In today’s episode of Two Ps on a Pod, Giles and Mark meet up with Paul Amadi MBE, Chief Supporter Officer at the British Red Cross.

In a wide-ranging discussion, we consider the rights and (mainly) wrongs of transactional fundraising, we look at where the Red Cross is looking to innovate and what the future of successful fundraising might look like.

Paul shares his thoughts on how a charity can encourage people who give at times of emergency to continue their support when the news media moves on to other concerns. And we consider how the Red Cross brand is managed and whether it is important that the promotional focus of the charity should cover all aspects of the charity’s operations.

If you'd like to speak to Giles, you can email him at giles@gilespegram.com. Mark can be found at hello@bluefroglondon.com.

Agree? disagree? Why not make a comment and let us know. And if you've got an opinion you'd like to share, tell us why you'd like to join us on the sofas!

In our latest podcast, I’m back with Giles to look at how we – as a fundraisers – learn what we should be doing to engage donors and raise more money.

One of the problems that we face in the sector is the huge amount of information that’s available advising us on what we should be doing when developing our fundraising plans. Much of it is contradictory and a fair amount of it is downright dangerous!

This creates a huge dilemma when trying to work out what’s good advice and what’s bad. So In the podcast, we try and work out how we should tackle the thorny subject of learning, covering the following points:

The Balance Between Excitement and Effectiveness

Why do we strive to make fundraising exciting? We consider the balance of sticking to proven and effective methods compared to copying that new idea that’s getting loads of likes on social media.

The Role of Conferences and Content Curation

Fundraising conferences often grapple with choosing between showcasing best practice and presenting exciting new ideas (that sell most tickets). We explore this dilemma and emphasise the importance of learning from experience, insight, and wisdom rather than just chasing innovation for its own sake.

Learning from History

We look at how historical knowledge can inform modern fundraising strategies and consider the fact that by studying past successes and failures, fundraisers can avoid repeating mistakes and build on what has been proven to work.

The Challenge of Sharing Best Practices

We ask who should be responsible for defining and sharing best practice? We don’t think it should be the responsibility of individual fundraisers, but discuss the need for a more structured approach to disseminating knowledge led by sector bodies or perhaps even through collaborative efforts among larger charities.

Practical Takeaways

Finally, as ever, we also include some practical advice and suggest that sometimes the best way to innovate is to stop trying to do everything differently. Instead, focus on what has been shown to work and adapt it to current circumstances. Or as we say…

' Perhaps what we should start doing differently, is stop doing things differently.'

There’s plenty more shared in the podcast, with links to watch and listen below…

I’m pleased to be able to share Episode 2 of 'Two Ps on a Pod' with Giles Pegram CBE, where we had an incredible conversation with Sir Peter Wanless of NSPCC. We dug deep into the world of fundraising from the unique perspective of a CEO.

🎙️ This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking for insider tips on engaging your CEO with your fundraising mission. Did you know Sir Peter dedicates about 40% of his time to fundraising? He’s even sold some of his favorite shirts and abseiled down buildings for the cause!

Key topics include:

- Growth areas in Individual Giving (IG)
- Aligning fundraising strategy with overall charity strategy
- Avoiding the pitfalls of ‘shrinking to success’
- Advice for new fundraisers

Episode 3 is already recorded, where we’ll discuss how fundraisers learn and the dangers of misinformation in the sector. That will be released in about two weeks.

Until then, I hope you enjoy this hour with Sir Peter.

🔗 Watch the latest episode on Youtube. https://youtu.be/2ElHlVEabnM?si=Vzb1HfRlHfbPx8O_.

We’re publishing new episodes every two weeks. Share your thoughts and ideas for future shows here, on YouTube, or via email at hello@bluefroglondon.com or giles@gilespegram.com.