SOFII - recently added exhibits

Latest exhibits and other additions
SOFII’s latest additions are brim-full of great ideas that you can steal, starting now. Just click on the links to wake up each exhibit or editorial.

SOFII’s most recent additions are now found on a new page.

PB 217 Lake Simcoe Conservation Foundation’s 2008 progress report
Without spending much money, how do you account to your donors on what their gifts have achieved during the year?

RB 227 ALS Canada’s leave-behind
Another simple low-cost way to give donors the information that they need, when deciding how to give and how much.

EF218 Homefront’s virtual gala
Brilliant event fundraising with no organisation, no overheads and no need to sit next to crashing bores. Just give your money and save the world by staying at home.

Article by Ruthellen Rubin.
Tossing your cookies: Grassroots fundraising at its best
‘This was a little girl who was putting her spare time to good use. The future of America was in good hands with kids like this. Your heart melted when you saw her toothless smile and earnest appeal to ‘help send other children to Girl Scout camp’...

New additions to the Legacies Showcase
From New York Community Trust, the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, the AARP and the Union of Concerned Scientists.

Links to eight well-worth-visiting websites

SOFII’s first country profile – Oh Canada!

A new section for SOFII – We do it differently!

And here’s the Onion spoof Maxine mentioned (look half-way down the page)
FP212 THE PLAN: child sponsorship helps save children in Spain’s civil war.
This is the remarkable, moving story of how the best fundraising proposition in the world was launched, more than 70 years ago, by a group of young adventurers caught up in a terrifying conflict. Just added, the Onion’s light-hearted spoof highlights some of the concerns about child sponsorship schemes.

CR220 HEKS charity shop Switzerland
Worms in bed, gifts of bricks and the buzzing of swarms of bees all combine in a delightful online trading promotion from the land of the cuckoo clock.

DMI211 Lawrence Park Community Church appeal for a sign
When a sign from God was needed, the preacher turned to his parishioners. And to fundraising by direct mail.(coming soon/ not quite ready yet)

PO222 Jewish Care’s Post-it notes campaign
A well-deserved award winner, this creative approach addresses sensitively, memorably and effectively an issue that might be relevant to any of us.

DMI179 How Oceans Conservancy beat their own banker.
This Ocean Conservancy pack exemplifies dm fundraising best practice but it also beat an established original control pack.

EF225 Can Too sports events for Cure Cancer Australia
Another neat idea from Down Under, this one gives something valuable to volunteers who give their all.

DMI180 The ‘Wall of Tolerance’ appeal
Southern Poverty Law Center’s campaign to build a special commemorative wall in Montgomery, Alabama, USA as a lasting symbol of America’s tolerance movement.

EI225 United Way Capital Area’s impact calculator
Would it encourage your donors to know just what their gift to your charity might achieve? This isn’t a trick question...

CR214a ActionAid Sweden’s Christmas promotions

Mal Warwick on legacies: Strong opinions and priceless insights on bequest promotion from the legendary guru of fundraising direct marketing.

Meet Leanne, SOFII’s new ambassador in USA West

Top tips for beating fundraising in a recession, from The Agitator

A tribute to Terry Murray
Fundraisers gather to acknowledge their debt to South Africa’s doyen of fundraising, who died this month.

Check out Conor’s blog.
For interesting ideas, like this advertisement for a Director of Appreciation.

More recently added links exhibits and editorials
Now you can enrol, free, for Tom Ahern’s newsletter on communications and for the challenging and provocative Agitator. Plus, you can log on to Sean Triner’s blog and follow Recession Watch, check out Queer ideas, bloody good fundraising and sign up for Global Connections, the newsletter of international fundraising capacity-builders, the Resource Alliance.

EF215 GiveIndia’s electronic newsletter
How an online philanthropy marketplace communicates inspiration and reassurance to donors the world over.

CR214 ActionAid’s virtual Christmas gift collection
Find out how the charity Christmas trading market has been revitalised by the arrival of ‘gifts that keep on giving’.

LS207 and 216 Great legacy (bequest) marketing materials
from The Royal National Lifeboat Institution and the Catholic Children’s Society.

