts of London. Beside all the terrible things he had experienced, one of the biggest challenges he faced was that he couldn’t get anywhere. London transport is so expensive. As an asylum seeker you get £36 per week to live off and a bus pass is £21 per week. As you can’t work this leaves you very little”. “I grew up in Oxford - a cycling city - one of the first things I did to help him therefore was try to get him a bike. This enabled him to access education, healthcare, base community and psychological support”. “I founded The Bike project in my spare time while at my last charity. I left that charity to run it full time in March 2013. So we’ve been going two and a half years”. Talk us through how The Bike Project works? “Our core work involves collecting bikes donated through individuals, police, local councils and various different organisations. These bikes are refurbished by the mechanics in our workshop”. “Refugees can come and get a bike from us - most are referred from refugee organisations but people can turn up on the door.” “We have just started providing basic cycle safety training to refugees too. Every refugee receives a set of lights, a lock and a helmet. Many choose to become regular volunteers with us – this way they are also involved in the process of fixing the bikes” “We also have a project that teaches refugee women to cycle. It quickly came to our attention that we were becoming very male dominated. When we did some research we realised that this was because most refugee women come from patriarchal societies where it is not socially acceptable for women to cycle. We got a little bit of funding from TFL and a private trust. We run that project every Tuesday with the Jesuit refugee service”. Have you had any specific success stories? “One of our success stories is Resom (pictured above) who is working next door. He initially came to us as a refugee and soon started volunteering for us. As he had leave to remain, he was allowed to work. He had a knack for bike mechanics so we supported him to train as a mechanic. We now employ him 3 and a bit days per week.” You have recently been sponsored by the Law firm Winckworth – Sherwood to become a member of Localgiving. Have you explored working with businesses before and would you say there are any particular benefits from working with businesses? “We are really grateful to Winckworth - Sherwood for supporting us. We encourage them to visit and see what we do. We look forward to working with them in the future”. “We are a charity and social enterprise. Part of our income comes from providing bike servicing to firms in the city with commuter cyclists - so we work with a lot of big and medium sized businesses” “The great thing about working with businesses is that people who work in the private sector really like to feel that their skills can be useful (to charities). You can get a lot out of a relationship if you can find a way to use these skills. For example, our treasurer is the financial director of a private equity firm in the city. It is important for him to be able to use his skills in a way that helps a charity.” “When working with a business if there is a way for you to utilise their skills, this can be the core of a really productive relationship in terms of volunteering and potentially financially.”    To find out more about the bike project or donate please visit: The Bike Project To find out about groups supporting refugees and asylum seekers in your area, you can search for relevant charities HERE.     
    Sep 18, 2015 4325
  • 17 Sep 2015
    How to make friends with the media - Part 2
    Ten tips for writing a press release This week Kay Parris follows up her excellent blog, How to make friends with the media - Part 1, with ten top tips for writing an informative and effective press release. A press release (also known as a news or media release) should be short, striking and informative. 1. Begin with a compelling headline that tells a journalist the crux of the matter. Don’t be obscure. If the story is: “Ed Sheeran to open new community shop”, then that’s your headline – not “Guess who’s coming to town”. 2. Make sure your opening sentences answer the essential questions about your story: Who? When? What? Where? And Why? 3. Avoid jargon and acronyms – your members might know what you’re talking about, but no one else will bother to find out. 4. Use (and attribute) great quotes where possible, to bring your story to life. 5. Write simply, clearly and accurately. A hard-pressed journalist will often run a good press release more or less verbatim as a story. 6. Keep it short – ideally 300 words max for the main story, 600 only if necessary. 7. Include a named contact person, with their email and phone number. 8. Don’t bog your story down with background details. Add them to the end of the press release under the heading: ‘Notes for editors’. Always include key points here about your charity and its mission. 9. Check your work very carefully for errors. 10. Use email to send out your press release, with the headline or a brief description of the story in the email subject box. ----- Kay Parris is a freelance journalist and editor with substantial experience of the voluntary sector.  Image by NS Newsflash   Found this Blog useful? You may also like:    How to write a communications strategy by Kay Parris Don't save you pitch for the elevator by Emma Beeston The Power of Storytelling: Six Top Tips by Mike Zywina     
    5660 Posted by Kay Parris
  • By Kay Parris
    How to make friends with the media - Part 2
