Fundraising vs Begging - Controversy in a thousand words...

After a collection yesterday, which featured in the Flintshire Chronicle (check it out), I was posed with a great topic for my next Post... (Thanks... you know who you are Missy!!)


So, what is the difference between begging and fundraising?


OMG Where do I start?! Definitions? Reasoning? Context? Need?!


By the way, before I start, I want your comments on this! Post on here, Facebook (if that's where you got the link) or @TCAADave with #BvF.


So what's begging? A search on Google coughs these up:


1. To ask for as charity
2. To ask earnestly for or of


and fundraising?


"The organized activity or an instance of soliciting money or pledges, as for charitable organizations or political campaigns" (bloomin' American spelling...)


So taken literally on the basis of those definitions, the only distinction between begging and fundraising is that fundraising is organised...?


That's not true. The definitions could do with a little work, because we need to think about the context of the question. 


"begging" was referring to someone who might be in some difficulty, i.e. those of no fixed abode, who might be on the streets asking for money to help them along (yeah, check out the political correctness there!!). Whereas "fundraising" was referring to something that could be considered similar - a charity representative standing on the streets with a collection bucket.


So let's look a little closer. What is the "ask", what is the underlying psychology in the giver, and what governs the actions of the giver and beneficiary.


With the beggar, the ask is for some spare change. The giver is highly unlikely to know what the beggar will do with the money, so the Psychology behind it is that of true altruism - helping someone out for the sake of helping someone out (which doesn't exist but i'll leave that for another time). There is nothing that tells the beggar what to spend their money on, and the giver has no rights in the exchange. For anyone that gives to a beggar, there is an underlying assumption (that's important, don't forget it!) that the money will be used to provide food, water, shelter or warmth for the beggar, however, this isn't always the case. In this situation, the giver is committing an act of altruism  under the trust of the beggar which may be misplaced.Often the decision to give is based on how the giver perceives the beggar - do they look trust worthy, do they look like they will use the money appropriately, and often... have they got a cute little doggy? (I've never understood that...).

Ok take a mental breather...


When it comes to fundraising, the relationship between the giver and the beneficiary is different, however, the same principles apply. The giver needs to not only trust the person they give the money to, they also have to trust the charity. There are some fundamental differences here though. Firstly, the charity has to be properly governed and regulated, meaning they have clearly defined goals, policies and purposes. They are also automatically granted a certain level of trust - in order to collect on the street, the charity must hold a street collection licence from the local authority, which means they have been through a process to ensure they are genuine. 


Already, the giver has knowledge of clearly communicated use of their donation as well as the inherent trust from the local authority (remember the assumption from before?). The giver also has some rights. You may remember recent press coverage on "chuggers" which highlighted the unregulated practice of hard selling on the streets. With collections, it is illegal to ASK for money (unlike beggars who freely ask), even down to the fact you can't shake your bucket - despite the commonly referred to phrase "shaking a bucket". Also... you can get a refund on your donation - it doesn't happen often, but it does happen.


So in this scenario, the giver not only has the right to not be hassled, but they also have the opportunity to make an informed and safe decision regarding their desire to donate. 


In both cases we can say the act of giving is charitable, however, the differences lie in the interaction between the giver and beneficiary, the trust in the appropriate use of the donation, and context of the donation.


Are they different? It can be argued either way - I for one am more likely to give to a reputable charity who I have knowledge or experience of. Having said that, giving to a person of no fixed abode (PC again, go me!) is still worthwhile - that donation could well save that persons life, or at least, improve their quality of life, it's just that there is an inherent risk involved...


Amazingly, the UK public donated £11,000,000,000 in 2011 (UK Giving Report - read it, it's interesting). Yes, BILLION. This money went to the 161,000+ registered charities in the UK, working hard to solve some of the big social, health and political issues in and around the UK. The likelihood is, if you are reading this, you are part of that life saving, crime preventing and shelter providing staggering sum of money. For this, I tip my hat to you and say keep it up. £11bn might sound like a lot, but it's a drop in the ocean. And you'd be surprised how much of it comes from spare change - Mr Tesco was right all along.


Oh, and Ladies - once again you have tipped the balance as not only the most likely to donate to charity, but also with the higher donations. Come on guys, what are you playing at?!!


So what do you think? Which of the two would you give money too and why? Do you think there is a difference between begging and fundraising? Comment, Facebook, or tweet - @TCAADave with #BvF


Thanks for reading!


Dave


P.S if you're a fundraiser and you've got 10 minutes to spare - watch this light hearted video on fundraising advice (ish) - No Longer Broke

No means no...no?

No!

It doesn't. Most of the time "no" isn't a straight no. Don't believe me?

Think about the last time someone said "no" to you. What did you ask them? What was their reply? Was it conditional or did it have an explanation? If you'd have rephrased the question and asked it in a different way, would you have gotten a yes?

The likelihood is... Yes, you would have gotten a yes. Yes?

Behind every no, there's a reason. Most of the time that reason can be removed before you even ask the question.

Think about how you might ask something... let's say as a representative of a charity asking a local company to support you. A novice fundraiser might go along with something like (amongst explaining the charity):

"Would you make a donation to support The Children's Air Ambulance?"

or

"Would you be able to donate a raffle prize for the Children's Air Ambulance?"

