Past Conferences

1. 5th Annual Social Enterprise Research Conference
2. Primetimers
3. Other External Activities
4. Voluntary Sector Studies Network (VSSN)
5. 3rd Annual Social Enterprise Research Conference

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6. ARCHIVE: The Inaugural CCTR Fundraising Research Symposium

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1. 5th Annual Social Enterprise Research Conference

2. Primetimers

3. Other External Activities

4. Voluntary Sector Studies Network (VSSN)

5. 3rd Annual Social Enterprise Research Conference

ARCHIVE

6. The Inaugural CCTR Fundraising Research Symposium - 1st June 2000

Abstracts Submitted by Guest Speakers...

The Five Stages of Fundraising: A Framework For Fundraising Development
SUSAN KAY-WILLIAMS
HEAD OF MARKETING & EXTERNAL RELATIONS, THE GUIDE ASSOCIATION, 17/19 BUCKINGHAM PALACE ROAD, LONDON SW1 0PT

Comparatively little has been written on the structure and the development of the development of the fundraising department. This paper shows that there is a lifecycle for fundraising, which is distinct from the lifecycle of the organisation. The paper identifies three phases and five stages to the fundraising lifecycle. Each stage is measured against four variables, which have been identified as key indicators of a charity's fundraising development. In examining the stage that a charity has reached, the paper uses an organisational culture theory perspective. The paper also identifies the principal catalyst of the movement between stages and the implications for fundraisers and organisations.

Trust, Confidence and Voluntary Organisations: Between Values and Institutions
ANDREW PASSEY
HEAD OF RESEARCH, NATIONAL COUNCIL FOR VOLUNTARY ORGANISATIONS (NCVO) REGENTS WHARF, 8 ALL SAINTS STREET, LONDON N1 9RL

Recent debates within social and political theory rival growing concern with issues of 'trust'. Recent work by the author (Tonkiss and Passey, 1999; Passey and Tonkiss 2000) argues that the relation of voluntary organisations to questions of trust is increasingly problematic. In particular, a tension exists between trust relations based on principles of voluntarism and linked to shared values, and relations of confidence that are regulated by contract and geared to measures of efficiency. This tension also can be understood as one between values and institutions; between the aims of 'doing good' in an ethical sense (responding to social need, advocating for marginalised groups, speaking truth to power), and of 'doing well' in an organisational sense (fundraising, maintaining a public profile, building networks).

This paper examines recent theoretical accounts of trust and confidence. It then draws on a range of quantitative and qualitative research on the voluntary sector to examine how trust and confidence are negotiated with a number of key constituencies: the general public; government and institutional funders; business; and users or beneficiaries. The argument is that, while resources of trust linked to their core values, voluntary organisations are increasingly governed by formal measures designed to promote confidence. This paper concludes by outlining further ongoing research based on an interview study of the senior management and chairs of voluntary organisations in London. This is the starting-point for a programme of research and development aimed at providing voluntary sector managers with tools for managing complex relations with their external stakeholders.

References
Passey, A. & Tonkiss, F. (2000) Trust, Voluntary Association and Civil Society. In Tonkiss, F. & Passey, A. (eds) Trust and Civil Society. London: Macmillian. Tonkiss, F. & Passey, A. (1999) Trust, Confidence and Voluntary Organisations: between values and institutions. Sociology, 33 (2) pp 257-274.

Charitable Giving and Information Asymmetry - Putting the Cart Before the Horse A Services Marketing Approach to Re-modelling Fundraising
LES HEMS
CENTRE FOR VOLUNTARY SECTOR POLICY, SCHOOL OF PUBLIC POLICY, UNIVERSITY COLLEGE LONDON (UCL) THE RUBIN BUILDING, 29/30 TAVISTOCK SQUARE, LONDON WC1H 9EZ EMAIL : l.hems@ucl.ac.uk

There is increasing concern that the amount of money donated to charities in the United Kingdom is in long-term decline and that the eventual consequences will be that charitable activities will be constrained. "The voluntary sector worries about its lost income, but worries even more that the whole culture of giving my be lost" (Observer June 13, 1999). Charity fundraising can be rightly classified as a service comprising 'deeds, processes, and performances' (Zeithaml & Bitner, 1996 p5). It is perhaps one of the most intangible services (p19). Often the tangible output from a charitable donation is consumed by a distant unknown third party; however, the donor will derive some immediate satisfaction from making the donation in terms of their expression of charity, altruism, philanthropy, and religious or public duty. Charitable donations are also extremely high on 'credence qualities'; many donors may find it impossible to evaluate the 'value' of their donation (p58). The general public in the United Kingdom donates over 4 billion pounds to charities each year although this amount has declined in real terms by over a quarter in the last five years. In 1998, less than two out of three people donated to charities each month compared with over four out of five in the early 1990s (Hems & Passey, 1998).