    Ten tips for writing a press release This week Kay Parris follows up her excellent blog, How to make friends with the media - Part 1, with ten top tips for writing an informative and effective press release. A press release (also known as a news or media release) should be short, striking and informative. 1. Begin with a compelling headline that tells a journalist the crux of the matter. Don’t be obscure. If the story is: “Ed Sheeran to open new community shop”, then that’s your headline – not “Guess who’s coming to town”. 2. Make sure your opening sentences answer the essential questions about your story: Who? When? What? Where? And Why? 3. Avoid jargon and acronyms – your members might know what you’re talking about, but no one else will bother to find out. 4. Use (and attribute) great quotes where possible, to bring your story to life. 5. Write simply, clearly and accurately. A hard-pressed journalist will often run a good press release more or less verbatim as a story. 6. Keep it short – ideally 300 words max for the main story, 600 only if necessary. 7. Include a named contact person, with their email and phone number. 8. Don’t bog your story down with background details. Add them to the end of the press release under the heading: ‘Notes for editors’. Always include key points here about your charity and its mission. 9. Check your work very carefully for errors. 10. Use email to send out your press release, with the headline or a brief description of the story in the email subject box. ----- Kay Parris is a freelance journalist and editor with substantial experience of the voluntary sector.  Image by NS Newsflash   Found this Blog useful? You may also like:    How to write a communications strategy by Kay Parris Don't save you pitch for the elevator by Emma Beeston The Power of Storytelling: Six Top Tips by Mike Zywina     
    Sep 17, 2015 5660
  • 17 Sep 2015
    How to make friends with the media - Part 1
      Effective communication is vital to any charity’s chances of survival. After all, few people support causes they know little or nothing about – and why should they? Charities use all kinds of channels to tell their stories – from websites, social media and email, to newsletters, phone calls and meetings. Yet, despite their best efforts, many small groups find their messages fail to reach far beyond an existing supporter base. Fortunately, this is where formal media – newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and media websites – can help. Community-based charities often sit on news that local, regional, specialist and sometimes even national media would love to run, if they only got to hear about it. The first trick is to spot when you have a potential media story. After that, the ABC of dealing with the media is to tell the right people your news, in the right way, at the right time. So first, check whether your story is really news: News stories must be new. “Teen addiction helpline takes record number of calls” is news. “Teen addiction helpline exists to support vulnerable young people” is not news. The launch of an appeal to keep a toddler group open may be news. An “ongoing” appeal is not. And neither is a launch that happened three weeks ago. News means that something out of the ordinary has happened. “Young offenders grow veg for homeless shelter” is news. “Community gardeners get busy sewing marrow seeds” is not news. A decent picture, if you have one, creates extra interest. Remember that any story you are aiming at the media must resonate with a target group of readers, listeners or viewers beyond your charity. “Sue Brown wins volunteer of the month” won’t qualify. Then go about things properly: A. Tell the right people Get to know your target media so you can aim your story at the right slot and the right journalist. A regional newspaper might split its news into: Business, Health, Education, Community and other areas. An ethical gardening magazine might have a Local Groups page. Approach the relevant section editor with an email, by name. B. In the right way Having familiarised yourself with your target media, tailor your story to the appropriate slot. If you are holding a barn dance in your village hall, a small notice will suffice to help you attract punters – and aiming for anything bigger would be unrealistic. Check the usual notices format, and email a couple of lines, in the correct format, to the notices editor or contact person. Similarly, try to recognise when your story is, say, not so much news as something for a letters’ column or listeners’ comment slot. Again, learn the formats for those slots – lengths, tones and types of piece – and stick to them. For news stories, the best approach is a press release (I will look at this in detail in 'How to make friends with the media - Part 2'). This is straightforward to write, but you need it to be perfect. Don’t follow up your press release with a “just checking you got my email” phone call. You will only irritate a journalist. They will contact you if they are interested. If you really need to follow up, send an email with new material – links to related photos, a reminder to RSVP if press are invited to your event. That way you get to issue a gentle prod, without becoming a pain. C. At the right time If your harvest story misses the September issue deadline for a community magazine, it won’t get saved for the Halloween edition. Too often, a great story gets wasted because a press release arrives too late to fit a production or programming schedule. Bear in mind that copy deadlines for a monthly publication will often arise two months before the publication date. News isn’t news for long. If you are targeting daily or weekly media, report on what has happened within 24 hours if you can. Where you want to invite the media along to an event, give at least two weeks notice. Exercise timing restraint. There is no point firing off press releases every five minutes. You will make it harder for a journalist to notice when a newsworthy item finally lands in their inbox.   