“Oh, that’s absolutely brilliant” I shouted at the TV, as the Netherlands took on Japan in the World Cup last night.

​You might imagine this came in response to some exquisite, defence-splitting through-ball or screaming volley into the top corner. Or perhaps an impeccably timed last-ditch tackle, or a flying finger-tip save from the goalkeeper.

​Nope. None of these.

​Instead, the cause of my involuntary exclamation was the fourth official lifting up their board to show how many minutes of added time were to be played.

​So, what about this mundane event had me scrambling for my laptop to hammer out this email to you?

​Well, take a look…

​

Screenshot of TV coverage of Netherlands v Japan in the FIFA World Cup. The image shows an official in a yellow shirt with arms outstretched, holding up a large digital display with the number 3 above their head. The board is surrounded by Sure’s logos (the word Sure and a white tick).

The football World Cup is always a battle for attention for advertisers and that’s been dialled up to eleven this year. Companies like Sure (also called Rexona and Degree in some countries) are paying huge sums to be official partners of the tournament, seeking to capture their share of the estimated 5 billion-strong global audience.

​And it’s not just official partners they’re competing against. Rival companies are also trying to capitalise on World Cup fever, linking their adverts and content to try and piggyback on the excitement and engagement generated by football’s biggest competition.

​In this competitive environment, companies agonise over when, where and how to get their brand out there.​

And boy have Sure smashed it here.​

Because, for me, this seemingly simple logo placement represents a perfect synergy between platform, message and opportunity.

​Let’s take a closer look at what’s going on:

​The Message: When it comes to communicating Sure’s core value proposition, the sight of the fourth official – confidently standing there with arms raised and pits exposed, not a sweat mark in sight – is a brilliant example of show-don’t-tell. The visual image is understated but clear – only Sure deodorant gives you the confidence to share your armpits with the world.

​The image is clear enough on its own, but when you factor in Sure’s wider promotional activity (including their World Cup-inspired TV ads) the message is reinforced even further.

​The Platform: The use of the fourth official’s board is vital to illustrating the core value proposition but that’s not the only reason it’s an inspired choice.

​There’s no shortage of sponsorable real estate within a football stadium, and spaces like the digital advertising hoardings or pitch-side logos might seem a more obvious choice. However, each of these is competing for attention – both with other the other sponsors and with the action on the pitch.

​The fourth official’s board is different. For non-football fans, the fourth official’s board is used to signal substitutions and to announce how much added time will be played in each half. This means the combined usage time during a 90-minute match is only about 2 minutes. At first glance that’s not great, especially when you consider that most of the 60-80,000 people in the stands will be too far away to see the logo underneath.

​But it’s not for them.

​Because Sure knows that real prize is the millions of people around the world watching at home. And they also know that the fourth official’s board is given prominent TV coverage nearly every time it appears – usually through a close-up (as in the image above). In placing their logo on the fourth official’s board, Sure have guaranteed they will reach the global audience watching on TV, at a time where there will be no other competition for their attention.

​The Timing and Opportunity: Providing companies with opportunities to use sporting events to get their message in front of audiences can come at the expense of the wider audience experience. Initiatives that hamper the viewer’s experience, distract them from the game or disrupt the flow of the match can result in the brand being perceived negatively. However, Sure’s placement fits within the natural flow of the match. If their logo wasn’t there, the fourth official would hold the sign in exactly the same way. This enables them to get their message across without risking the goodwill of their target audience.

​Now, I know most of us aren’t don’t have the luxury of a global sporting event to build our sponsorship approaches around. So, what can charity fundraisers learn from this?

​When we’re thinking of sponsorship benefits for our own organisations, it can be easy to default to the obvious – sponsors’ logos on promotional material, handing out free samples or discount codes, promoting adverts or sponsors messages to our mailing lists etc.

​But if the aim of the sponsorship (as Sure’s Global Brand Director describes) is to “steal” customers from outside (either attracting new consumers into your market for the first time, or stealing them from competing companies), these generic benefits make it nigh on impossible to stand out from the competition.

​Which means these generic benefits also make it nigh on impossible for your sponsorship opportunity to stand out from the competition. 

​Rather than sticking with the “old reliables”, next time you’re putting together sponsorship ideas, think about the following questions:

​1) Who is the company trying to reach and where are their eyeballs?

Across your organisation it’s likely you have lots of ways to get messages in front of different audiences. Like the fourth official’s board, your most effective ones might not be the most obvious – and they might not be the same for each company. For each new proposal, consider:

• Who is your potential sponsor trying to reach, and how does that overlap with your audience?
• What is your audience engaging with at different times? When do you have their attention? What touchpoints do you control?
• When are the moments when your audience will be especially receptive to your potential sponsor’s message?

One of my favourite arts-based examples of this is this partnership between Queens Theatre and Côte restaurants. The theatre uses the back of the ticket envelope to show where there are three Côte restaurants nearby, while also including an offer for a free drink if you dine there before the show. The exclusive use of the envelope space blocks out any other competition, while also ensuring the message is present at the key times theatre-goers will be making plans about their trip.