Market Versus Societal Orientation in the Nonprofit Context
MEI-NA LIAO
SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND ECONOMICS, UNIVERSITY OF EXETER, STREATHAM COURT, RENNES DRIVE, EXETER EX4 4PU E-MAIL : M.Liao@exeter.ac.uk

There has been considerable interest of late amongst nonprofit practitioners in market orientation and the extent to which the adoption thereof, might be linked to enhanced organisational performance. Preliminary studies have typically employed instruments such as MARKOR to measure market orientation in this setting and found tentative support for the existence of such a link. In this paper it will be argued that these approaches are fundamentally flawed. The market orientation construct represents the operationalisation of the marketing concept in the for-profit sector. Since the concept is defined differently by nonprofit academics and practitioners there is a need to develop a new measure of its operationalisation specifically in this context. A review of the literature suggests that this might best be termed societal orientation.

Understanding the Influence of Resource Acquisition Strategies on Service Delivery Within Welfare Charities
GRAEME LINDSAY
COVENTRY UNIVERSITY, PRIORY STREET, COVENTRY, WEST MIDLANDS CV1 5FB

My interest in the Charitable sector and the volition behind this research proposal comes from the contradiction that exist between resource allocation and resource attraction strategies in the For-profit Sector (or for profit sector) and the non profit sector. Simply, in the For-profit Sector the more appropriate an organisation is in allocating its resources the more likely it will acquiring further financial resources. Whereas in the Non-profit (or charitable sector) the appropriateness of the resource allocation strategies or the quality of service that a charity provides will have an influence (however marginal) on its ability to acquire further funds. As a marketer the dichotomy that exists between these two key strategic issues of an organisation contradict the fundamental principles that underpin marketing theory.

Paton in his article for the first edition of the Journal for the Non-profit and Voluntary Sector Marketing entitled 'What's different about non-profit and voluntary marketing?' encapsulates many of the problems faced by marketers, such as myself, in dealing with the charitable sector. In emphasising the key problem for marketers he quotes Wensley 'When service delivery is distinct from resources acquisition then simple marketing remedies and language have little value' and Blois 'Non profit and voluntary sectors involve pursuits of very different objectives in relation to quite separate constituencies'. Paton characterises marketing's role as securing resources and support for service users from external parties on behalf of a cause. He identifies writings on marketing in these sectors as too often "proposing disparate techniques of resource acquisition with little appreciation of key questions of 'who is being asked' and 'how are they being asked". My research evolves out of this desire, of academics and practitioners alike, to develop theories and models within the charitable sector that incorporates and co-ordinates the relationship between resource acquisition allocation and service delivery, in holistic rather than discrete way, as found in the for-profit sector.

In this presentation I will review my previous proposal and offer a central question that addresses these issues which will be discussed in greater depth as two hypotheses or conjectures within Research Aim section. The Literature Review will place the research within current academic work in this area whilst Theoretical Perspective will articulate my thoughts on the theoretical issues confronting the research and the theoretical Perspective that will underpin the research which I have arrived at through previous research and publishing in his area. The two sections Research Aim and Methodology will focus on how the research will be carried out. These sections will provide a framework within which research will be undertaken rather than a prescriptive methodology.

The Inter-relationship of Fundraising Practices to the Marketing Concept and Theory
TOJO RAY
LONDON SOUTH BANK UNIVERSITY

Scope for research The above text merely attempts to explore the inter-relationship of past successful fundraising campaigns with the science of present-day 'marketing'. In so doing, it begs two fundamental questions, viz. Why were past fundraising practices successful? Is it possible that fundraising methods and practices had evolved from the earliest times to the mid-20th century to tacitly embody the very theories, principles, tools and practices documented on modern-day fundraising academia? Is it also possible that the wealth of scholarship currently available in the science of marketing no more than codification (only, with the 'gloss') of past (successful) methods and practices? In short, is the science of 'marketing' original thought or is it fundraising in a 'new academic language'? This paper has not attempted to answer the questions above but simply lay the foundations for a project to explore the inter-relationship of past fundraising practices and present-day marketing. The wealth of historical research already done will adequately facilitate the potential for further research. The research methods will focus on two (or possibly, three) case studies of fundraising campaigns, analyse and compare in modular framework, the concepts and theories of fundraising and marketing from the historical and present-day perspectives.