MM199 Prostate Cancer’s campaign from beyond the grave
In this remarkable exhibit PCRF resurrected a deceased British comedian and arranged for him to present the case for tackling the disease that killed him.

PB209 MCC’s instructive and informative annual report
Murray Culshaw Consulting is a legend in Indian fundraising. Here the agency’s own annual report is deployed as an object lesson in how to communicate effectively via the printed page.

EI208 Chilean Bible Society’s mobile phone texting campaign
An innovative use of mobile phone texting coupled with an appropriate involvement device marks Chile’s first example of creative fundraising on SOFII.

Nick Allen’s top tips for effective email.
Rich Fox explains a new role for the telephone in bequest marketing.
Pamela Grow’s ten tips on how to structure a grant proposal.
Bob Levy’s rant about why we must take more care with our words.
Robert Weiner’s revelations on finding the perfect database.

LM88 YMCA’s ‘soft sell’ approach to legacy marketing
How a simple offer underpinned by a wise choice of celebrity spokesperson introduced many people to the pleasures and pitfalls of making a will.

LM198 Nature Conservancy Canada legacy direct mail
How NCC accessed the pot of gold at the end of the fundraiser’s rainbow with a classically straightforward but very appealing direct mail promotion.

DMI178 Nature Conservancy USA’s launch of its Science Council
How setting up a special donor club also launched a major donor recruitment initiative seeking $1,000 plus gifts from a general donor file for the first time.

FS193 Islamic Aid’s fundraising strategy
Carefully following a well planned, well designed strategy has paid big dividends for the work funded by Islamic Aid among the poor and needy.

PO82 RCSB Bhopal emergency appeal advertisement
Created in less than two hours, this ad went on to raise more than 20 times its total costs in just a few days, to become a classic example of disaster appeal advertising.

CB189 Waitrose ‘community matters’ giving initiative
An imaginative new approach to in-store collections and community involvement from Britain’s upmarket quality food retailer.

Check out SOFII’s new editorial features too
Marc Pitman’s topical Fundraising in a recession
Ken Burnett’s 29 foundations of effective fundraising, plus Part 2 of How precisely do you build a better board?

CR195 Dove’s campaign for real beauty and the Dove self-esteem fund
Find out how a bunch of corporate suits really are stealing our clothes, shifting their products by emulating what some believe should be our exclusive preserve.

IB84 The RNLI ‘He'll face...All we ask of you’ inserts
What a great story this is and what great fundraising! Learn how one of Britain’s largest charities has recorded consistently great results from press inserts built around a simple, classic, direct proposition – and great understanding of their donors.

EF190 Ben Franklin’s touring education and fundraising shows
A novel idea for spreading information and knowledge while raising money and having fun.

DMI176 NARAL Leadership Circle membership renewal
An impressive appeal to ‘insiders’ using the best of proven direct mail techniques.

PO192 RNLI’s press advertisement from 1939
A little piece of history from the eve of the Second World War shows that off-the-page fundraising was active even then.

DMI177 National Park Foundation ‘Plan for Parks’ mini-proposal
A strikingly competent direct mail upgrade appeal designed to look just like the kind of intriguing and personalised proposal that a major donor might expect.

WF72 Greenpeace’s virtual march
Now you can campaign directly to save the whales online or on your cell phone, from the comfort of your own armchair. And raise money too. This innovative campaign succeeded in persuading South Korea not to start whaling.

SC85 RSPCA’s controversial ‘pile of dead dogs’ advert.
This high impact poster from Britain’s leading animal welfare charity stopped a nation of dog lovers in their tracks.

FF181 Sense’s brilliant style of face-to-face fundraising
Imagine the dark and silent world of a deaf and blind child. That’s what Sense’s street fundraisers asked passers-by to do. Those who stopped to listen were treated to a charming, evocative story which eased them effortlessly into the charity’s case for support.

FF196 Dream a Dream’s ‘uncrush a dream’ campaign
Another brilliant distinctive approach to stopping potential donors in their tracks and making them think, whether on the bustling streets of Bangalore or at an event.

