Have you ever wondered what really makes people give to charity – and why they sometimes stop? Well, we’ve got the answers for you in today’s episode of Two Ps on a Pod!

Together with Giles Pegram CBE, I’m interviewing Bluefrog’s Head of Research, Amber Nathan who has spent much of the last twenty years interviewing thousands of donors worldwide. This conversation is packed full of insights that will transform your fundraising strategy.

Here’s what you’ll learn:

• The real emotional drivers that move the most valuable donors to give.
• Why donors stop supporting charities – and what you can do to prevent it.
• The most common fundraising mistakes that could be costing you money.
• What donors really think of rebranding.
• Practical strategies to deepen donor relationships and grow a sustainable IG programme.

If you want to understand what’s driving giving, how you can strengthen donor connections, boost retention, and make every penny of your budget count, this podcast is for you!

If you’re looking for deeper insights into what’s working (and what’s not) in regular giving, Giles Pegram and I are back with Part Two of our deep dive into all things RG on this new episode of Two Ps on a Pod.

Here’s what we’re covering today:

Stewardship & Upgrades – How and when to upgrade regular givers, and by how much.
Mid-Value Giving & Membership Programmes – The pros, cons, and how to build RG portfolios effectively.
1% Attrition Challenge – Can we realistically achieve this? What about face-to-face recruitment?
Mystery Giving & Cancellation Processes – We’ve uncovered some surprising truths!

Just like in Part One, we’re also sharing tactical ideas to improve recruitment and retention strategies.

And don’t miss our giveaway!

We’re offering two incredible books:

Ken Burnett’s Relationship Fundraising - the brand new updated third edition.
Lisa Sargent’s Thankology

To win, simply drop a question or debate topic in the comments below. Whether it’s on LinkedIn or YouTube, if we use your suggestion, one of these books will be winging its way to you as soon as next week.

🎙️ In Today's Episode: A Deep Dive into Regular Giving

Join us as we explore the fascinating subject of Regular Giving (RG) – from its origins in religious tithing to products like child sponsorship and RoomSponsor. Discover how RG has become a cornerstone for driving sustained, long-term impact.

We tackle pressing challenges, such as the overuse of low-value asks and the pitfalls of traditional "urgent" messaging, which can dilute donor engagement. Plus, we delve into the dynamics of donor behaviour, including how portfolios are capped and managed.

From recruitment strategies to donor stewardship, we discuss how to foster trust and a strong sense of belonging among supporters. Explore various recruitment channels, including TV, telephone, and digital, and learn why credibility and alignment in messaging are critical for success.

Finally, we highlight the importance of testing and adaptability in crafting campaigns that resonate.

🎁 Special Bonus: Share this podcast on LinkedIn, and you’ll get a chance to win a free copy of Lisa Sargent's brilliant new book, Thankology!

Don’t miss this insightful episode packed with strategies to elevate your Regular Giving campaigns.

#Fundraising #RegularGiving #DonorEngagement #NonprofitInnovation

Charity rebranding "is the easy way to fix the problem, rather than the real way to fix the problem…maybe the brand is its own worst enemy in that particular regard.”

That's one of the points made by Michael Birkin, our Guest on Two Ps on a Pod this week

Michael is CEO of KYU, a global collective of creative companies that are focused on tackling some of the world’s most complex problems by harnessing innovation to drive societal and economic change.

But it’s very much his time as CEO at Interbrand and Vice-Chair of Omnicom Group that we are focussing on today. Google Michael, and you’ll find that he is one of the world’s global authorities on branding – he actually invented brand valuation. With his help and direction, we are looking at charity branding and rebranding, considering what branding can do for charities and what it can’t and when a rebrand should happen and when it shouldn’t.

We discuss what branding means, why rebranding as a quick fix to tackle deeper structural problems is a mistake, why the new broom rebrand by the new arrival rarely stands up to scrutiny and how there are other more effective ways to re-energise a struggling charity than embarking on a rebrand.

Michael's perspective is very different from those that we usually hear in the charity sector, and I think it is an essential one to consider in the face of the charity rebrands that can serve as a hinderance to growth rather than a driver.

As ever, if you disagree or have any thoughts to share, why not make a comment on LinkedIN or send them to Giles at Giles@gilespegram.com or me at hello@bluefroglondon.com.

Happy fundraising.

I'm back with another episode of Two Ps on a Pod with Giles Pegram CBE, and one of my favourite fundraisers, Ken Burnett. In today's episode you'll hear that we chat about the brand-new edition of Ken’s fantastic book on donor-centred fundraising, Relationship Fundraising.

You'll hear that we don't tell Ken how brilliant the book is (it is brilliant). Instead, we look critically at why Relationship Fundraising has failed! After all, there are very few significant charities that practice it today.

Despite evidence supporting Relationship Fundraising as the sole long-term strategy guaranteed to boost lifetime and legacy giving, its widespread adoption seems to have been hindered by the delayed realisation of its benefits.

This means that the new broom or innovation FOMO (fear of missing out) syndrome can easily destroy its impact, way before the rewards are felt.

