We're walking on sunshine
Howard Lake | 29 May 2009 | Blogs
But does this mean it is raining in our hearts?!
The people of Britain are obsessed with the weather, some of us more so than others (you know who you are, Penny Stephens).
A little bit of sunshine in our lives does seem to work wonders. As I trundle to work each morning, I have noticed more people out jogging, cycling to work, walking weans (children to the non Scots) to school, and wearing T shirts but fortunately few have risked shorts.
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Most remarkably of all, people are smiling, saying hello and exchanging a few words with neighbours and strangers alike. Collectively, despite all the economic doom and gloom and our outrage at the graft ridden canker that is Westminster, we all seem a little happier and well, sunnier.
But is this good news for fundraising? When do people give more? Has anyone ever wondered (or is it just me?!) if the weather and its impact on our general countenance encourages us to give more or less. When people feel good about themselves does it inspire them to give more to more good causes? And to do more to raise money? Or is it when we feel the fates are against us and put upon by the wind and the rain that we are more likely to find comfort in a common weal?
Has anyone ever analysed their own or a group of fundraising results by season? Taking out the spike that is Christmas for many organisations, is winter any better or worse generally than summer on fundraising activities that do not carry a seasonal incentive?
Perhaps the psychological impact of weather matters less than fundraising’s potential swift footedness to take advantage. Given the forecasts of a long hot summer, how many fundraising teams have considered how they might take advantage of that, perhaps by introducing more outdoor related fundraising activities.
Sponsored walks and barbeques might just be the next big thing….
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.