SOFII is extremely excited about the imminent launch of a new showcase that will celebrate the small charity. Click here to learn about this new partnership with the UK’s FSI, the Foundation for Social Improvement, and how you could win £50.

Seven golden rules to follow that will really make your reply form work.

Though we love this ad its writer, UNICEF Sweden, really doesn’t want you to like it at all. See why, here.

A review of Dan Pallotta’s TED talk, The way we think about charity is dead wrong.

In this latest jewel from George Smith’s collection of articles in Up Smith Creek, he is not impressed by the way we conduct our agency pitches and staff interviews. He says, ‘The replacement of human conversation by earnest verbal ceremony can make for mediocre choice’ and might mean we miss the candidate who is ‘mad, bad and dangerous to know’ and with the vigor to really make our fundraising great. 

Jerry Huntsinger asks a string of questions that should be asked, then says you shouldn’t allow your keyboard to filter your personality or your voice. And you can find out how his gardener, crazy Eddie, invented a new take on the Johnson box.

This week legendary Agitator Roger Craver joins in with his opinion on the ‘request for proposal’. And he’s not pulling any punches about what he believes is ‘…among the Great idiocies of our nonprofit world’. Click here to see more and to find out what he does admire and praise.

Click here to find out why Britain’s No 1 fundraiser thinks the relationship between client and supplier is so important. And why a few training sessions on how to be a good client (and supplier) would be a welcome addition to any fundraising conference.

Jerry Huntsinger has a pet theory about premiums – otherwise known as incentive devices – based on the principle of tactile response.  A human being listens, sees, reads, smells, feels the wind and often receives sensory information through handling an object with his fingertips. So if a donor is reading a letter and nothing else it is easy for his concentration to waiver. Click here to find out what you can do instead of blowing wind in your donor’s face. 

If Ken loves pro bono, how is it that so many charities get up his nose when they ask for it?

Jay Love’s revealing infographics have been setting American fundraisers alight recently, with good reason. Why do donors head for the exit? How does our sector’s attrition compare with customers of for-profit businesses? Do larger donors leave sooner? How many donors could you keep, if you just did some things differently?

Now on SOFII, widely respected data specialist and entrepreneur Jay Love explores these seemingly permanent hot topics with two generous helpings of practical advice all fundraisers could follow.

In his latest tutorial, Jerry Huntsinger says that he really dislikes reply forms, then explains why. You will also learn how to improve this very important device so that it becomes an integral and powerful part of your appeals.