Looking back, and looking forward
New Year is often a time for reflection as well as looking forward. In the run-up to Christmas and since coming back into the office I have been working on our annual report. At every organisation I have worked for, the annual report/annual accounts are a fantastic tool to shout about what your organisation is doing well as well as talking about your plans for the future. Here the annual report is a fairly meaty affair. It focuses on five stories written by a guest editor. The theme this year is ‘sustainability’ which I think rather conveniently reflects the main aim I have for our regular giving programme.
Regular giving on its own doesn’t always raise huge sums of money. Particularly when compared to our very successful major donor programme. A regular giving programme does, however, have the potential to provide a sustainable source of income to your organisation. Currently, our regular givers collectively donate the equivalent of four full bursaries a year, their impact is significant and provides a stable and sustainable source of income to the school.
Looking forward to 2020 we are embracing a brand new kind of fundraising, our first giving week. Next week, I have the first planning meeting with the agency we are working with, and so I have been looking at what we want to achieve. The main focus for us is new donors. Although our regular giving programme is established, there is definitely room to grow, only 25% of our active records have ever given, only 11% have ever given regularly and only 2% are current active regular givers.
I want our giving week to be a really positive experience for everyone, but particularly those that are donating for the first time. Whether they are donating £5 or £500 it doesn’t really matter, but I really want people to feel part of something amazing and show them the difference their donations are making collectively. Watch this space.