What is wrong with the Australian NFP Sector?

Excellent one hour program from the ABC about the sector in Australia.

With 700k NFPs in Australia, are we a mess?

Listen to 'Inventing the Third Sector' ABC Background Briefing, which was broadcast on 17 May.

Download podcast / MP3.

Keith Roberts (ex Epilepsy Action) and Tony Thirwell (Heart Foundation) speak a lot of sense about traditional fundraising charities, but the program goes beyond that to give a lot of insight into the non-charity NFPs. Elizabeth Cham and Mark Lyons (philanthropy academics) give some put the case for better regulation, and the case against using cost of fundraising as a useful measure.

I must say that Elizabeth goes off on one about face to face fundraising in a very non academic way, suggesting that charities use face to face for the wrong reasons. She suggests they do it to keep their fundraising costs down, which makes no sense to me having frequent opportunity to look at the data and costs / income involved.

She calls it 'chugging' which kind of shows her colours on this issue straight away!

She says "...but they're out there in the streets with these chuggers - you know, you can't move in any city in the world almost, without bumping into not so much the beggars but the chuggers, the charity muggers - who are out there saying, 'Are you going to give us your credit card so we can take $10 from you?'"

Elizabeth - people only give when asked, and face to face activities has raised at least a billion dollars in Australia - from a new audience of previous non-givers. She is also not happy that the face to face canvassers are only paid on success - which is the case for some, but not all of the companies.

She hints that this is morally contradicting charities own '...very, very strong policies about proper labour costs when [you're] operating internationally.'

Everything else she says is pretty damn spot on though; a thoughtful and useful show, worth an hour of your life.

In preparation for me being on 'Australia Talks' - ABC National 'intelligent talkback show', the producer asked me lots of questions about face to face, cost of fundraising and regulation so I guess this is all still pretty hot stuff for the media. (The show is on Thursday at 6pm, Podcast will be available on the ABC website afterwards so people in other time zones can listen later. OK mum?)

Sean

Returning to gloom

I had a fantastic holiday in South Africa, and the longest time of work since setting up Pareto Fundraising with co-founder Paul Roberts back in November 2002. Whilst I was away, I had a series of blogs go up which have met with some great feedback, thank you.

With new bosses installed in the Australian companies (Pareto Fundraising and Pareto Phone), I am looking forward to improvements in our systems - and 2009 is squaring up to be one heck of a challenging year.

Change is the theme of the upcoming FIA Conference (Australians, if you haven't booked a place, there are still some left) - and change is what we all need to go through.

Although my fundraising colleagues in the Americas and Europe seem to be suffering badly, Australia is not hit really hard yet, or at least not as badly. I wouldn't have a clue how much worse it is going to get, but really 2009 is going to be a big year of change.

And it is past it's due by date. In my 'Ten Point plan to recession-proofing your fundraising' the main point is very much along the line of scenario planning - whatever happens, good fundraising practice is what is needed.

We simply don't have any choice, which is why 2009 is going to be a good year in the long term for the charity sector. We will have to be more professional, look longer term, face-up to brutal facts.

Most charities know what they need to do, 2009 needs to be the year they do it. Or 2010 will be the year they do nothing because they don't exist.

Fundraising in a recession

Well the market keeps getting bleaker. Ouch. Lots is being said about what should be done about fundraising during tough times.

People (fundraisers) are asking me 'What should we do!?'

For evidence, proof and more detail (a lot more) I have just finished a big, thorough article about it, covering all areas - potential effects, what boards should do, what impact it has had on income to date etc. The article is bloody long and will be a little while more because it is with an editor right now, but it will be essential reading because it gives you what you need to go in and fight the most important battle:

Prevent recession suicide. The most dangerous thing about a recession is charities panicking and making bad decisions that will harm them more than any decline in income as a direct consequence of the actual recession. Cutting budget, reducing acquisition volumes, cutting staff - all of these things are killers for you. Much, much more dangerous than the actual recession.

Puling my big article together, I read a ton of articles, from people I know, such as: Gonzalo Ibarra (Chile, article is in Spanish, he reckons it helps you focus on who your real donors are and that in the massive financial crisis in Argentina they got low rates of attrition and brilliant results). Mal Warwick (USA, DM guru and all round brilliant bloke), who is worried about people cutting back on acquisition and donor care.

And also strangers to me, people like Lisa J. Lehr (a US copywriter) who reckons don't cut back, '...If you're a nonprofit, however, don't make the mistake of thinking that this is the time to cut back on your fundraising efforts. What these gloomy indicators mean is that nonprofits need to increase--not decrease--their fundraising efforts...".

Marc A. Pitman agrees and he wrote a book too, so he must be clever.

All these people - and more - are saying don't cut back. Mal's article includes some big picture data references, but most are telling you this as they are experts.

My article goes a bit further. It has tons of data, explains in detail what to tell the board, management and colleagues and comes up with a ten step plan to protect your charity in a recession. Heavy, but essential reading.

If you want the full article, then please email rob.novotny@paretofundraising.com who will send it when it is ready to go!

If you are new to this blog, and are wondering what Pareto Fundraising is, please click here for more information.

Sean