Blog

Truly Ethical Fundraising — More than just an acquisition
As I write this we approach the beginning of another charity financial year well for 90% of charity clients REAL works with. Inevitably this means that campaign targets, schedules, kpi’s will rightly need to be discussed. As important as these metrics are can we really count a donor simply as a number on a spreadsheet? Does a campaign get decided purely on a Cost Per Acquisition? We’re a long way gone from the days of commoditisation of donors but there’s always the risk that campaigns can be judged that way. What actually goes in to recruiting a donor at a leading ethical fundraising agency?

Business Culture Award Winners
REAL Fundraising, was yesterday awarded Best Business Culture — Small Business (<250 employees) at the Business Culture Awards 2020. This is a huge credit to all of REAL’s amazing charity clients and the inspirational REAL Family members across the UK who help us shape our Award-winning culture.

10 questions to create good governance in supplier selection and guide Charities on their journey with a new agency?
With the combination of new agencies to market along with charities reassessing where their budgets are spent due to COVID-19 never before has it been more important to ask the right questions of an agency before enlisting their professional services. In addition to this Charities play a key role in the governance and standards in the sector and by helping guide the right questions we hope that this will play a part in ensuring and maintaining high standards and therefore the continued success and sustainability of face to face fundraising.

REAL’s Return to Face to Face fundraising
A month in, how’s it going? Note: This article has been updated to reflect data from a month worked. It’s been eagerly anticipated, we have all heard the success stories from Europe and around the world and are ever thankful for the collaboration and the openness from agency and charity alike as to how they have found the return to face to face post COVID-19.

5 Reasons your company should become a B Corp.
Entering lockdown there were news stories about companies who were doing the wrong thing. Companies that were putting profits ahead of people. The welfare of people, employees, the public, and key workers should have been protected by companies closing much sooner. Public outrage due to some very poor company practices from the likes of Waterstones, Weatherspoons, Sports Direct and more(link is to Metro with paid adverts)has demonstrated that now more than ever companies must put people ahead of profit.

Supporting charities affected by COVID-19 is more important now than ever.
Now we have secured the long term job security of everyone in the REAL Fundraising family we must turn our attention to doing what we can to help the community and charities affected by this crisis. Our values run deeply through our veins, with this in mind REAL Fundraising is offering the chance to apply for the following measures to any UK based charity or community project affected by this crisis.

Returning to Face to Face Fundraising after COVID-19.
A few weeks back we published a survey for international F2F agency and inhouse to ask them how the return to F2F had been, post lockdown (If they had experienced a lockdown). Thank you to the 7 International NGO’s(and their agencies) who participated, below is a summary of the results.

Returning to Face to Face Fundraising, learning from our International peers.
The last few months have been challenging to us all. Like many sectors, face to face fundraising was put on hold for an uncertain amount of time. Humans struggle to deal with the unknown, it’s the reason why we have to constantly forecast best estimates, predict start dates and constantly reproject.

It’s official, REAL is now a B Corp!
REAL Fundraising is now officially a Certified B Corp. Since REAL was founded in 2009 we have sought a way to measure our values of Respect, Ethics, Activism & Love. B Corp does just this. A public register of companies that are using business as a force for good, both for the planet and the people on it. REAL is extremely proud to not only have passed the assessment and signed the declaration of Interdependence but to join a community of businesses that are working to make the world a better place.

Maintaining our values, even during a crisis.
REAL has always existed to be a force for good in the world. During a time of crisis, it was incredibly important for the REAL were able to offer support to charities who were doing the vitally important work around the globe. We have been inspired to hear about so many amazing causes and people, supporting their beneficiaries when they’ve never been needed more, in the most unimaginably challenging circumstances. REAL Ethical Fund(REF) has paid out £3300 to the first 4 recipients of this free emergency funding.