The welcome pack showcase
Welcoming donors can be a crucial stage in engaging your donor. It’s a great way to give them more knowledge about the cause and, most importantly, it’s a chance for you to find out exactly what the donor wants. This showcase, like most of SOFII, is constantly being added to and expanded but already there are a few gems waiting for you to come and take your pick. Tour this showcase now.
The ‘best of the best’ showcase
Many times we’ve been asked ‘How do I find the very best of SOFII’s exhibits?’ So look no further, the best of the best are right here. This section honours fundraisers who have really made a difference by creating campaigns that have changed the way we do what we do. If you know of a fundraising promotion or campaign that really was an industry game-changer, please submit it today to be considered for a place amongst the best of the best.
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The lost and found showcase
Basically a collection of articles that don’t really fit anywhere else… that we can think of... This is where SOFII puts all the exhibits that aren’t quite complete because no one has yet supplied the necessary details by filling in an exhibitor’s entry form. But there’s some great stuff in this section, just waiting to inspire fundraisers. Tour this showcase now.
The membership showcase
Members equal strength, power and voice, but members can also be difficult and inconvenient. Having members can give validity to your campaigns and make those in power sit up and pay attention. But members also take maintenance and can be very demanding. They can be disruptive and distracting. However, many organisations wouldn’t be without their members for the world. Membership is unlikely to be the best course for all organisations, but might it be right for you? Tour this showcase now.
Direct mail showcase
Despite greatly exaggerated claims of its impending demise, direct mail remains by a long way the fundraiser’s preferred method of getting and keeping in touch with supporters, perhaps less than in the past for acquisition, but increasingly for donor relationship building and development. Tour this showcase now.
The thank-you showcase
Saying thank you… hopefully by now you’ve realised that this is one of the most valuable opportunities that a fundraiser has. Here’s where you’ll find the ‘must-see’ Lisa Sargent thank you letter clinic, plus many of the world’s best thank-you and welcome letters for you to borrow and improve. Tour this showcase now.
Shout out on SOFII
Are you a born storyteller? Then please share your fundraising stories with us. We’d love to hear about all of your successful experiences and even those that weren’t perhaps quite so triumphant… And if you’ve adapted a SOFII exhibit for your own cause then please let us know how it went. Email Nathalie or Carolina today.
How SOFII works
In this informative showcase, you’ll find everything you need to know about SOFII and how to use it. We’ve included a new user’s guide, a site map and a list of SOFII staff in case you want to get in touch.
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How did that happen?
We all make mistakes…. We just need to make sure we learn from them. In this showcase, you can see some appalling but instructive fundraising efforts from days gone by.
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The Jerry Huntsinger tutorials
This special showcase within the direct mail section of SOFII comprises a complete series of tutorials from the dean of direct mail fundraising, the USA’s legendary Jerry Huntsinger. In 86 parts this insightful, practical series is building, over time, into the complete step-by-step guide to direct mail fundraising. Tour this showcase now.
The thank-you letter clinic.
We all know that a thank you letter can be the most important piece of communication that a donor receives. Lisa Sargent, copywriter and thank-you letter expert, will be bringing you the 'best of the best' on demonstrating your gratitude properly.
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What’s missing?
This is where SOFII lists fundraising campaigns and initiatives that it knows of but so far hasn’t yet had entries for. You are invited to add your own omissions and suggestions too. Tour this showcase now.
Multi–media (multi-channel) campaign showcase
Not many tasks are more challenging for today’s fundraiser than mounting a campaign that has to succeed across a wide range of different media. But, increasingly, fundraising and social change campaigns are required to work in more than one medium, often in several. Truly the twenty-first century fundraiser has to be a master of communication. To get one central message across consistently and effectively deploying all of the available media demands consummate professionalism. Tour this showcase now.
The stewardship showcase
Fundraising is a long-term business and notions of stewardship go back centuries, to more than two thousand years ago or more. In all but the very short term, the basis of all fundraising is the strength, quality and depth of relationships that you the fundraiser will build with your donors. It stands to reason that people like doing business with people they like, that if you are nice to donors they’ll be nice back to you. So, forget any notions that fundraising is a form of selling or even marketing. In this showcase you’ll find brilliant examples of donor care and systematic donor development too. Tour this showcase now.
