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Review service for funding proposals launches, plus more sector supplier & agency news

Melanie May | 12 November 2024 | News

Hands typing on a keyboard, with a pen between two fingers. By Yan Krukov on pexels

Apollo Fundraising is behind the new Proposal Review Service, while elsewhere THINK Recruitment is inviting Recruiting Managers to take part in its survey, and Give as you Live has launched an app that enables charities to collect contactless donations using just a smartphone. More on these and other stories below.

Take part in THINK Recruitment’s first Recruiting Manager survey

After 15 years of working with clients to find the right interim support, this April saw THINK launch THINK Recruitment, helping charities recruit the perfect fit for permanent roles as well, and specialising in Manager, Head and Director-level positions.

THINK Recruitment has now launched its first Recruiting Managers’ survey to uncover opinions on recruitment, ethical practices and barriers to recruitment from Recruiting Managers themselves, and is inviting people to share their views.

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Those who complete the survey by 30 November will be in with a chance of winning £50 in Love2Shop vouchers. The results will be shared in the new year and all participants will receive a summary report and an invitation to a webinar to hear more.

Jo McGuinness, Recruitment Manager at THINK, said:

“We are delighted to be looking into the issues and challenges affecting recruiting managers right now. We know getting the right people in your team is such an important part of charity success, and there are likely to be some small changes we can make to general recruitment practice that will have a significant ripple effect. We hope this survey will shed light on that and that the outcomes will be useful for recruiting managers across the sector.”


David Burgess

Apollo Fundraising launches Proposal Review Service for fundraisers & charities

Apollo Fundraising has launched a Proposal Review Service, that gives fundraisers and charities an opportunity to receive clear, useful feedback on funding proposals before they click ‘submit’.

The review features a number of exercises designed to recreate how the proposal will be received by an external grant manager, with tests to check how easy it is to read, to understand, to be inspired by and, ultimately, to fund.

As part of the review, fundraisers will get a 30-min Zoom call to talk through the results and to discuss ways it might be possible to make the application stronger.

There is a tiered pricing structure for this service: £150 per application for proposals up to 3 pages long, and £300 per application for proposals between 4 and 10 pages long.

Apollo Fundraising’s David Burgess commented:

“It can be hard enough to get funders to tell us if our proposal has been successful or not, let alone get tailored feedback that will help us make our next proposal better. And while fundraisers can proofread their own proposals, or get others within their organisation to review them, it’s impossible for them to recreate the real-world conditions in which an external grant manager will read their proposal.

 

“That’s why an external review can be invaluable. For the last eight years I’ve been helping fundraisers to see their proposals through the grant manager’s eyes. In doing so, I’ve helped fundraisers at all stages of their careers identify and fix snagging points, enabling them to click ‘submit’ with confidence. At a time of massive pressure on charities and grant fundraisers I’m delighted we can now make this support more widely available.”


Lizzie Fee

Aduro Communications launches talent division

Consumer brands agency, Aduro Communications has appointed Lizzie Fee as Head of Talent as the agency launches a new talent arm of the business and opens its first offer outside of London. 

Fee is based in Yorkshire and brings two decades of experience. This includes leading strategic Ambassador Relations and PR for a number of charities including BBC Children in Need, where she was in post for over ten years in addition to Fields in Trust, World Cancer Research Fund and the Yorkshire Children’s Charity. She will lead the expansion of the agency to service brands and charitable organisations across the UK with a remit focusing on leading the agency’s roster of clients delivering best in class PR, talent and influencer collaboration and management. 

To mark Aduro’s arrival in the North, Aduro launched ‘Aduro Accelerate’. This is a services package available to 10 Northern based businesses and charitable organisations. Businesses will be able to access three months of PR, talent and social services delivered by Lizzie and other senior experts.

Northern businesses and charitable organisations interested in finding out more can contact Lizzie Fee at  li********@ad*****************.uk .


Give as you Live Donate launches Tap to Donate app

Give as you Live Donate has launched Tap to Donate, an app that enables charities to collect contactless donations on the go using just a smartphone.

The app can be downloaded for free and integrates fully with Give as you Live Donate’s platform, which allows charities to not only collect one-off donations but manage recurring contributions, host ticketed events, and run fundraising campaigns. There is also no subscription fee.

Laura Gorin, Director of Give as you Live said:

“Tap to Donate is a game-changer for charities, allowing them to take full advantage of the move towards cashless payments. With just a smartphone, charities can now reach more supporters, increase donations, and do so without worrying about extra hardware costs or subscriptions. We’re excited to offer this simple, effective tool to the charity sector.”


fastmap legacy league table show animal charities continuing to dominate

Animal charities continue to dominate in this year’s fastmap Legacy Premier League, with Cats Protection, Dogs Trust, and The Donkey Sanctuary retaining their top spots.

However, some medical charities have seen a rise. Alzheimer’s Society has climbed four places, highlighting growing engagement, while Cancer Research UK has only slightly dipped, which the report says indicates continued strong support despite increasing competition.

WaterAid and Woodland Trust have also both seen positive growth, moving up three and four places, respectively, reflecting their ability to connect with supporters on important environmental issues.

fastmap notes that in 2020, 34% of supporters considered a legacy gift, rising to 38% in 2021. This has declined to 30% in 2024 but, the report says, “still represents a strong base of committed individuals.”

Insights come from 50,000 people, with the league table combining two data sets. fastmap asks about the charities that people support and donate to, and about them, their demographics, as well as about those they would leave a legacy to with a series of questions about legacy giving. fastmap then indexes the data to create a ranking of those charities with the biggest potential to drive future legacy income.

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