Theatre tickets on top of an envelope. On the back of the envelope is a map showing the locations of three Côte Brasserie restaurants. The advert also has an offer for a complimentary Kir Royal for people ordering the pre-theatre menu.

2) How can we bring their core value proposition to life?

A company or product’s value proposition is the benefit (or value) they bring to their customer or consumer. It helps the customer to understand what’s in it for them, and why they should choose that company or product over others. Before developing ideas, consider:

• What is their core proposition, and how does it differ to their competitors?
• What need do they exist to solve? What motivates their customers to choose them?
• What is their brand and tone of voice? How do they present themselves?

Understanding the message they are trying to convey means you can start thinking of powerful ways to bring this to life. Rather than starting with a pre-existing idea of the benefits your organisation could offer, get creative! Imagine you work in the marketing or brand team at the company. With a blank page, what concepts or ideas would you come up with?

​In the arts world, I love the way the Adelphi Theatre positioned M&S Food as the Official Pie Sponsor of Waitress the Musical. (For those who don’t know the musical, the story centres around waitress and pie-making extraordinaire Jenna, who’s pies are so good they could “win contests and ribbons and things”). It would have been easy enough to position M&S Food as Production Sponsor or Production Supporter. However, linking their support specifically to the pies helps make a connection for the audience between M&S Food and award-winning quality.

3) How can you reinforce the message?

As mentioned above, placing their logo on the fourth official’s board is not the only way Sure are promoting their product during the World Cup. TV adverts, social media content, engaging with creators, giant deodorant cans and pop-up experiential venues have all been developed to reinforce the message that Sure/Rexona “won’t let you down”. (You can read more about their approach in this article from Little Black Book – https://lbbonline.com/news/rexona-world-cup-2026-emily-heath)

​Rather than presenting potential sponsors with a piecemeal list of benefits that operate independently of each other, consider how different benefits can work together to reinforce the messaging your potential sponsor is trying to convey. Taking a holistic approach will mean you can present your potential sponsor with something that is greater than the sum of its parts.

​Which partnerships and ads will catch your eye this summer?

​The World Cup is young and I’m sure we’re going to see lots more examples of companies taking creative approaches to getting their message across. If you see any that stand out for you, I’d love to hear about them!

It was 10pm on a Monday and the Ninjas had just struck again.

​Silently, stealthily, and armed only with their credit cards, this faceless army emerged out of the shadows, as if summoned by some mystical being (or a well-known Northern comedian with a large social media following).

​In their thousands they came, all united by a singular mission – to help a stranger in need to hit their JustGiving crowdfunding target. And then, with their mission complete, they disappeared back in to the night – an overflowing funding pot and a stream of ninja emojis the only signs that they’d ever been there.

​No, this is not some weird fever dream brought on by eating too much leftover Christmas cheese. This is Charity Ninjas – an online community spearheaded by comedian and presenter Jason Manford.

​And it’s bloomin’ brilliant.

​The premise is simple. At 10pm every Monday and Friday, “Sensei Manford” shares a link to a JustGiving page on the Charity Ninjas Facebook page and asks his followers to donate.

​And donate they do. In their thousands:

Of course, celebrities leveraging their fan base to raise money is nothing new. We all know that getting the right person or media channel to champion a campaign can have a massive impact. But what makes this noteworthy, in my opinion, is the way Charity Ninjas has quickly made donating addictive.

​These aren’t people humouring or tolerating a one-off ask for support from someone they admire. These are people actively signing up to receive two fundraising asks a week, to causes they have no connection to – and even complaining when those asks don’t materialise!

​Think I’m joking? Look at the comments under any post on the Charity Ninjas Facebook page and you’ll find people setting alarms for 9.55pm on the two days to ensure they don’t miss out on taking part.

​And, on the few occasions where it’s got to 10:01pm without the link being posted, a tidal wave of anxious comments appears from people desperate for their philanthropy fix.

Be honest – when have you ever seen that level of excitement and anticipation for a fundraising campaign? For all the year-end “Last Chance to Give” emails charities send, when was the last time you saw potential donor’s actually panicking that they might have missed the opportunity to support?

​This is the fundraising equivalent of the Boxing Day sales. Except rather than queuing up at 6am to get a half price jumper and some cheap socks, these are people falling over themselves to support an unknown person or cause.

​So, why has this become addictive?

​There are, of course a number of reasons. For example, I could talk about Variable Rewards and Scarcity Bias. The cause is different every time, with no way of knowing who or what you’re going to be supporting until 10pm. Then, once the campaign has hit its target the link and all reference to the campaign disappears without a trace. Both of these can be powerful motivators, and leave a strong sense of FOMO for any aspiring Ninjas who missed the call.*

​Or I could talk about the aspirational element of people wanting to feel some sense of connection to someone with celebrity status.

​But I think the biggest reason is far simpler than that.

​Community.

​In a world that feels divided and full of hate, Charity Ninjas gives people the chance to be part of a community united by love and hope. As one Ninja noted, as an antidote to hate, the movement encapsulates “the epitome of human kindness”.