CR194 The Crisis Christmas card challenge
Corporate donors are invited to send a singer to everyone on their Christmas list, in this delightful, hugely succesful festive fundraising initiative that involves homeless people in raising funds themselves.

URGENT!
SOFII’s ‘Don’t be LEFT BEHIND campaign
The verdict is still out on whether this important appeal will succeed or not. But be warned, this campaign contains limited nudity and quite a lot of bare-faced cheek.

Also, check out these recently added editorial features
David Hazeltine’s Five lessons from higher education fundraising
Marc Pitman’s Do it yourself fundraising
John Grain Associates, UK A new mystery shopping report
Ken Burnett’s How precisely do you build a better board?

AF187 University of South Carolina Y’ALL campaign
Innovative and engaging alumni fundraising from USC shows the education sector how it should be done.

ID188 University of South Carolina search for the ‘Face of Y’ALL’ 2008. Join the search to find the face that will front the Y’ALL campaign this coming year. Only USC graduates can apply, but that won't stop the rest of us from wanting to.

MM57 ActionAid Bollocks to Poverty campaign
An irreverent slogan designed to capture the attention of young festival-goers, the Bollocks to Poverty idea has gone on to inspire the imaginations and ignite the aspirations of a generation. Hopefully, they’ll make a better job of ending poverty than their predecessors.

CA132 Giving Scotland crisis appeal
What do you do when several scandals occur at the same time and public opinion starts to turn against you? You do what the courageous Giving Scotland campaign did, and pull out all the stops to turn the tide again in your favour.

DMI74 Greenpeace Frontline
How do you successfully introduce high value monthly giving to a largely flat donor file, then get the idea copied by offices around the world?

MD165 Common Cause major donor upgrade
Everyone wants to find cost-effective ways to upgrade supporters from small gifts to true major donor status. Here’s how one organisation from the USA did it.

DMI167 Hannah’s inspirational direct mail
See how seven year-old Hannah’s first ever attempt at writing and designing a direct mail appeal letter is brimming over with lessons for today’s professional.

EF168 Hannah’s school biscuit and cake bake
Flushed with the success of her direct mail appeal Hannah goes on to try her hand at charity trading, commercial fundraising and special events.

DMC115 British Heart Foundation’s ‘Calculate the cost of heart disease to your business’ mailing
How could any businessman or woman resist playing with this simple calculator, the easy way to work out what heart disease is costing to his or her company’s bottom line? Is this or is this not the kind of involvement device that might really work?

PB183 Lake Simcoe Conservation Foundation’s annual report
How do you recognise your donors, produce a key communications tool on the cheap and still manage to turn in a handy profit – all in a ‘one-person fundraising shop’?

DMI174 Jesse Jackson’s bid for the White House, 1988
Twenty years before the world had heard of Barack Obama here’s bold, engaging direct mail fundraising helping to make possible America’s first serious bid for the White House by an African American.

DMI175 Make a Wish Foundation’s upgrade proposal
How individually personalised proposals accompanied by brilliant feedback on what past giving had achieved encouraged new levels of giving for many donors.

MM47 Croatian Guide Dogs mobility centre appeal
A low-cost way to raise lots of money from diverse audiences and raise awareness of a major social issue.

ID45 Casa Speranti Edelweiss appeal
Building on local church support this Romanian hospice used a unique and very appealing involvement device to engage thousands of new donors.

FF171 Greenpeace – the reinvention of face-to-face fundraising
This is history, the full story of how Greenpeace broke the mould to transform its fundraising fortunes and present the world with a new way of recruiting monthly electronic donors in huge numbers.

CR92 Dream a Dream newspaper campaign
How to make money, and piles of it, from piles of old newspapers.

DMI121 Help The Aged ‘you have this gift’ mailing
An intriguing cover line works every time. Add in a great involvement device and you have a classic on your hands, possibly even, one of the best control packs of all time.

BC164 Jan Uekermann’s fundraising podcasts
How to spread the word about what’s good and what’s not in fundraising today.