# Five tweets for fundraisers on 21 February 2019

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2019/02/21/five-tweets-for-fundraisers-on-21-february-2019/
- Published: 2019-02-21T11:11:38+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Here’s another round-up of tweets that might help, inspire or simply tweak the
curiosity of fundraisers.**

They cover the possible offence of asking some professionals for free services, 
the challenge of stagnant levels of giving, and a reminder that inspiration for 
fundraisers is everywhere, including a thank you letter from an eBay buyer.
 

## 1. Some free advice on asking for free services

“Can you do that for free please?” The charity sector is very experienced at asking
for donated services and skills. As a result plenty of skilled, professional people
get asked, quite a bit. 

## Advertisement

That can irk some of them. And some professions seem to get asked more than others(
musicians? photographers?), so this thread should remind us of the need to ask respectfully,
and to avoid certain assumptions, such as that musicians are always delighted to
perform for charity so that they can get more exposure…

> And yes, I do a fair bit of actual pro bono and charity work. But it should always
> be given, and never requested. To do that, within the context of what you're planning,
> is nothing short of obscene.
> — Paul Clarke (@paul_clarke) [February 15, 2019](https://twitter.com/paul_clarke/status/1096454883371376640?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

## 2. Time to get off the merry-go-round?

Mark Phillips suggests that, while many fundraisers do a remarkable job, we haven’t
managed to increase the total amount that individuals give to charity each year 
for the past 10 years.

What might break this logjam?

> For all the new ideas, expenditure, fundraising crises and international disasters,
> the amount given to charity by individuals is stuck at about £10 billion a year.
> We ride a merry-go-round and need to get off. [pic.twitter.com/pOXerFL9Wp](https://t.co/pOXerFL9Wp)
> — Mark Phillips (@Markyphillips) [February 12, 2019](https://twitter.com/Markyphillips/status/1095341898187689984?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

## 3. More charitable giving statistics

Alec East at Narrative UK shared a useful collection of stats on charitable giving
in the UK from a variety of sources. All of them are sourced.

 https://twitter.com/aleceast/status/1095291879380434944?s=11

 

## 4. Thank you for buying from eBay

Inspiration is all around us. David Burgess of Apollo Fundraising spotted a thank
you letter from an eBay buyer that outclasses plenty of charities’ thank you responses
for donations.

> Ebay buyer sends better thank you than most charities [https://t.co/cjocrKHno0](https://t.co/cjocrKHno0)
> — David Burgess (@DavidBurgessFR) [February 18, 2019](https://twitter.com/DavidBurgessFR/status/1097411177557213184?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)

 

## 5. Funding for social change ideas

UK Fundraising covers plenty of funding opportunities for charities and organisations.
This one is perhaps more relevant to fundraisers themselves, or indeed any charity
staff member. Do you have a side hustle? An idea that you would love to take further
and test out to show it has the potential for social impact?

This fund, in memory of the much-missed Stephen Lloyd, could be for you:

> One of the only funds for very early stage projects and ideas. Please apply if
> you’ve got one! [https://t.co/H13waG6wEd](https://t.co/H13waG6wEd)
> — Philip Kirkpatrick (@p_kirkpatrick) [February 14, 2019](https://twitter.com/p_kirkpatrick/status/1096120042796867584?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw)