Best use of major donor fundraising: National Awards 2013
Howard Lake | 23 May 2013 | Blogs
For the campaign or initiative that demonstrates the best use of individual major donor fundraising.
The shortlisted entries are, in alphabetical order:
- Aston University
- Scope
Aston University
Aston University’s Woodcock United campaign was launched to raise £1.5m to renovate the University’s Woodcock Sports Centre. It aimed to use different forms of fundraising to achieve this, including securing naming gift from sporting and major donor prospects, using the influence of Aston’s development board, accessing grants from trusts and foundations and engaging new and existing alumni donors and implementing an innovative stewardship campaign.
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Systematic prospect research was undertaken to support face-to-face solicitation of alumni and external Friends. Half the target was achieved in the quiet phase of the campaign and the first naming opportunity for the University was instigated with the Centre being renamed the Doug Ellis Woodcock Sports Centre.
The campaign was groundbreaking for Aston, using tried and tested techniques to secure major gifts, and involved stakeholders across the University and throughout the community coming together to secure the future of the Centre.
Scope
Scope wants to add 100 charity shops over five years, with a target of £3m unrestricted income from year 5, which would in turn lead to less reliance on local authority funding and donations for specific, individual projects and services.
The charity targeted ‘model’ towns where existing shops are most profitable and compiled a risk-weighted model of income. This in turn would attract major donors with a project that had a model of sustainability, a sound business proposition and a strong social impact. Donors could choose to fund a new shop at £50,000 or a refurbishment at £21,000. Smaller donations were pooled to open a shop when £50,000 was reached. To date the project has secured £200,000 (target £100,000) in donations and £2.35m (target £1.5m) in low-interest loans.
Major donors, new and existing, were offered projects that appealed to their desire to fund high leverage activities. Several major donors had contributed to the thinking behind the project. Senior teams from retail and fundraising departments worked together to secure support, giving a real sense of joined-up thinking across the charity. The project is ongoing, and has already raised enough capital to fund shop expansion plans over the next three years.
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.