Help out with SOFII
Help us reach more people around the world. Become a SOFII ambassador; spread the word about SOFII in your country and help us understand what fundraising is all about where you are. This is a great volunteer opportunity if you are looking to expand their professional network.
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More services
Even more from SOFII to you, including the fundraiser’s toolbox, sites to be seen and SOFII’s bookstore.
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The great and the good showcase
Welcome to SOFII’s special, most reverent, most silent hall, wherein we display for the edification and enlightenment of all who care to enter profiles of those rare individuals, living and otherwise, whom we have selected as fundraising’s great and good. These people, whose lives and contributions are unveiled here, have all made a recognised, substantial contribution to our field. We should all aspire to understand and learn from their legacy.
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New media and technology showcase
Technology isn’t just changing rapidly, it’s rocketing forward. Few areas of enterprise are more influenced by rapid technological change than fundraising. But all progress requires informed and wise management to maximise the benefits and limit the negative side effects. In this showcase we aim to analyse the main changes and highlight the best thinking around the world on what implications these will have for fundraisers and campaigners. Tour this showcase now.
Best donor recruitment initiatives showcase
Donor recruitment is vital to any charity. Whether through direct mail, telemarketing, face-to-face fundraising or e-marketing, how do you make sure your methods have that magic that will make the donor tick… and ultimately make a donation? Take a look at these great examples to inspire you for your next big idea. Tour this showcase now.
Most inspirational fundraising of all time showcase
Be inspired by the exhibits in this showcase. You will see a variety of donor communications. Despite their differences, they all managed to be easily accessible, transparent, informative and exciting to their audience. No mean feat, we’re sure you’ll agree. Tour this showcase now.
Major donor fundraising
As fundraisers increasingly come to realise the potential of individual major donor fundraising, this is one of SOFII’s most visited showcases. There are some great ideas and examples here, now, and the section is growing constantly. Tour this showcase now.
Publications showcase
It’s vitally important for fundraisers to be effective communicators and most fundraisers realise that to be any good at communication it takes two – the publisher and the reader. This section explores the highs and lows of fundraising communication. Within these pages you will find many of the most instructive and inspirational examples of how to communicate with power and passion the urgency of your cause and what a difference readers can make when they get involved. Tour this showcase now.
Inexpensive donor involvement ideas showcase
Involving donors with your fundraising is an excellent way to raise awareness and to make the donor feel like part of something special. And, more often than not, it can be an effective way to increase income. Click into this showcase to see a small selection of the variety of ways in which fundraisers have imaginatively involved their donors with their cause. Tour this showcase now.
Electronic fundraising
As fundraisers increasingly come to realise the potential of individual major donor fundraising, this is one of SOFII’s most visited showcases. There are some great ideas and examples here, now, and the section is growing constantly. Tour this showcase now.
Event fundraising showcase
Charity events are as varied and colourful as fundraising itself. They’re only limited by the imaginations of their organisers and their capacity to make things happen against all odds. But in many markets the costs of running events are rising and competition for donors' interest and participation is fierce, not to mention competition for their funds. In this section you will find details of some of the world’s most original and effective events. Tour this showcase now.
Low-cost donor recruitment showcase
Finding the required magic on a tight budget – surely an even bigger challenge! But in this showcase, we’ve found fundraisers who not only managed it, they excelled it. Tour this showcase now.
Telephone fundraising
Information for this section is currently being prepared and will be added to the site soon. But you can still have a look at the partially completed section. Tour this showcase now.
Capital campaigns showcase
Still the staple of the North American fundraising system, capital campaigns have nevertheless lost their glitter for many fundraisers and for many major donors too. But carefully structured and well-coordinated capital campaigns can still raise substantial sums of money and deliver on donor satisfaction too. So when is it right to consider a capital campaign, and how should you go about ensuring that your campaign, when it happens, is one of those destined to succeed? Tour this showcase now.
