In the true spirit of Christmas, one of the team stripped off to pose for this year’s agency Christmas card… read more>>

Part of my job is to read fundraising materials and I guess you could say over the years I’ve become quite a hard person to get an emotion out of, let alone dip into my purse. That was until I read an article in the Saturday Times magazine by Lucy Bannerman. read more>>

Britain now boasts 12,640 centenarians (people who have passed 100 years old) a rise of 9% in a year according to the Office for National Statistics

So what does this mean for legacies? Well it’s not just a rise in centenarians, but also a rise in the proportion of people aged over 85, doubling from one in 100 in 1985 to one in 50 today. By 2035, this is projected to rise to one in 20 people. read more>>

First things first: when you’re turning around an emergency mailing in 48 hours keep your creative team well fuelled. When I worked on one for Greenpeace last month, I learnt that coffee, biscuits, crisps and lots of chocolate are integral to getting your emergency appeal out of the door on time! Only once snacks have been provided and blood sugar has been restored, can you proceed.
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As fundraising professionals we always want the opportunity to visit the work our charity partners do, to better understand the work and inspire creative teams to translate this to powerful results driven appeals. Visiting a bear sanctuary in the mountains of Bulgaria in May, I was lucky enough to do just that.

Seeing bears freed from a life of cruelty is truly a lump in the throat experience; many of these bears had featured as case studies in our recent work, so I felt I knew them all already.

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Tis the season, no not of ho ho ho just yet, but when completely dedicated people show their support for causes by standing out in the rain, wind and snow to sell cards, poppies or just to shake their tin.

For example; the lawyer who phoned into Radio Two yesterday to say how he had given up a day of what I’m sure is very profitable and time consuming work to stand outside Aldgate tube station selling poppies, or my 80 year old in-laws who stand year after year whatever the weather in Coventry city centre shaking collection boxes for RNLI. And woe betide any family or friend who doesn’t buy their RNLI Christmas Cards!

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A few weeks ago I attended People Power 2010, the first conference solely dedicated to the future of campaigning. Campaigners continue to fill an important role for charities and society, experts who bridge a vital knowledge gap that the government cannot cover. Below are a few key points that came out of the conference that I wanted to share.

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Here at TW CAT we have the best people.

I joined the company in June 2006 and have seen fairly dramatic changes in environment, process and hierarchy but one thing has remained consistent – the ethical, creative and team spirited atmosphere that really makes TW CAT a fulfilling place to work. It’s pretty unusual to be able to say that your work colleagues also count as your friends. The whole “work to live” not “live to work” ethos really comes into play if your working days are spent with people you actually have fun with, care about and respect.

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Having worked in the commercial sector for over two decades, I am frequently reminded that the charity and the commercial sectors are miles apart.

In the charity sector, you are not making rich and profitable companies even richer and more profitable. You are instead helping people to make a real difference in the world.

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