Break the rules to make money, Freud tells fundraisers

Fundraising | Becky Slack | 1 Jul 2007

"Break the rules to make money", Freud tells fundraisers

IoF Convention

Charities should not be afraid of breaking the rules in order to raise funds, delegates at the Institute of Fundraising's National Convention heard yesterday.

Speaking at the opening plenary, Emma Freud, trustee of Comic Relief, said that it was the willingness to take risks while constantly reinventing the wheel that has enabled the charity to raise more than £480m over the last 22 years.

"When it comes to funding and you passionately want to raise money, breaking the rules is fair game," she said, citing the time Comic Relief broke BBC rules and put 100 naked people on stage during its telethon. "And we believe that in order to stay the same things have to change. We've reinvented Comic Relief every time we've done it, whether it's changing the red nose or introducing new ideas and talent to the television show. While it creates so much more work doing it this way it's worth it."

Freud, who alongside her film director husband Richard Curtis helped create the MakePovertyHistory brand, also encouraged delegates to be brave and give those around them a chance to prove themselves. "If you give people the opportunity to be magnificent they often will be," she said.

Directory: Comic Relief
Who's Who: Becky Slack

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