Stemming donor attrition showcase
Every single fundraiser wants regular donors and lots of them. It certainly takes skill to attract donors in the first place, but it can take even more talent and expertise to ensure they remain faithful to you and your cause. In this showcase, we bring you some examples of how fundraisers have admirably converted random gift givers into steadfast supporters. Tour this showcase now.
Face-to-face fundraising showcase
For many organisations face-to-face or street fundraising has proved to be the most cost-effective way of recruiting large numbers of new monthly donors. But there are problems and challenges too. Many lessons have been learned around the world since face-to-face fundraising first became popular, and this showcase seeks to capture these and share them with you. Editorial for this section is currently being prepared and updated. But why not click the link and have a look anyway? Tour this showcase now.
Best fundraising products showcase
Fundraising products can be a successful asset to any charity… if used correctly! Take a look at these exhibits to see what happens when fundraisers used their imagination to inspire their donors… the sky’s the limit. Tour this showcase now.
Corporate and commercial fundraising showcase
Fundraisers are becoming increasingly professional and sophisticated when it comes to forming partnerships with commercial organisations and also when raising money from them. Corporate donors now are expressing growing interest in what fundraisers have to offer in terms of mutual benefit for their marketing objectives and as they seek to fulfil their obligations in terms of their corporate social responsibility. Is corporate fundraising all it’s cracked up to be? Are companies the best route to the many thousands of potential individual donors that they employ? If so, how should you go about fundraising from the corporate sector and where are the best opportunities? Tour this showcase now.
Door-drops/household deliveries
As fundraisers increasingly come to realise the potential of individual major donor fundraising, this is one of SOFII’s most visited showcases. There are some great ideas and examples here, now, and the section is growing constantly. Tour this showcase now.
Combining campaigning and fundraising showcase
Campaigns and fundraising are often uncomfortable bedfellows. In some organisations, these two inextricably interlinked activities barely communicate with each other and when they do they often seem to be pulling in different directions. But when campaigners and fundraisers work well together the results can be extraordinary. And when donors are given the chance to be campaigners too, and vice versa, they invariably prove to be your organisation’s best supporters of all. This is where you’ll find examples of campaigners and fundraisers working well together. Tour this showcase now.
Press advertising ‘off the page’
Though it has declined in importance for fundraisers in recent years there are many markets where there’s impressive potential for press advertising to make a significant comeback. This section features some of the most effective press advertising of all time, from the great Amnesty and Oxfam ads of yesteryear to today’s stunning ads for Bhopal. Tour this showcase now.
Inserts and bounce-backs
Inserts fall between press and direct mail. Loose or bound in, they will always be significantly more expensive thanoff-the-page advertising so they have to work much harder. As they can't be precisely targeted they are less flexible than direct mail but they’re very much less expensive too. This showcase shows why inserts work, and what you have to do to make them work for you. Tour this showcase now.
Social change campaigns showcase
Why are we here? To make the world a better place, of course. And we do this by campaigning in all the right ways for social change. Social change organisations don’t succeed by being reasonable, by doing things the way they’ve always been done. The first aspiration of all nonprofit organisations should be to do themselves out of business. All campaigners and fundraisers should be restless challengers of the status quo, never ever satisfied that we are doing quite enough. Why? Because we only exist to change the world. Tour this showcase now.
Cause-related marketing showcase
Link your fundraising successfully to the right product and it can raise huge sums. But how can fundraisers be sure which product is right for their cause? Here we look at some examples that worked. And hopefully, in time, a few that didn’t. SOFII is as good as you will make it. Please sumit your stories to SOFII soon. Tour this showcase now.
Broadcast media
In this section, you will currently find some examples of DRTV fundraising (direct response television). As soon as we can, we’ll be adding more examples showing a wide range of media. Tour this showcase now.
Foundations and trusts
More and more donors, particularly larger donors, are choosing to channel their giving through a trust, or foundation. Many of these function just like individual donors though some of the larger ones have a committee and published criteria. It pays to know and to respect these criteria. Trusts don’t like to waste time on applications for support that are outside their expressed interest areas (just like private individual donors). Tour this showcase now.
