Think of a number

I've just been looking through nfpSynergy's March 2010 Charity Awareness Monitor survey.

It has a fairly large chunk of information on people's attitudes to fundraising.

In short, they tend to find it annoying. They single out telephone and door-to-door techniques as being particularly offensive but don't have a very high regard for direct mail either.

But what really gets up their noses is re-branding. When asked whether it was worthwhile, a massive 66% of those surveyed thought it a waste of money.

There is only one thing I know for sure about fundraising – the more people enjoy giving, the more they give.

Perhaps if fundraisers changed their focus, we'd be more successful?  

Awareness for it's own sake, as Laurie Pringle points out in this must read post, seems pretty pointless.

In terms of next steps, I like what the Fundraising Detective has to say. If you haven't read his blog recently, take a look at this post.

Comments

[Sarah Durham]

Looking through a donor's eyes, it's easy to see why you might not want your gift to be spent on a rebranding. But at the same time, how many donors give to organizations that communicate terribly? An organization that mixes its messages up, uses too much jargon, or has a website that looks unprofessional and isn't easy to navigate is likely to loose potential donors. Instead of asking about how donors feel about rebranding it might be more revealing to ask how donors feel when an org communicates clearly and consistently (the result of a good rebrand- rather than the act itself).

[mark phillips]

Hi Sarah

Branding can be positive for any organisation if done well.

The trouble is, as I discuss in a previous post - http://www.queerideas.co.uk/my_weblog/2009/11/the-underserved-power-of-the-brand.html - I don't think many charities have good brands.

The focus must be - as you point out - to engage. If that lies at the heart of a brand (and I'm talking about the complete brand experience here - not just a logo and corporate ID) I think the results could be very worthwhile.

Thanks for Reading

Mark