How to Network Online Using LinkedIn
In our current remote and digital work environment, knowing how to network effectively online is a handy skill to master. Here I go through the steps I take to grow my connections online...
Professional support structures: Coaching, Mentoring, and Therapy
Ghost-written professional brand development content for a tech executive looking to expand his LinkedIn and Twitter content.
Road Trip through Northern Italy: Lake Maggiore to Garda via Milan and Verona
Guest post for Voyage de Miel, a bi-lingual travel blog. My article is on my epic road trip around the Northern Italian lakes this summer and gives inspiration to lock-down travellers planning their next big trip for when we can travel again.
What is in a name: Menstrual Hygiene Day 2020
Yes… there is a day for everything nowadays isn’t there? Menstrual Hygiene Day, celebrated on the 28th May worldwide, is a great one though. It provides a global advocacy platform for charities, government agencies, the private sector, and individuals to promote good menstrual hygiene management for all.
Period *Poverty* Doesn’t Stop in a Pandemic
In the UK today as many as 3 in 10 girls are struggling to afford or access period products during the lockdown. This is according to Plan International UK’s latest report that highlights the extent to which the pandemic is exacerbating period poverty.
The Female Leadership Gap in Fundraising: What can we do?
The Institute of Fundraising’s latest report ‘Missing Out: Understanding the female leadership gap in fundraising’ provides detail on how gender is affecting the ability of women to reach the top jobs.
This article explores what we can learn from this report and what can women do to combat gendered discrimination.
How are Funders Helping in the Health Crisis?
This piece brought together the philanthropic response to the Covid-19 pandemic, providing continually updating information from a list of key charity sector funders including in the arts.
Trustee Troubleshooting: Recruiting Trustees During the Health Crisis
For many charities, last month’s key priorities included hiring a new Trustee, Chair or Treasurer to their Board. However, given the fast changing situation as a result of the health crisis, it is fair to say many organisations priorities will have rapidly shifted.
For organisations that still need to hire, we ask, how can charities fill Trustee roles at this time, and is that even appropriate?
Now, New, Next: What do arts organisations need in times of crisis? (and what they don't)
Now, New, Next is Arts Fundraising and Philanthropy's quarterly online magazine that brings together industry experts to discuss important and timely sector topics. Issue five focusses on arts fundraising during the pandemic, with my article exploring the role of the Trustee during the crisis, providing advice and guidance on how to best contribute to safeguard your arts organisation.
Top Take-Aways From the AFP Fundraising Essentials Course
On the 24th September, the two new Cause4 Associates (that’s us – Frances and Naomi) travelled through the (torrential) rain to Birmingham to attend the Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy one day course: Fundraising Essentials.
Having just begun our fundraising careers, we found the content invaluable in solidifying our base knowledge and giving us top tips, and key ideas to take back to the office. Spending time with other early-career fundraisers felt great too, we were able to learn from each...
A decline in Arts A-levels? Thinking beyond the needs of the arts themselves.
If A-level and GCSE exam choices show us a picture of where the next generation is headed, then this year was not a pretty sight for the arts. Alarmingly, statistics show that take-up of A-level Literature for this year has plummeted by 3,500 students compared to 2018, and English Language take-up has dropped by 22%, whilst Art and Design is down by 1.6%. In total there has been a 24% decline overall across all arts A-levels since 2010. The picture at GCSE level shows a similar fall, with Art...
‘How to Write Great Applications’
Two weeks on from attending the Arts Fundraising & Philanthropy one-day course in Oxford, and I am putting into practice what I learned. As our trainer Fern Potter rightly said, ‘training without doing’ can be wasted. So, I was delighted to time the course (completely incidentally) with my need to write four Trusts and Foundation applications in the subsequent weeks.
But what did I learn? Here are the five key things that I am using this week in my writing.
Writing tips
So you think you’re a ...
Valuing Museum Collections: Mission Impossible
In a plotline usually reserved for Hollywood heist films, thieves broke into Dresden Palace’s Green Vault in November stealing jewellery of ‘immeasurable worth’. The robbery saw three sets of 18th century jewellery stolen from the collection in what the media are naming the largest art theft in history, estimating the value of items stolen at €1 billion.
However this value is misleading given that the artefacts, despite being priceless, would be near impossible to sell on the market. Marion A...
Neil Griffiths talks to Cause4 about how Arts Emergency make an impact with their fundraising
How can arts organisations better utilise individual giving?
Individual giving accounts for 16% of the overall charity sector income however, within arts organisations that figure drops to just 5.9% of income raised from this source. This represents a missed opportunity for arts organisations to generate vital income, in turn building a stronger community of supporters and potential volunteers.
Learning from Arts Emergency’s Christmas Appeal
The key to success is ensuring that your fundraisin...
Fundraising in Times of Crisis
In 2018 fire ravaged the Macintosh building at the Glasgow School of Art (GSA), causing extensive damage to the historically important building that was under renovation following a smaller but equally devastating fire in 2014. Earlier this year, a watchdog investigation was launched into the international fundraising appeal that raised £20 million in the wake of the fire. Critics claim that the GSA mis-represented how money raised was being spent, arguing that the campaign collected funds fo...