If you simply wanted a cash or prize donation there and then, the question is perfectly legit, but the results are likely to be something a long these lines:

"No sorry, we already support xxxxx"

"No, sorry, we can't afford to make any donations, we are struggling as it is"

"Sorry I don't know, I will have to speak to the manager, can you leave a card?"

"Sorry you'll have to contact head office"

The list is endlist... and I've heard them all!

The great thing is, none of these actually mean "no, i won't support you now, or ever, in anyway at all"

All it takes is a little careful thought and consideration as to what you're asking and how you're asking it, and positive outcomes come flowing in.

So what do you need to consider? Well here's a few (of the many!!):

The size of the business - Independent, Small, Medium, Large, National, International, Global. The way you approach each of these will differ

They type of business - does your charity align with the culture of the company and it's customers?

The person you're talking to - are they the right person? Most no's come from you talking to the wrong person who thinks they might be the right person

The success of the business - is it well run and making profit? If not, don't ask for money

The time of the year - is the end of the tax year approaching? the chances are they company have already committed to a charity. Generally speaking November and early March are good times to approach companies.

What you're asking for - it's not all about hard cash donations and big cheques, it should be about mutually beneficial relationships that consists of a working partnership that engages all aspects of the company.

What you're offering - "you can use our logo on your website" - great, thanks. Some companies love logos, others feel patronised at the shallow attempt at a sales pitch. You need to engage and immerse them in everything you do, tell them about campaigns, events, branding, other activities in the area, opportunities to add value to their organisation, and most importantly, NETWORKING (see my earlier post).

That's just a selection to get you started... but you get the idea? No?

If you've ever had a no, from anyone at any point in your life... could you have turned it into a yes by considering the context and the question? Perhaps 50% of the time, you could.

With the economy as it is, very rarely will you get something for nothing, so you need to give something to get something.

And this doesn't just apply to businesses... it applies to the amazing supporter that you deal with every day. These are people that dedicate their spare time to ensure the success of your charity, and often they do it for nothing. Even so, you should always try and offer something in return.

My passion at the moment is mentoring. I have the pleasure of working with groups of students at MMU, Salford University and various MLP students at the University of Manchester. I am also mentoring a future fundraising superstar soon to be out in the big bad world. This is one of the many ways I, and The Air Ambulance Service, return the favour to our supporters, our lifeblood, and our reason to exist.

Thanks for reading!

Do get in touch, I don't bite ;-)

Music and rhythm find their way into the secret places of the soul

So this post isn't what I promised...and for that I apologise. But the whole point about blogging is to share insight, share experience and inform others of opinion, is it not? I intend to share some funny stories with you, but this weekend saw me confide in music...


...So this post is about music.


The quote above from Plato sums it all up, music can reach thoughts and emotions deep in the soul. Don't get me wrong, this isn't a preachy post, but a post to make you think differently about music and how our culture surrounds it.


As Timothy Sieber once famously (yes that's sarcastic, and you'll understand what I mean when you read on...) said:



"Popular music is a powerful medium for
representing, contesting, and negotiating
changing cultural identities within shifting global
diasporas"


He adds:



"Music indexes continuity and change,
sustains and renegotiates connection across
transnational space, and reshapes generational
relation"



Erm... cheers for that Tim...



In English, it means that people identify themselves by the music they listen to, and it's a tool to bring groups of people together. 


That's exactly why "what music do you listen to?" is a great way of finding out more about a person in a quick and simple way. Music preferences identify things like where they like to go out, artists they identify with, music they relate to and even down to things like how they dress (take Emos and Chavs for example). Each of these leads to further assumptions about their personality and attitude.


Now imagine if you saw an artist that conflicted with this ideal? Someone that looks like this:

Is highly unlikely to be famous for singing songs like this:


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q-8ez6dGao8


Although its not irrefutable proof, it does go to show that music is deeply embedded in our culture and the way we identify ourselves.

Music can also be an escape for people. 

Escapsim is the avoidance of reality by absorption of the mind - basically, you can escape from your troubles and worries by distracting your mind. People do this in different ways - some people might go for a walk, immerse themselves in a good book, have a long hot bath or go for a drive. 

For me, my escapism comes from music. 

Music offers a huge variety of ways to escape - the instruments, the melodies, the rhythm, the vocals, the lyrics, the beat, the tempo, the meaning, it's context and a memory. Each song is unique in it's combination of these, so each song can offer a different route to escapism. 

I had a particularly bad day the other day - half way through the working day I felt crap. It was effecting my work, so I had to do something about it. I turned my phone off and concentrated on working offline for half an hour and put some music on loud. My worries drifted away and my focus on work was at it's best. 

For me, music is a tool to control my mood, motivation and attitude. The music I listen to reflects my mood at that time.

I'd like to hear your thoughts on this. I would like you to share what music means to you. So please do comment, or tweet @TCAADave with #MusicIsMy 

For me, #MusicIsMy Escape. 

Who knows what next week will bring!

Ciao for now.

Perk Post - Inspired by a bottle of wine

Some touching and truthful advice taken straight from the label off a bottle of wine (now empty...Hic...)




Be passionate, love, dream big, be spontaneous, celebrate, change the world...




...or go home.