Foresee Communications Ltd
P O Box 40-767
Upper Hutt, 5140
New Zealand
Tel: (04) 528-0742
Fax: (04) 528-2588
Email: kirsty@foresee.co.nz

 

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Foresee Communications wants to keep you informed about events and issues in the fundraising industry.   So we're happy to give you free advice through Foresee-E-News and here on our website.  If you have something you would like us to promote for you please contact kirsty@foresee.co.nz or phone 04 528 0542. 

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Are you ready for Payroll Giving

Media Scrutiny Creates Comms Crisis

 

Free Articles & Advice

We regularly add new articles to this page, so keep coming back for some free fundraising/sponsorship advice!

 

Fundraising Tip:

Often, the only difference between you and one of the top non-profit organisations is the amount of marketing and public relations you do. So make sure you have registered your cause with all the different fundraising websites as well as the corporate fundraising portals. Get yourself on to Facebook, Twitter and other web-based marketing tools.   Make sure
your cause is understood locally and then nationally. Talk to Rotary, Lions and other service clubs which have a strong presence in your area. Read up on everything about fundraising that you can get your hands on - and if you don't want to do this then stand aside and allow someone else the opportunity.  

Fundraisers Cheat Sheet: Click here

(PDF Format)

Take our fun quiz: Click here

(PDF Format)

A How to.... Hush Your Lips: Click here

(PDF format)

Free Sales Script Template: Conquering Sales Phobia Click here

(PDF format)

A Novel Fundraising Idea Click here

(PDF format)

Payroll Giving Click here

Are we recovering from the recession? Click here

(PDF Format)

 

This is an article from our monthly magazine Fundraising New Zealand "Your Questions Answered"

Q:

We are seeing a lot in the media about the costs associated with fundraising. We have to pay wages, rent, electricity and contribute towards vehicle costs. We have income from multiple sources including philanthropy and government contracts. How do we account for our fundraising expenditure and how do we know if we are doing a good job? What if we get investigated by the media? How can we justify an investment in donor acquisition, for example, that is costing us money?

A:

Heather answers …


There is no simple answer to this question!  The Charities Commission now carries a good question and answer page on some of the issues raised by news media commentators which explain how difficult it is to answer the public’s concerns.

The Charities Commission has come under some fire because it has not investigated what some journalists believe is improper behaviour. But what constitutes improper behaviour and is it a crime? although some charities may be more efficient at fundraising than others,
there has been no suggestion in any of these recently highlighted cases that theft or fraud has taken place.  Inefficiency – if that’s the case – is not a crime!

The Charities Commission explains that because charities can show their financial information in a number of different ways, a “ratio” dividing income by expenditure may give a very misleading picture of many charities’ finances.  Members of the public looking at charities’ financial information on the register should look at both the annual return and the financial accounts to see how much income the charity received during the financial year and the sources of that income, as well as how much money the charity spent during the year broken down into various categories.

The Commission advises its readers to first contact the charity directly to seek further information about their funding, activities and finances.

Many organisations already include their annual reports on their website so if you are wondering how you are doing for benchmark purposes, have a look at some else’s accounts
to compare. Otherwise you can have a look at back copies of Fundraising New Zealand to compare your activities with others.


A number of figures are being bandied around about ratios – some say 25% is ideal (costs to returns), others say 40%, but there is no hard and fast rule. Some fundraising tools are more efficient than others but take some time to reach their optimal returns. donor acquisition is very expensive, for example, in the short term, but will pay off in years to come. Other activities may not return much cash but more than pay for the investment because of the public relations value and brand building.

How do you address this issue with your donors?


• The best you can do is to be as transparent as possible. explain your fundraising choices on your website and in your annual report.


• Set Key Performance Indicators for your activities that are realistic and achievable and use these to measure your performance.


• Create criteria for assessing fundraising activities and don’t be afraid to say no to those that are not up to your standards.


• Check that your practices are as efficient as possible and if necessary, ask a human resources company to check that your wages are on par with industry standards.


• Seek an independent assessment of your activities. 


If the crisis does hit, and you choose not to engage with the news media, that’s okay, but make sure all your donors are provided with the facts.

If you are going head to head with the news media make sure you are fully prepared and briefed on all the answers necessary. Invest in some good media training!

To read more subscribe NOW to Fundraising New Zealand

                                           

 

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