But I can vouch for Relationship Fundraising. Over Bluefrog’s history, we have seen the benefits of implementing it for many of our long-term clients. Even at times of crisis (pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine and economic downturns) we have been able to grow income for charities that follow its guidelines.

I have also seen what happens when innovations or rebrands are introduced without giving thought to donors' needs. That’s when we see income stagnate and go into decline – even in the face of increased spending.

The fact is it takes about two years for a “new creative or strategic direction” to have a significant negative impact on a previously well-run relationship fundraising programme. Donors are, after all, pretty forgiving. That’s enough time for the collective memory in the charity to grow dim and fuzzy, loosening the ties to the original strategy as decline is now accepted as the ‘new normal’. What usually follows is a series of lurches from one new creative solution to another as a charity tries to regain the growth that was once taken for granted.

If you’ve read the first or second edition of Relationship Fundraising, there is plenty of new insight in the new volume. Ken focuses on the donor experience and covers my favourite area of fundraising – thanking. He also takes a deeper strategic view, as you’ll hear in our conversation, where he considers the importance of developing a strong and supportive organisational culture.

You can buy a copy of Relationship Fundraising through Ken’s website – kenburnett.com or you can get a free copy by answering Giles' question, which you’ll find towards the end of the podcast which is, What is the most interesting thing you can do with Two Ps?

Make of that what you will!

Answer in the comments on Youtube or email Giles at giles@gilespegram.com or me at hello@bluefroglondon.com. We’ll announce the winner at the end of September.

Happy listening!

In today’s episode of Two Ps on a Pod, Giles and Mark meet up with Paul Amadi MBE, Chief Supporter Officer at the British Red Cross.

In a wide-ranging discussion, we consider the rights and (mainly) wrongs of transactional fundraising, we look at where the Red Cross is looking to innovate and what the future of successful fundraising might look like.

Paul shares his thoughts on how a charity can encourage people who give at times of emergency to continue their support when the news media moves on to other concerns. And we consider how the Red Cross brand is managed and whether it is important that the promotional focus of the charity should cover all aspects of the charity’s operations.

If you'd like to speak to Giles, you can email him at giles@gilespegram.com. Mark can be found at hello@bluefroglondon.com.

Agree? disagree? Why not make a comment and let us know. And if you've got an opinion you'd like to share, tell us why you'd like to join us on the sofas!

In our latest podcast, I’m back with Giles to look at how we – as a fundraisers – learn what we should be doing to engage donors and raise more money.

One of the problems that we face in the sector is the huge amount of information that’s available advising us on what we should be doing when developing our fundraising plans. Much of it is contradictory and a fair amount of it is downright dangerous!

This creates a huge dilemma when trying to work out what’s good advice and what’s bad. So In the podcast, we try and work out how we should tackle the thorny subject of learning, covering the following points:

The Balance Between Excitement and Effectiveness

Why do we strive to make fundraising exciting? We consider the balance of sticking to proven and effective methods compared to copying that new idea that’s getting loads of likes on social media.

The Role of Conferences and Content Curation

Fundraising conferences often grapple with choosing between showcasing best practice and presenting exciting new ideas (that sell most tickets). We explore this dilemma and emphasise the importance of learning from experience, insight, and wisdom rather than just chasing innovation for its own sake.

Learning from History

We look at how historical knowledge can inform modern fundraising strategies and consider the fact that by studying past successes and failures, fundraisers can avoid repeating mistakes and build on what has been proven to work.

The Challenge of Sharing Best Practices

We ask who should be responsible for defining and sharing best practice? We don’t think it should be the responsibility of individual fundraisers, but discuss the need for a more structured approach to disseminating knowledge led by sector bodies or perhaps even through collaborative efforts among larger charities.

Practical Takeaways

Finally, as ever, we also include some practical advice and suggest that sometimes the best way to innovate is to stop trying to do everything differently. Instead, focus on what has been shown to work and adapt it to current circumstances. Or as we say…

' Perhaps what we should start doing differently, is stop doing things differently.'

There’s plenty more shared in the podcast, with links to watch and listen below…

I’m pleased to be able to share Episode 2 of 'Two Ps on a Pod' with Giles Pegram CBE, where we had an incredible conversation with Sir Peter Wanless of NSPCC. We dug deep into the world of fundraising from the unique perspective of a CEO.

🎙️ This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking for insider tips on engaging your CEO with your fundraising mission. Did you know Sir Peter dedicates about 40% of his time to fundraising? He’s even sold some of his favorite shirts and abseiled down buildings for the cause!

Key topics include:

- Growth areas in Individual Giving (IG)
- Aligning fundraising strategy with overall charity strategy
- Avoiding the pitfalls of ‘shrinking to success’
- Advice for new fundraisers

Episode 3 is already recorded, where we’ll discuss how fundraisers learn and the dangers of misinformation in the sector. That will be released in about two weeks.

Until then, I hope you enjoy this hour with Sir Peter.

🔗 Watch the latest episode on Youtube. https://youtu.be/2ElHlVEabnM?si=Vzb1HfRlHfbPx8O_.

We’re publishing new episodes every two weeks. Share your thoughts and ideas for future shows here, on YouTube, or via email at hello@bluefroglondon.com or giles@gilespegram.com.