The Use of Data Analysis to Improve Direct Marketing Fundraising Performance
JEAN BARCLAY
INDEPENDENT CONSULTANT

This paper describes part of a research project looking at the use of data analysis to improve direct marketing fundraising. The research included a review of the literature on fundraising, with particular emphasis on relationship fundraising in direct marketing and the use of a range of data analysis techniques by charities. A key conclusion from the literature review was that whilst charities operating direct marketing fundraising have much to gain from applying data analysis techniques such as lifetime value measurement and Pareto analysis, until recently there was almost no evidence in the public domain that these techniques were in fact being put into practice. Furthermore, in spite of the large sums of money being "invested" in recruitment of new donors, even fewer charities had developed segmentation systems which were based on variables which could be proven to be statistically significant in predicting future behaviour.

This research focused on one charity as a case study. Lifetime value analysis of data from the charity's database showed that cold donor recruitment was not profitable, while donors recruited from reciprocal arrangements with other charities were. This led to some rethinking of donor recruitment strategies. Further analysis revealed a pattern reasonably consistent with the typical "80/20" Pareto principle then an analysis if variance technique (ANOVA) was applied to samples of data and resulted in the identification of statistically significant predictor variable of donor behaviour. This enabled the donorbase to be segmented into statistically significant behavioural groups defined by a simple matrix. From this, it was possible to model future cash flows from subsequent communications with donors and provide a better assessment of the extent to which relationship fundraising techniques could be successful in delivering against financial objectives. The data analysis was used to improve the charity's fundraising performance and it appeared that there would also be benefits to other charities from carrying our similar analysis.

Fundraising Cost Income Ratios - Implications for Charities in the UK 2. Developing a Predictive Model for the Fundraising Cost Income Ratios of Registered Charities in England and Wales
PAUL BRECKELL
CHURCH MISSION SOCIETY (CMS), PARTNERSHIP HOUSE, 157 WATERLOO ROAD, LONDON SE1 8UU EMAIL : paul.breckell@cms-uk.org

Donated voluntary income is a significant source of financial support for Registered Charities in England and Wales. This income although voluntary is not unsolicited, and concern has been expressed by commentators that charities spend a too high proportion of income raised on the cost of fundraising. This paper explores the research undertaken relating to fundraising cost income ratios. It considers the definitions that have been used, which explore the average cost of fundraising and also the arguments that the model should be developed to consider marginal costs and returns and to take account of the 'lifetime' support of a donor. Both developments imply that Charities are 'under fundraising'. However, if donors substitute gifts from one charity to another, in a competitive environment, a current high cost income ratio may make funds more difficult to solicit in the future.

Research suggests donors require a ratio of fundraising cost to total income of less than 25%. In practice many charities cost income ratios meet these expectations. However, there is a clear gap in both the UK and US between donors perception of efficiency and actual efficiency, with donors assuming charities have a much worse cost income ratio than they do in practice. The implication is that donor perceptions of charity efficiency, although inaccurate may still impact on donor behaviour. It is also indicated in research that fundraising cost income ratios vary significantly by fundraising technique, nature of the cause, and size of charity. A review of the different factors that may legitimately affect charities cost income ratio should warn against comparing the relative performance of a charities fundraising using simple ratios. Additional empirical research is therefore needed to determine to what extent charities characteristics, such as its size and the nature of the cause, affect the cost income ratio of a charity. The research proposal, prepared by the author, attempts to meet this need, by setting out the framework for developing a predictive model for the fundraising cost income ratio of registered charities in England and Wales. It is intended in the research to identify which characteristics of a charity influence the cost at which it is attracting donations, and to what extent? From this a model will be developed that can be tested to determine how accurately can one predict fundraising cost income ratio that a charity will have given its characteristics?