Fundraising TV: taking us by surprise!
Howard Lake | 13 July 2017 | Blogs
When I started Fundraising TV it was intended as a one-episode trial, put together by calling in favours to test the waters and see if there was any interest in a magazine programme about fundraising that wasn’t either just ‘how to do’ fundraising nor an opinionated vblog, but rather interviews with front line fundraisers about their experiences; which would both help us all to gain invaluable insights, and perhaps to demystify fundraising for the public providing an accessible human face to a profession at times under fire.
Right now, however, after the fourth episode in the series and the end of season one, I am in the process of setting up a charity so that Fundraising TV can continue on a weekly basis. The sheer enthusiasm of the first few hundred viewers is contagious and we now have a waiting list of people who wish to take part as well as a steadily growing list of subscribers.
This may not be large by internet standards, but then again we have been concentrating so much on filming that we haven’t fully engaged our networks or reached out that far, preferring to get things right first – yes, these episodes are not perfect and in taking down and revising some of them we have lost the number count which makes Fundraising TV’s success much less apparent.
I would very much appreciate any feedback that will help us develop the concept further, and any sharing that can be done would be most welcome. This game is overly dependent on numbers and if we are to build the programme, and hopefully enhance the profession, it is the process of sharing that will do it for us.
We aim for a weekly 20-30 minute programme to mirror the length of time a TED Talk takes, but is that too long? Too short to get the full story? So far, we have aimed for a Wednesday release – and not always made it! Is there one day of the week that works best for you? Will you view it at work or home? Should we concentrate on a fundraising technique each time with several speakers or a personal experience from one person? We intend to start each episode with a general news item of interest to fundraisers but will that date it and put people off?
So please visit Fundraising TV on YouTube and start at episode 1, then share if you like or think a colleague would like and let me know how we can improve the service.
jo**********@gr******.com">
John Baguley
Chair, International Fundraising Consultancy
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About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.