Emergency Fundraising showcase
At times of emergency, fundraisers have to move quickly, placing appeals within hours rather than the traditional days or weeks. If you are a fundraiser in an organisation where disaster response is a possible, if not a guaranteed, certainty it will pay you to develop and put in place a robust disaster response strategy. In today’s tumultuous times, this is a showcase that should not be overlooked. Tour this showcase now.
Web-based fundraising
As fundraisers increasingly come to realise the potential of individual major donor fundraising, this is one of SOFII’s most visited showcases. There are some great ideas and examples here, now, and the section is growing constantly. Tour this showcase now.
Arts and education sector showcase
This is a collection of creative approaches to fundraising in education and the arts. Successful fundraising in the arts and educations sectors is merely a matter of knowing which buttons are which and pushing only the right ones. Easier said than done, of course. We are desperately short of good material for this showcase and we know that some truly great fundraising goes on in these sectors. So please, don’t be shy. Submit your exhibit today. Tour this showcase now.
Charity brand development showcase
There are hundreds maybe thousands of definitions of the term ‘brand’, but the one SOFII likes best comes from David Ogilvy, with a little bit of adapting by SOFII. Your charity brand is the sum total of, ‘The sets of ideas, images, feelings, beliefs and values that are carried around in a person’s head.’ Find out in this showcase what the real value of a great charity brand is.Tour this showcase now.
Regular, or committed, giving
Giving a small, affordable amount regularly, preferably each month, is easy, cheap and so is good for the donor and for the cause as it’s much better than single gifts for donor development and retention. One-off cash donors will always need to be renewed which is expensive and inefficient. Regular committed donors stay with your cause and give and give again, thanks often to ‘the blessing of inertia’. This important showcase tells you how and shows you who is particularly good at it. Tour this showcase now.
Formats, offers, propositions and products showcase
The priority ranks as follows: audience, offer, format, creative. The format you choose for your fundraising promotion is pretty important but not as significant as a good product or proposition. A fundraising ‘product’ is a clearly defined and readily understood scheme or plan that donors can subscribe to or join. There is usually a fixed entry price or range of prices, often monthly. In return for this, donors will receive clearly described benefits, even if these are intangible or are enjoyed by a third party. Tour this showcase now.
Excellence in communications showcase
Words and pictures combined together in the right way by a talented professional. Fundraising is the inspiration business and to inspire we have to communicate very effectively. Few things matter more to fundraisers than developing competence across a range of professional communications skills. In this showcase we present some brilliant examples of fundraising and campaigning communications for you to copy and learn from. Tour this showcase now.
Use of data showcase
Sorry, we currently don’t have any exhibits for this showcase but we’re working on it! Why not be the first? Send in your examples of fundraising excellence to Nathalie.
Celebrating the donor
A small showcase at the moment, but we hope it will grow rapidly, because we should be celebrating those wonderful people called donors. Tour this showcase now.
All our yesterdays: the fundraising archive showcase
Fundraising has been around ever since people started to help each other. So examples of inspirational, instructive and innovative fundraising inevitably go back many centuries. But our records and record-keeping have not been all they should be. In this section SOFII aspires to display and describe the history of fundraising.
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Treasures from the twentieth century
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Wonders from history
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The second oldest profession: fundraising from the dawn of time
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Last chance to change the world: the legacies (bequests) showcase
Please treat this section with respect. For if within these pages you can find out how to increase your share of the massive legacy (more commonly referred to as bequests in North America) income that seems to fall each year from heaven above into fundraisers’ laps, you’ll have done well indeed. So, this is the place where you’ll find some of the best ideas worth borrowing, truly the all-time greats of legacy marketing. Tour this showcase now.
Have your say
This is your SOFII. Throughout SOFII on all exhibits and articles you will find encouragement and opportunities to help improve the content of SOFII, by adding an experience, airing your views and opinions, sharing your thoughts and letting us know what you like most – and least – on SOFII. Feel free to email SOFII’s development director Nathalie with any of your feedback.
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