Fundraising Magazine will be at the Institute of Fundraising Convention next week to bring you all the latest news and updates. Editor Stephen Cotterill identifies the big issues.
There is a shiver of anticipation along the collective spine of fundraising this week as the National Fundraising Convention 2015 is set to kick off next Monday.
The three-day information fest is entirely stuffed with sessions on almost every imaginable issue related to the sector, everything from legacies to branding to donor recruitment and social networking, as well as a basketful of case studies.
There are seven, yes seven, sessions to choose from every hour, including ones on partnerships, individual giving, philanthropy, digital fundraising and events. It's giddying.
By Wednesday, our heads will be swimming with so many invaluable tidbits and so much critical insight that we won't be able to see straight for weeks. We'll have to go into some kind of fundraising rehab.
Here are five things we hope to extract from this bubbling brook of fundraising consciousness:
Tell us about the codes
The IoF's Codes of Practice are a topic so hot it's like the summer of 1976 all over again. By popular demand and a late addition to the programme line-up is a session on Tuesday morning titled Strengthening Fundraising Standards: IoF's Code review and ensuring the best fundraising experience for everyone.
The panel session brings out the big guns on this issue – Peter Lewis, Alistair McLean, Richard Taylor, Sarah Atkinson. Will they spill the beans about what the IoF and FRSB are really planning for the future of fundraising? Will they be able to agree on what beans are actually being spilled? Will the bun slinging recommence? Will we ever be able to ask anyone for money ever again?
Corporate fundraising, what's going on?
On Wednesday morning, corporate social responsibility consultancy Good Values is due to unleash the findings of its Corporate Fundraising in the UK Today report, which was produced in partnership with the IoF.
The research looks at 100 leading charities and a range of corporate contributors. What are the trends in corporate fundraising? The challenges, learnings and opportunities for the future? We need to know!
Case by case
We love a good case study – luuurve them. It's all about people doing things right and what we can learn from them. How did the Macmillan Cancer Support 2013 Christmas Greatest Gift Appeal grow by 39 per cent in income from the previous year's campaign? Did Sightsavers three-year campaign A Million Miracles hit its £30 million target? And if so how? What's next for the NSPCC after Full Stop? How can BHF capitalise on the 40th anniversary of the Brighton to London bike ride? Burning questions that only the charities themselves can answer. Please share.
Innovation to drive growth
Charity and companies can often appear as uneasy bed fellows – Save the Children's partnership with GSK is one that springs to mind – but tapping a corporation's acumen can be a great way to rethink the way you do things, as well as potentially bring in buckets of unrestricted funds and unfettered donors.
There is a lot to learn from the private sector about innovation and diversification. Friends of the Earth and Ecotricity are hosting a session on the parallels and differences between charity and company approaches to innovation. How do you stand out from the crowd? How do you get more people to join your cause, give you more money or buy your product?
Doing it digitally
The digital universe is constantly expanding, evolving and frankly making anyone over the age of 30 look like a Luddite. Social networking, digital data management, online donations, crowdfunding ... the list of innovations in these fields is limitless. Will somebody please tell us how to make the best use of everything digital so that we hit all our targets, further our causes and become totally wired?
Luckily, there are few sessions during the week that should help – Making social work: How to successfully recruit donors through Facebook, Twitter and custom audiences, and Multiply your digital fundraising through split testing are but two that grab our attention on the convention app we just downloaded ... yeah, that's right, downloaded... onto our smartphone thingy.
