It is Saturday 4th January, I am listening to BBC Radio 4 – a programme called “a small matter of hope”. AWESOME. Listen to it with your fundraising hat on and think “what is the best story telling?”. The programme has nothing to do with fundraising but everything to do with story telling. The programme
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4 January 2020
Has the world become a better place? Turning donors from pessimists to optimists.
- By : Richard Radcliffe
- Alerts & Updates, Best Practice, Contested Wills, Legacy Strategy, Making the ask
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19 December 2019
2020 – the year of perfect vision? Mind the gap
The end of a year and beginning of a new one is the perfect time to think of the year ahead. What is my vision for the year and beyond? What are my clients’ visions? And what are the visions of legacy prospects? I might be stupid but I always thought 2020 was “perfect vision”.
- By : Richard Radcliffe
- Alerts & Updates, Best Practice, Contested Wills, Legacy Strategy, Making the ask, Our Blog, Tips, Wills
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12 November 2019
Memory failure – why do donors not remember what we tell them? And how to get them engaged
Every time I meet older supporters, I get really worried – they have memory failure about most fundraising communications – including legacies. And yet memory leads to the greatest engagement opportunity. What are we getting wrong? And how can we get it right? Lifestyles of older generations Every time I meet supporters who have retired
- By : Richard Radcliffe
- Alerts & Updates, Best Practice, Contested Wills, Our Blog, Tips, Wills
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6 November 2019
The legacy adventure
As I depart (for Australia – not from this world!) my mind is buzzing. Why? I will be absorbing different mindsets from donors and fundraisers and striving to find new solutions to increase legacy giving. The moment I am not on a journey of discovery will be a sad day even after 30 years in
- By : Richard Radcliffe
- Best Practice, Our Blog, Tips, Wills
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14 October 2019
Still learning after 30 years
But the final hurdle……. 8 hotels. 4 countries. 3 weeks. A gruelling schedule but what I love about my job is that after 30 years I still have loads to learn and achieve. It’s like being in a race which just gets better. My determination to win gets stronger every year. But there are some
- By : Richard Radcliffe
- Best Practice, Contested Wills, Legacy Strategy, Making the ask, Our Blog, Wills
- 0 Comments
22 July 2019
Information Misinformation and useful Information
“Statistics are used like a drunk uses a lamppost: For support not illumination” I am not sure who said this but it is perfect for the world of legacies. I do it all the time. Back in 1987 I was a Director of CAF and took on a fascinating role: leading the new edition of
- By : Richard Radcliffe
- Legacy Strategy, Making the ask, Tips, Wills
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10 June 2019
When will younger generations understand older people?
Fundraisers are generally young. Staff in communications departments are definitely young. Do young people REALLY understand older generations? I certainly didn’t in my 30’s, nor in my 40’s. Not even in my 50’s but in my 60’s my mindset has changed and I see myself differently – even if I feel 25. “60-somethings are going
- By : Richard Radcliffe
- Alerts & Updates, Best Practice, Legacy Strategy, Tips
- 1 Comment
4 March 2019
Don't Write thank you letters
Yes. I am serious. 99% of thank you letters are boring. A thank you letter does not give the final outcome of the appeal you communicated. A prompt thank you for a donation is meaningless. And often unwanted. A later letter – an impact letter – with full outcomes from the appeal – is far
- By : Richard Radcliffe
- Alerts & Updates, Best Practice, Legacy Strategy, Making the ask, Tips
- 0 Comments
18 December 2018
2019 the challenge and potential
This is the most exciting time to grow legacy income we have witnessed for generations. with at least 1 in 3 baby boomers wanting to leave a legacy to their favourite causes. But this new generation of legacy donors are so different to past generations. So the top tips for 2019 1 – Do not
- By : Richard Radcliffe
- Legacy Strategy, Making the ask
- 0 Comments
1 October 2018
Respect the intelligence of your prospects
What really annoys me at the moment is: special Will making offers. In my view most of them are deeply patronising and assume I am too stupid to have one (as a tail end baby boomer). What Is more, these “special offers”, which are not really special at all, are often attracting the least good
- By : Richard Radcliffe
- Best Practice, Contested Wills, Legacy Strategy, Making the ask
- 0 Comments