Below you will find advice on various aspects of fundraising for your nonprofit. Experts and insiders offer fundraising advice especially tailored to the South African nonprofit sector.
Funding Planning
As the year begins, thoughts inevitably focus on planning – on all levels. But few project or other plans can come to fruition without the necessary funding. At this time of the year, NPO team members focus much of their time on all aspects of planning – overall strategy, project planning/updatin…
Demystifying UK fundraising for South African organisations
The UK remains a strong source of support for non-for-profit organisations in southern and South Africa. However, many myths and misunderstandings about raising funds from British donors abound. Having raised many millions from the UK, I hope that these tips help:
Fundraising from UK trusts (t…
AI and NPO fundraising: Advocating for responsible adoption
AI is transforming how NPOs can execute fundraising campaigns. While these tools can increase efficiency and personalise donor engagement, they do not remove the legal obligations that apply to direct marketing under POPIA and the Information Regulator’s Guidance Note on Direct Marketing. …
Navigating change in South Africa’s nonprofit sector
📷 iStock Zephyr18
In the face of shrinking funding and rising donor expectations, many South African nonprofits are being forced to rethink how they operate, fundraise, and demonstrate impact. In this insightful piece, Christopher Green shares key trends, practical strategies, and hard-…
Maintaining the Momentum of a Crowdfunding Campaign
Aside from how critically important it is to thoroughly plan a crowdfunding campaign; two issues stand out as the most challenging – and they should be considered as integral to early planning – publicising the initiative and maintaining interest.
Planning is critical
Key to sound marketing is to…
Volunteers and Crowdfunding
When considering embarking on crowdfunding, many people are inclined to focus on those within an organisation creating a one-off campaign (with a start and end date). A different approach to raising money using crowdfunding is with the help of external volunteers – people who care deeply about the…
10 Bucks only: Start your free 30-day trial and take the stress out of compliance
NPOs: Tired of admin dragging down your impact?
The online donations platform, 10 Bucks Only, hopes to change that and help NPOs become more accessible to potential donors by simplifying the online donations process.
The concept is simple - making donating as convenient and easy. All a don…
Fundraising: Understanding individual donors' giving decisions
Behavioural science is used to predict human behaviour across a multitude of scenarios – from how people will respond to governmental interventions, to how society may behave on Mars. It is a fascinating field bringing together insights from psychology, economics, biology and neurosciences.
For…
Case study: How In-Contact’s custom tech solution streamlined CAST operations
Case study: C.A.S.T and In-Contact
In-Contact is a technology solution provider specialising in nonprofit organisations, offering tailored systems that enhance operational efficiency, donor management, and program tracking. Initially developed for LIV Village, In-Contact has gr…
What to crowdfund for (and how much to target)
Several early adopters of crowdfunding globally, who generously shared their experiences as part of the research for the new book, Crowdfunding for Non-profits, that Erica Schofield, CEO of rewards-based crowdfunding platform, Thandafund, and I have just completed, agreed that many of their…
The real reason South African NGOs struggle to raise funds (and it’s not what you think)
Friends, we need to talk about the elephant in the room: South African NGOs' reluctance to invest in fundraising.
I've lost count of the number of organisations I've worked with who view fundraising costs as an 'unnecessary expense'. And I get it - when you're managing restricted funding a…
Customisable and mobile: In-Contact transforms iThemba Lethu's data management and beneficiary tracking
Case study: iThemba Lethu and In-Contact
Client Overview
iThemba Lethu are a long-established NPO who provide childcare and youth development to the Cato Manor area in Kwa-Zulu Natal. Whilst having a babies home and breastmilk bank, they have extended their reach by getting funding for school…
Is your proposal overlooking this key element? The importance of defining the problem
I am often asked to review or assess organisations’ funding proposals, application forms and concept notes, and provide feedback. Having looked at over 50 proposals in the last six months, I find that I have flagged one point in almost every proposal: the problem, issue or crisis is not clearly exp…
Fundraising from Individual Donors
The Charity Aid Foundation (CAF) produces the comprehensive annual World Giving Index showing their analysis of donations of money, volunteer time and assistance to strangers around the world. Almost 150 000 people in 142 countries were surveyed. Aside from obtaining demographic and…
10 Bucks only: All it takes to change the world
We order a ride, food, groceries and bank online, but why can't doing good deeds be just as simple?
The online donations platform, 10 Bucks Only, hopes to change that and help NPOs become more accessible to potential donors by simplifying the online donations process.
The concept is simple - maki…
Mastering funding applications: Essential tips for nonprofits
Love them or hate them, if potential donors (or even existing donors for re-applying) have forms and require them to be completed, this must be adhered to. Application forms can be tedious. However, some donors take the trouble to draw them up, as they are clear on the specific information that the…
Two Little Words
Two of the most neglected and, in the fundraising context, misunderstood words are: ‘thank you’. Whether donors are individuals, the family members of someone who left a bequest, companies or trusts, expressing gratitude is often overlooked. And, as fundraisers know, ‘thank you’ is the start of the…
Fundraising Events in the UK
Don’t even consider arranging a fundraising event in the UK if you don’t have a drawcard to guarantee that it is sold out, or at least a large, active and dedicated UK-based volunteer events committee. I was alarmed when I contacted several UK event organising companies about their services. I rest…
UK Gift Aid: A great benefit of fundraising from the UK
Gift Aid is one of the greatest benefits of fundraising from individuals in the UK. It is also hard to wrap one’s head around as it’s unique to the UK and those who don’t pay British tax struggle to understand the concept.
Simply put, Gift Aid means that when an individual British taxpayer makes a…
Is your organisation ready for UK fundraising?
Although UK donor trusts support charitable, developmental, educational and faith-based initiatives worldwide, raising money from these lucrative sources is not as simplistic as writing a proposal or completing their forms, attaching stipulated documents and hi…
At the heart of storytelling and fundraising: Can AI win it all?
"The future of fundraising and storytelling using AI will be a delicate dance between technology and human connection."
Storytelling is the heartbeat of fundraising communication, breathing life into our cause and impact and connecting us to our audiences. Fundraising communication has the…
What you should know before planning a UK fundraising trip
The 18 UK donor trust representatives (ranging from a CEO of a multi-million pound entity to medium-sized trusts and small family trusts) consulted for the book I wrote, Fundraising from UK Donors, were unanimous in not meeting with fundraisers visiting the UK.
Their reasons for declining meeting…
BackaBuddy Introduces 0% Platform Fees for Non-Profits in South Africa
BackaBuddy, South Africa's leading donations-based crowdfunding platform, is reshaping the landscape of online fundraising with an announcement that promises to elevate the efforts of registered non-profit organisations nationwide.
Effective immediately, BackaBuddy is la…
The 10 donor funding red flags for non-profit organisations
While most donors make sure they undertake due diligence to ensure the recipients of their funds are ethical, accountable and transparent, it is rare to find a non-profit organisation taking the same trouble to check their donors’ reputations and records.
Last month, thanks to the whim of a capric…
REVIEW: Raising funds for your nonprofit through ShopDonation
I registered Hashtag Nonprofit as a cause on ShopDonation and tested their system. Here is what I found.
What is ShopDonation?
ShopDonation is a website that uses affiliate marketing, where online retailers pay commissions for referrals, to raise money for causes registered on the…