Dovetail MD’s BlogAs I train fundraisers, I’m always on the lookout for interesting and engaging approaches to campaigns – and as l’m always up for a good pun, this one caught my etye this am ……… “Pull Out All The Stops “ !! http://mail.tmsmail.us/bin/display_msg?id=E4017D30AA5AF028A0CBB906BF965DD7085AF2385C501880 Fine if you have a big email list and lots of customers but [...]
Reading the Charity Times article on social investment models (Charity Times p 42 et seq, Vol 9 issue 5) reminds me of this tale. As the author (David Adams) reports “this is not some short-term sticking plaster”. But it is even that? The article helpfully indicates that social investment is a loan or investment – [...]
I now find that my old rubric that anything other than a hierarchical structure requires internal or external energy to survive is still true. I’m indebted to John Hunt (http://tinyurl.com/3kc6bzn) for the original insight but keep on coming back to it as clients try matrix structures that degrade into chaos The rule is that unless [...]
As Joni Mitchell would have it …..“rows and flows of angel hair, and ice cream castles in the air, and feathered canyons everywhere, I’ve looked at clouds that way………. I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now, from up and down, and still somehow, it’s clouds illusions I recall. I really don’t know clouds…at all” [...]
Interesting to see (http://tinyurl.com/38dwax7) that The Charities Property Fund, the first common investment fund for charities in England and Wales, is celebrating its tenth year with a return of 19.1 per cent for the past 12 months. Obviously this should be part of a balanced portfolio, as property is a volatile investment – and a [...]
Ho hum – Friday over – weekend coming up – perhaps last day of open air track cycling at Herne Hill this year and preparing for next week – fundraising, finance and frolics – and ICT, strategy and PR of course. Also, we are having to persuade clients not to panic – some of course [...]
Microsoft Server update day today I see – and Server 2003 updates seem to reboot automatically – at least on our VM (virtual machine) – ho hum! And we advise all to use “notify me, but do not download automatically” by and large – if your machines are working well, the odd device driver automatically [...]
I guess few fundraisers under 30 years of age remember the last Conservative administration in the UK. And a number of others over 30 who have gotten used to a continually increasing central, regional and local government largesse to the voluntary sector over the last 10 years. It is interesting tho’ to compare the economic [...]
Interesting conversation this am where grant commitments were being added as debtors and therefore increasing income in one year to the detriment of the next. We have always advised never taking in commitments as debtors as a donor almost always has a way out if they want one. We also advise keeping a monthly check [...]
We have been reflecting on the matter of costs for and with some of our clients – it is noteworthy how wedded some trustees and managers are wedded to an “overhead heavy” way of operating. This is fine while the organisation is supported by a regular income stream, such as membership income. Focus tends to [...]
