The true value of giving – getting creative with non-financial asks
An ask that doesn’t involve money? That’s right. Because when you add up the contributions of non-financial gifts, you will be surprised. You might even find that you’ve raised more than you would from a traditional capital request. Stuck for ideas? We’ve got a few to help get you started.
- Charity shop donations: An oldie but goodie, the idea of giving goods instead of money is not new. Brought to life through the invention of the much-loved charity shop, the sale of donated goods is a great way to raise more money for your cause – with charity shops raising £331 million in profit for their parent organisations in 2018/19. That’s a big number, and an important source of unrestricted funding for charities across the UK.
- Core goods: Donated goods can also be an important way to help local charities deliver their core service. We love that:
- Every year the Samaritan’s Purse asks its supporters to fill a Christmas shoebox.
- 90% of all donations to the Trussel Trust are made by the public.
- The Hygiene Bank are ready and waiting to accept cleaning and sanitary products.
- Book Aid International promotes book donations (new ones only!) alongside its fundraising ask.
Looking for something a bit more bespoke? Then why not put your ask to a corporate? Every year, ProCaps Labs donate 200 million prenatal vitamin and mineral supplements to Vitamin Angels. That’s over $5 million since 2006! Do you have a product that could be the basis of a new corporate partnership?
- Volunteering: In 2020/21 an estimated 28 million people volunteered their time, with 19 million doing so at least once a month. COVID might have isolated us, but it also united us, with the UK seeing a surge in volunteering during the pandemic. In fact, research suggests that of the 12.4 million people that volunteered, 4.6 million were first-timers and 3.8 million of these are interested in volunteering again! So if you need fundraising support, shop workers, mentors, befrienders, or even general admin now is the time to ask!
- Skills sharing and mentoring: NCVO’s Research Briefing shows that 52% of charities lack the required specialist skill sets, with almost half missing complex analytical skills, and one third lacking the digital expertise they need to realise their vision. If you can’t afford to recruit, why not advertise for specific volunteer support? Just imagine how much added value some targeted people-power could bring to your:
- Design work: Some simple templates and a design toolkit will help professionalise your work and take your fundraising communications to the next level.
- Digital fundraising strategy: Mentorship around digital marketing journeys, social media management, analytics and insights could help unlock new strategies for growth.
- Marketing communications: A little insight into the corporate world could help you refine existing strategies and inspire new ideas that think outside the day-to-day fundraising box.
Not sure how to mobilise volunteer recruitment? Don’t just rely on your existing database. You can advertise on charity job websites, volunteer websites, through community groups and networks, and even use specific pro bono brokers like Impetus and Skylark.
- Pro bono projects
The sky is the limit when it comes to pro bono work, and we love just how many charities and businesses across the sector are teaming up to make a difference. So spread your wings and start hunting out different opportunities – you will be amazed at what you can find. Here are a few that caught our eye.
- Full Fat are now on the fourth round of their new pro bono programme, which offers organisations working in racial, sexual, gender, ability and social equality three months of communication and digital campaign support totalling £7,500 per charity.
- JBI Digital recently built a brand new website for The Childhood Trust, bringing a 25% increase in page engagement, doubling online donations and winning the Web Awards ‘Best Non Profit Website Award’ earlier this year.
- The Royal Statistical Society offer pro bono expertise to small and medium-sized charities in need of statistical support – matching 85 organisations to 101 statisticians to date.
- Reuters Trust Law, A4ID and LawWorks offer a brokering service to charities needing free legal aid.
- Smart Outdoor donated £70,000 of outdoor advertising space to Parkinson’s UK as part of their ‘Time for Can’ campaign to engage young adult supporters in their work.
*You may need to account for the value of donated goods as a standard part of your annual accounts. For more information on this, please refer to the guidance provided by the Charity Commission, and their dedicated SORP microsite.
And finally, giving back…
A gift, by any other name, is still a gift. Whether it’s clothing, goods, time, skills or a full-blown pro bono project, if they’ve made a donation that means they’re a donor. Be sure to treat them as such! Going beyond a simple thank you letter, a good fundraiser will take their donor on a journey – one that goes beyond the transaction to create touch-points and connections, celebrate milestones, share stories of success and inspire people to keep on giving.
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