Learning how to use celebrities effectively
Howard Lake | 30 October 2004 | News
Fundraising consultancy Midas is running a course this week on how charities can use celebrities effectively.
Celebrities can of course prove very useful for charities in terms of enhancing public profile, securing more visitors at an event, or introducing charities to other influential people. However, links with them can also backfire if the charities do not manage their relationships with them well.
It is this double-edged value that has led Midas to introduce what is one of the very few training courses in working with celebrities. The one day course is designed for those wanting new ways to use celebrities
and patrons or to consider involving them for the first time.
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Appropriately the course features ex-Arsenal goalkeeper and TV presenter Bob Wilson who will give the ‘inside’ story on how he set up the Willow Foundation and his experience of charities. Martin Shaw, who used to run the Variety Club, will also speak on working with a wide range of celebrities. Davina Hodson will also talk about how she has been used – well and badly – as a charity president or major donor.
The course will cover conducting a risk assessment, formal letters of agreement, job descriptions, and developing a celebrity strategy.
The course takes place on 4 November 2004 at Help the Hospices, 34-44 Britannia Street
London WC1X 9JG. The fee is £125 per person (including VAT), although Midas’ clients enjoy a 50% discount on this.
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.