For the boomers (or pop saddos) you'll recall P P Arnold had a huge hit with this in 1967. In 1977 Rod Stewart covered it pretty succesfully though it was actually written by Cat Stevens and sold to P P Arnold for £30!
I'm recalling the lyrics as I read the NCVO report on the impact of the government cuts upon front line service delivering charities. (see www.ncvo-vol.org.uk/cuts-report) Where the NCVO use the government's own spending review figures to highlight a £3bn cut in funding to community groups and charities providing vital services. They admit that the figures are conservative which confirms that LSBU's estimate of £5bn is probably not far off. Effective fundraising can only do so much and replacing government funding is rarely an attractive proposition for givers.
In reacting to these unnecessarily savage cuts charities may fall into the trap of cutting spending budgets across the board, simply in order to survive. However those cuts, if falling on fundraisers could, in fact be the most savage. By cutting fundraising investment organisations will inhibit not only their capacity to weather the storm, but also reduce their ability to provide alternative income streams when they are most needed. The charities and civil society organisations who survive in the best shape to prosper in the longer term have to be the ones that continue to invest in fundraising and continue to develop teams able to do better.
Whilst the first cut is the deepest, it might the the second that kills!
P
The line that resonates most to me here is that "charities... who survive have to be the ones that... continue to develop teams able to do better." When times get tough, we simply have to do more with less -- and investing in a team that can innovate ways to continue fundraising more efficiently and more creatively will probably do your organization a world of good in the long run.
ReplyDeleteAlyce, you're spot on. Getting quarts out of pint pots (I suppose that should be litres out of half litre pots but it doesn't quite have the same ring) has always been my fundraising mantra. Nowadays investing in staff (and volunteers) is not an option, it's a must for long term survival.
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