March 11: Andy is very young.

*Beate added Andy King*

Beate

Hey! Just trying to get on the wifi – hang on. Is everyone here?

John

im not everyone. but i am here.

Andy

I am also present

John

WORD UP ANDY

welcome

Andy

HI FRIENDS

Feel like I’ve MADE IT

Jen

You have buddy!!! Welcome!

Simon? Are you driving or parking or some shit?

Beate

Or ignoring us?

Jen

Andy, Simon is by FAR the sketchiest Lobster in terms of how he rolls into our chatcast

John

mmm lobster rolls

i think Simon is still off maasterminding world domination

Andy

I feel like you should’ve expected that going into this tbf

Simon

This is harrison dada is driveing

Jen

SEE?

John

oh sweet lord

Beate

Harrison, make your dad pull over!

Simon

Sure!

Andy

Harrison how was the sonic movie?

Simon

?

Beate

?

John

still feeling on top of the world Andy? welcome to the jungle

Beate

Okay so topic as per Andys suggestion: How every fundraiser always thinks the grass is greener – other causes are easier to fundraise for. Andy – wanna start with your thoughts?

John

is this thing on?

Beate

yes

John

wow. nice intro Beate

Beate

Listen – I’ve said I’m not following the standards you and jen ar setting

I don’t have to turn this thing on – it’s a chat. I just start

John

hohoho

Jen

Hey this is also a unique chatcast because Bea and I are together! In Norway!

Beate and Jen in winter jackets and hats, in front of a very old wooden building covered in snow

Andy

It’s definitely something I’ve noticed in the last couple of months… one of the first conversations I have with a lot of people is about how their cause is either difficult to communicate or not as ‘hot topic’ as it could be. Today I had a mental health charity tell me they ‘wish they were a cancer charity’ for example

And I just think people often stop seeing the wood for the trees and need to engage with how awesome their charity is, rather than what it’s not, y’know?

Beate

WAIT STOP THE TOPIC! WE FORGOT TO MAKE FUN OF ANDY FOR BEING YOUNG!

Andy

HAHAHA

Jen

Andy’s typing speed is 1000000x faster than that joker Mark Phillips

Andy

I’m as old as fundraising UK and that’s an institution I’ll be having none of this

Jen

Ahh to be young

Beate

Jazz hand greeting from live chatcast in same room! No handshakes.

Jen and Beate inside smiling at the camera, Jen waving Jazz Hands

Beate

Back to topic: I think when you say something’s easier to raise money for, they’re also forgetting that that means the work is that much bigger

Jen

We had a hilarious convo in Colorado this year about how charities always think other causes are easier. And 2 in the room was the Space Foundation and a charity that uses horses for therapy healing

Everyone else almost broke their eyeballs with eyerolls

Andy

10000% this

John

haha…. i forgot about the horse one…

Jen

John was like: “you’ve got space!”

Beate

hahah

John

yah “space” is easy…

Jen

“rocketships and planets and astronauts and shit”

Beate

I have a friend who raises money for fucking marshes. Which NO ONE has fond memories of.

Rubber boots stuck in the wet shit

dirty socks

trudging across one fearing for your life?

Jen

I just punched Bea

Beate

ow! whyyyy

Jen

I love wetlands!

frogs and salamanders and songbirds and shit

Beate

Did you seriously have fun in a wetland as a kid when you had to trek across one in the rain and your boots got stuck??

Jen

That was more fun than many Love family adventures.

John

Andy – isn’t it US – the fundraisers that make this so hard for or on ourselves?

what we raise money for is complicated

how we go about it is complicated

Andy

100%

People may not love marshes but they do love the planet.

John

the people who ask us to do it want it complicated

Andy

We decide to raise money for what rather than why so complications ensue

John

YES BF

Jen

So young and so bright!

Beate

oooh nominate for lightbult moment of the year 2020

Beginners luck?

Andy

???

John

i have yet to enccounter a charity anywhere that has said to me – you know John – what we do is simple…

Beate

haha

yea

Jen

It’s also a story we tell ourselves because it’s harder to admit other problems like leadership or budgets or boards…? maybe?

Andy

100%. When you ask someone what they do and they take a deep breath in and you just go ‘oh heeeere we go’

John

exactly.

Jen

Right? Like “buckle up for the bitching”

Beate

kind of what I do when someone ask me what I do?

how do you describe what the fuck a fundraiser is in a language that doesnth have a word for it

Andy

I mean that is. Fair challenge.

John

so

how can we make this a helpful conversation for people?

Andy

I think there’s definitely an excuse culture too. Like telling ourselves we’re too old to type faster 😉

Beate

heyheyhey!

No mocking of the typing speed of this group dude

Jen

Dude that was borderline to be booted from this chat. I’ve got grey hair now and I’m not fucking around.

Andy

Hahaha I like to live dangerously

Beate

young stupidity

Jen

Andy DANGER King

Beate

Dandy

John

how long have you and beate been drinking for Jen?

Beate

We’re….not!

Beate

well except that one beer for lunch

Jen

?

John

?

Beate

well, Jen had two

Jen

True.

Andy

I guess it’s about noticing the people who are owning their cause and what they’re doing with it?

Beate

totally!

Jen

We also have to talk about the fact that staff turnover and new learning curves plays a huge role in this

Beate

Also to stop thinking that your yardstick is wordl domination

or that you should convince the world at large to support you

Rather than look at what the strength of your particular cause is, and finding those who already think that is really important

Andy

You definitely see people try a scattergun/mass appeal approach rather than a focused few and trying to resonate with them.

