Didn’t make it to The Australasian Fundraising Conference (affectionately known as ‘F&P) this year? Not to worry. We were there and we’ve done the legwork. Even if you attended too, you’ve probably forgotten what you heard. Here are our Top 6 takeouts from Day 1. You’re welcome.
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By all means test but don’t overdo it
Testing is a good thing but most tests are not very useful because they’re not done properly. Plus, everything has already been tested already by someone with a much bigger database than you.
The bad news, Georgina King of More Strategic tells us, is that things which have been tested before and shown to work (or not) time and time again no longer hold. So if it works for you, keep doing it. If not, move on.
The good news is; no conclusive result is still a result. And it’s fine if you’re testing something (e.g. letter length, logos on outer envelopes) to prove a point but not if it wastes time and resources.
Let’s face it – in light of the above, it’s probably cheaper and easier to just pinch a slide from Pareto Fundraising’s Fiona McPhee’s presentation and show that to your board.
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Branding and fundraising CAN mix
As long as the same person is in charge of both, if the entertaining presentation by Peter Loveridge from St John New Zealand is anything to go by. He showed us that by intelligently leveraging your brand values (and we’re not talking fonts and PMS colours here) you can build effective campaigns that engage, inspire – and bring in the big bucks. As Peter would say: “Boom”.
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Two-step F2F cash to RG CAN work
Ruth Hicks thinks Amnesty International Australia might just be the first Aussie charity to attempt recruiting regular givers on the street by asking them for cash first, then converting them later. So far, it appears to be working a treat. Watch this space. (She spoke about a whole lot of other stuff that Amnesty is doing really well but so quickly I had trouble keeping up. Get in touch if you want to know more – she’ll probably share the preso with you if you ask nicely.)
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Martin Paul does a very convincing Sean Triner impersonation
And Martin can get away with even more cheekiness because of his slightly posher English accent.
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You can’t win the Great Debate pretending to be the Easter bunny
Yes, the bunny ears were very fetching and we all enjoyed the chocolate bribes but when a Canadian trumps you with ‘Trudeau is the world’s sexiest prime minister therefore donor psychology is not bollocks’ then I’m afraid it’s all over. That and something about snowflakes. Guess you had to be there.
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Pareto drinks are more alcoholic than other drinks
And should come with a Surgeon General’s warning.
What were your key takeouts? Send us a tweet
F&P Day 2 to come tomorrow.