Look out for How to make friends with the media- Part 2- coming soon! This will look at how to write an effective Press Release. ----- Kay Parris is a freelance journalist and editor with substantial experience of the voluntary sector.        Found this Blog useful? You may also like:  How to make friend with the media (part 2) by Kay Parris How to write a communications strategy by Kay Parris The Power of Storytelling: Six Top Tips by Mike Zywina    Image copyright of Lewis Clarke    
    8228 Posted by Kay Parris
  • By Kay Parris
    How to make friends with the media - Part 1
      Effective communication is vital to any charity’s chances of survival. After all, few people support causes they know little or nothing about – and why should they? Charities use all kinds of channels to tell their stories – from websites, social media and email, to newsletters, phone calls and meetings. Yet, despite their best efforts, many small groups find their messages fail to reach far beyond an existing supporter base. Fortunately, this is where formal media – newspapers, magazines, TV, radio and media websites – can help. Community-based charities often sit on news that local, regional, specialist and sometimes even national media would love to run, if they only got to hear about it. The first trick is to spot when you have a potential media story. After that, the ABC of dealing with the media is to tell the right people your news, in the right way, at the right time. So first, check whether your story is really news: News stories must be new. “Teen addiction helpline takes record number of calls” is news. “Teen addiction helpline exists to support vulnerable young people” is not news. The launch of an appeal to keep a toddler group open may be news. An “ongoing” appeal is not. And neither is a launch that happened three weeks ago. News means that something out of the ordinary has happened. “Young offenders grow veg for homeless shelter” is news. “Community gardeners get busy sewing marrow seeds” is not news. A decent picture, if you have one, creates extra interest. Remember that any story you are aiming at the media must resonate with a target group of readers, listeners or viewers beyond your charity. “Sue Brown wins volunteer of the month” won’t qualify. Then go about things properly: A. Tell the right people Get to know your target media so you can aim your story at the right slot and the right journalist. A regional newspaper might split its news into: Business, Health, Education, Community and other areas. An ethical gardening magazine might have a Local Groups page. Approach the relevant section editor with an email, by name. B. In the right way Having familiarised yourself with your target media, tailor your story to the appropriate slot. If you are holding a barn dance in your village hall, a small notice will suffice to help you attract punters – and aiming for anything bigger would be unrealistic. Check the usual notices format, and email a couple of lines, in the correct format, to the notices editor or contact person. Similarly, try to recognise when your story is, say, not so much news as something for a letters’ column or listeners’ comment slot. Again, learn the formats for those slots – lengths, tones and types of piece – and stick to them. For news stories, the best approach is a press release (I will look at this in detail in 'How to make friends with the media - Part 2'). This is straightforward to write, but you need it to be perfect. Don’t follow up your press release with a “just checking you got my email” phone call. You will only irritate a journalist. They will contact you if they are interested. If you really need to follow up, send an email with new material – links to related photos, a reminder to RSVP if press are invited to your event. That way you get to issue a gentle prod, without becoming a pain. C. At the right time If your harvest story misses the September issue deadline for a community magazine, it won’t get saved for the Halloween edition. Too often, a great story gets wasted because a press release arrives too late to fit a production or programming schedule. Bear in mind that copy deadlines for a monthly publication will often arise two months before the publication date. News isn’t news for long. If you are targeting daily or weekly media, report on what has happened within 24 hours if you can. Where you want to invite the media along to an event, give at least two weeks notice. Exercise timing restraint. There is no point firing off press releases every five minutes. You will make it harder for a journalist to notice when a newsworthy item finally lands in their inbox.   Look out for How to make friends with the media- Part 2- coming soon! This will look at how to write an effective Press Release. ----- Kay Parris is a freelance journalist and editor with substantial experience of the voluntary sector.        Found this Blog useful? You may also like:  How to make friend with the media (part 2) by Kay Parris How to write a communications strategy by Kay Parris The Power of Storytelling: Six Top Tips by Mike Zywina    Image copyright of Lewis Clarke    
    Sep 17, 2015 8228