Jen

Totally Bea. Focus on the donors that love you and not all those who don’t.

Andy

Which I totally get. It’s totally how I play video games – spray and pray.

Beate

hahah

the difference: that FUCKING WORKS in video games!

I always beat the boys at fighting games with spray and pray. The boys did not like it.

I was accused of cheating.

Andy

(Still waiting for Simon to fight me on smash bros)

Jen

My 15 year old son would give you a run for your money.

Beate

they’re pretty close in age, too

Andy

Hahahah

John

Like this:

The donor pyramide, but shaped like a heart. The top two thirds of the heart has 'donors who care. a lot', the second third says 'donors who care. a little' and under the bottom line it says 'donors who don't care yet'.

Jen

NICE with the slides!!! #keener

John

the new donor pyramid?

not really new anymore

Beate

?

Andy

Oooh I LOVE this

John

helps you decide where to spend your time and effort right?

Beate

For sure

Andy

One charity I’ve worked with used to nail it by just ensuring all beneficiary feedback, where appropriate, was circulated round all staff on a daily basis

We had stories and a sense of meaning pouring out of our EARS

John

Jen

Beate

If you’re a cancer charity, don’t worry about people who give to puppies. And if you’re a puppy charity don’t worry about child sponsorships. And if you’re the marshes people, only worry about Jen and forget everyone else

(don’t punch me again)

Jen

No promises.

John

that’s right becasue there are people who care about the puppies. and people who care about the marshes. and people who care… etc

Andy

I look forward to hearing about all the marsh based direct mail Jen receives in the coming weeks

Jen

Imagine! That would be amazing. If chatcast became a prospecting pool for our colleagues.

John

chatcast TM

Beate

a shit business idea with only four prospects in the pool

John

does anyone else get the feeling that harrison didnt pass along the “dad pull over message”?

Beate

hahahah

Siiiiimon?

He’s gonna do a John

“Alright, we’re wrapping up” “Hey guys, I’m here, where are we?”

John

ha

John

i’d like to see that – or he’ll show up just to boot andy off.

Andy

This seems on brand

Beate

So does anyone have a cause that they secretly think “wow that must be tough to fundraise for!”?

Whether they’ve succeded or not I guess

John

the ones i think of- – i jsut look at them and go – how can they possibly raising any money with this crap

Andy

I will admit, my heart goes out to domestic abuse charities

Jen

I think ones that are about helping offenders and/or prisoners when they come back into communities gotta be a tough slog

Beate

Why do you think they’re hard to raise money for, Andy?

Andy

I think there’s such a ‘I’d NEVER get myself in that situation’ misinformation out there & it’s a difficult topic to get people to engage with

John

interesting.

Andy

You hear it takes someone, on average, 5.5 years to leave an abusive relationship

And some people think ‘well I wouldn’t deal with it for a day’

Beate

Does our newly established rule still go though? That would only true if you’re trying to raise money from *anyone* rather than those who really care about that cause?

Andy

Maybe – hard to say.

Jen

Could be. Also could be that one donor said one thing one day and it became amplified… that old chestnut about “donor complaints”

Beate

What about prisoners reform, like Jen said?

Jen

Yah, I know it’s important work, and some people will really care about it, but can’t be easy

Beate

If Simon was here, he could tell his story about how those causes are good to ask for foundation money for

Andy

I see Beate’s point though – there is definitely an audience prime to support them, and an audience who would be a waste of time

Beate

Okay guys – entering wrap up phase

Andy

Foundations are made up of people too, though, so it still has to resonate

Beate

What’s the most golden fundraising opportunity?

top of the pyramid?

Is there one?

Jen

it will be the one closest to each fundraiser’s heart.

either that or sick puppies stuck in space

Beate

?

John

Beate

good conclusion

Andy

Won’t ANYBODY think of the PUPPIES

Beate

okay ready for lobster fact?

John

im ready

Beate

okay. It’s not topical.

Jen

lobster fact! lobster fact!

Beate

It IS however timely

and what times are we living in currently?

Jen

pandemic?

Beate

yup

Andy

?

Beate

There is a lobster disease called epizootic shell disease

(epizootic is a funny word)

John

wtf?

Beate

It’s a bacterial infection that makes lobsters impossible to sell as food, eating away at their shells and sometimes killing them.

Andy

That’s it. I’m fundraising for lobsters.

Beate

hahaha

Jen

?

Beate

For this excellent joke, we will keep you un-booted and boot Simon instead

Andy

Hahahaha

*Jen Love removed Simon Scriver from the chat*

Beate

hohohoh

Jen

I hope i didn’t just traumatize Harrison

“dada….DADA….your friends!!!!”

Beate

Alright guys. Jen and I have excellent food to eat and wine to drink and fundraisers to entertain and learn to and from and surfaces to disinfect

gotta go!

love love love

Jen

Nice work Andy!

Andy

Enjoyyyy

?

That was really fun, thanks for inviting me

?

John

thanks andy!

Beate

thanks for coming, great to have you ?

Jen

You’re welcome back anytime, and you’ll outlive us all so you can carry the torch…

Beate

*done*

There, happy John? I turned it off.

John

meh

Jen

OK Andy now we are going to boot you and bring Simon back in. Byeeeeeeeee

*Jen Love added Simon Scriver to the chat*

*Jen Love removed Andy King from the chat*

Simon

Sorry!

Did this chat make you laugh? Or think? Find us annoying? You should totally share that with your friends.

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