The Tree of Knowledge was place for delegates to share fundraising ideas and tips for small charities at The Sharing the Best Forum 2008 - "Innovation".

Here is what was shared within the leaves...

Please feel free to continue sharing, just email This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  your idea or tip for small charities to and we'll upload it onto this page!

Provide your service – users with a free post way to share their good experiences of your work – evidence for funders!

Maintain a clean, green and friendly image.

Make sure you have a clear, concise message.

Be ambitious don’t forget your underlying goals!!

Stand out from the crowd.

Promote role-cases, case studies (at all stakeholder levels) to fundraise in innovative ways. Show videos on why, what, how they engaged with your organisation.

My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give to another person, he believed in me.

For trustees, CEO’s and staff, keep reminding yourselves why you are doing what you are doing.

Give your volunteers the knowledge and tools to become effective ambassadors for your organisation.

If you don’t ask – you don’t get. There is no such thing as a silly question.

Keep your charity or organisation in a way that someone else would be able to take over – this means that it will last beyond your years.

Know your limits – don’t try and solve every problem, stick to what you know and do best.

Trustees must be recruited, selected, trained and managed like directors of successful companies in order to support the CEO and team to achieve their mission.

If your clients need to find a charity to help meet their need here’s two sources of all the relevant information:
www.turn2us.org.uk
www.charitysearch.org.uk

We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give.

Use email donation to raise funds for coalition charities specifying area of interest – gives donors right to say what their money pays for.

Believe in what your organisation does, and others will believe in it too. Never underestimate the power on sincerity.

Talk passionately to everyone about your charity. You’ll be surprised by the offers you get.

First and foremost, tell people your vision, stories of what you’ve achieved – the social impact not “what you need” but “what needs you are meeting” and give space for people to come to you.

www.mandy.com a website to advertise for free/ very cheap designers/ video editors/ arty types. You’ll be amazed by the response your ads get!

Keep your ear to the ground and your eye on Third Sector Magazine… they are often first to showcase a new idea or organisation.

Christmas shopping evenings really do work. Sell tables for £20 each task for 10% of profit. Good way of raising £500 in an evening.

Follow every lead it may be the road to millions.

The Jack Petchey Achievement Award Scheme is easy to apply for and easy to run- fantastic scheme that all youth working charities should sign up to.

Find out what motivates your volunteers. Don’t assume. There is not a unifying cash motivator, so be prepared to work shard to manage this group. Its worth it, it will teach you about people. You will work with people you wouldn’t otherwise come into contact with. Make the most of it.

Involve fundraiser in service delivery to help them communicate effectively.

Remember: start in the centre with the people closest to you. The ripples will form!

If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it!

The smaller the charity, the more connections you have with your beneficiaries.

Organisational vision should come before funding pots not the other way around.

Let your passion and heart carry your vision to realisation.

Some funders only fund small charities so are a vital resource to look into…

Read both of these trees and take note.

You can give without loving but you cannot love without giving.

Allow the beneficiaries to lead the way.

Everyone in your organisation is a potential fundraiser!

Cut Costs: Use Technology
- Teleconference services, cut travel costs.
- Email instead of post (use download sites for emailing photos, DVDs etc.)
- Have a 1st class website.

If a fundraising idea or project does not work well, it is not a failure as you would have learnt a lot from the experience.

He who laughs most learns best.

We’ve learned the crucial importance of taking dialogue ‘beyond the room’ using live internet broadcasting of events, with online audio after.

Reduce publicity time and costs by tagging on to someone else’s event.

Increase Income: If you can’t get money get things you can convert to cash.

- recycle old mobile phones and printer cartridges for cash.

Join The Big Give www.thebiggive.org.uk

People give money to people for people.

Be the love you want to see in the world.

(£) Time Vs Money
£1 = £45 from legacy
£1 = £25 from charitable trust applications
£1 = £2 from small event fundraising.

Make your website clear and simple.

Don’t forget to ask! (and don’t be afraid to)

Have realistic aims – don’t try and fix something that’s not broken.

Use everyclick.com as your online fundraising partner.

Tell the truth: be completely transparent!!

Any outdoor event- mark off an area several metres square and sell beer mats £1 each with name on to show eventual winner. Get a parachutist to land in square and winner is person on whose beer mat parachutist lands. Even small prize e.g. champagne is good enough.

Allow your values to inform every decision.

Network by making favourable/ profitable introduction for other people/ organisations.

Merchandise helps people promote the charity for you.

Please be wary! Corporate donors can seriously affect your image.

Don’t worry about being too small to sustain the ‘big’ ideas. Build relationships with other similar sized organisations to set up mutually beneficial schemes, such as payroll giving consortium.

Convince friends and supporters who sell on ebay to pledge a percentage of each sale to your charity.

Find some rich mates and ask them for money.

Make videos! Excellent way to communicate the message an tell the vital ‘stories’ to engage people, it’s cheap and much more interesting than reams of paper. And put them on youtube.

Don’t be bland.

Never underestimate the skills and knowledge of the people in the organisation. Beyond those they use directly as part of their jobs.

Emma Harrison: ‘What’s your vision? You’re boring me! If you can’t get me excited about what you want to achieve in 30 seconds then forget it!’
I need to craft my vision!