​Creating a genuine sense of community can be easier said than done, but when we look closely at the Charity Ninjas model we can see there are a number of ways that sense of community is being strengthened and solidified:

1. A clear identity that resonates with the members – it might seem like a small thing, but the simple act of giving members a clear identity they aspire to hold (in this case, Charity Ninja) helps to strengthen the connection to the group. And, let’s face it – when it comes to identity, Charity Ninja sounds a hell of a lot more appealing than “Bronze Member”, right?
2. Some Fight Club-esque rules and rituals – each donation ask comes with a set of rules – “No Names, No Noise, No Spotlight”. It’s expected that Ninjas will give anonymously, or simply leave the Ninja emoji as a comment. This leads to a lot of in-jokes in the comments of people pretending nothing has happened. These rituals and shared behaviours help strengthen a sense of belonging, while also separating members from non-members.
3. A community of equals – the “No Names, No Noise, No Spotlight” motto also ensures that this remains a community of equals. Nobody gets special praise for donating more. In fact, a lot is made of the fact people are being asked to do “a small thing”, with average donations around the £3-£4 mark. And, when the community succeeds, everybody is entitled to feel good about their role in that success. (Compare that to those charities that still question whether donors giving £3 are worthy of a thank you.)
4. Success begets success – people want to be part of success stories. Had the early “missions” not hit their target it would have been easy for momentum to drop. However, the group started by focusing on campaigns with more modest targets. Members could see targets being smashed in short time, helping to recruit new members and building confidence to chase down more ambitious targets.

In fundraising we often talk about the importance of “you” (singular).

​But, with people everywhere craving greater unity and togetherness, perhaps 2026 is the year we need to harness the collective ninja power of communities.

If you’d like more ideas, inspiration and insight like this delivered straight to your inbox, why not subscribe to our (semi) regular email, Apollo’s Muse? Simply pop your details in the form below.

Hark! the grant fundraisers sing,
“Please just give us core funding!”
Grants for projects can be fine, but
they don’t help the bottom line.
Flexible and multi-year
These things give us Christmas cheer
So, in 2026,
If you’re wondering what to fix
Hark! the grant fundraisers sing,
“Please just give us core funding!”

Stingy word counts are abhorred,
Prompts and space not in accord
And we’d really like the chance
To see the questions in advance
Online forms that you can save
Shouldn’t be that much to crave
And a portal that withstands
All those deadline day demands
Hark! the grant fundraisers storm
“Please just fix your bloomin’ form!”

Hail all those who give us feedback
Hail those who communicate
And those who, a deadline said
Don’t then close early instead
We can sense your deep frustrations
Born of increased applications
But, as all our targets rise,
Please don’t close to strategise!
Hark! the grant fundraisers cheer,
“Please fund us in the New Year!”

• Looking to up your fundraising game in the New Year?
• Keen to see what the grant process looks like from the funder’s perspective, and how that can help you improve your approach?
• Got a training budget that needs to be spent before year end?

New dates for Through A Funder’s Eyes now on sale!

For a lot of cultural organisations, their starting point for visitor or audience donations is a handful of donation boxes or buckets dotted around the place, with signs that say something inspiring, like “donations welcome” or “please donate”.

Don’t all rush for your coins at once…

If this sounds depressingly familiar, or if you’re keen to review individual giving in your organisation, here are nine steps I use to help organisations develop supporter journeys that actually get people to give:

Focus on a specific target audience – the most successful fundraising messaging doesn’t try to appeal to everybody. Having a specific audience in mind means you can target your message and your offer based on their specific relationship with your organisation – their shared likes, dislikes, values, motivations and experiences. For a lot of cultural organisations, your primary target audience will be the people who walk through your doors every day.

Understand their motivations – people give to different organisations for different reasons at different times. You need to understand what is most likely to motivate people to take action to support your organisation or project. In particular, you need to be clear whether your target audience has a transactional motivation (giving because they are going to get something back) or a philanthropic one (giving to solve a problem, or because they love what you do and want to help you do more of it). (A lot of arts fundraising incorrectly assumes that people will only give if they are going to get something in return, which leads to organisations rushing to set up a Friends or membership scheme.)

Craft an attractive proposition – I always encourage organisations to think of their ‘ask’ as an invitation. Look for the overlap between your funding need and your target audience’s motivation, and use this to find the right invitation. For example, are you inviting them to fight for something? To save something? To join something? To fix something? To be part of something? To believe in something? Remember – the offer or invitation doesn’t need to be a package of tangible benefits or rewards. Don’t force people with a philanthropic motivation to have a transactional relationship with you.

Katch their attention – at any given moment, approximately 99.999% of your target audience are thinking about something other than you and your fundraising message. You need to change that before you can compel them to act. Consider what are you going to say or do to hook their attention and draw them in. Part of this means being bold and unashamed about your need for support. Don’t hide your message in the dark, unexplored corners of your venue/website/newsletter.

Tell a story – having caught their attention you now need to compel them to take action. Stories are a brilliant tool for bringing the need for your work to life. Consider – who or what does the potential donor care about, and/or empathise with? What is their goal? What stands in the way of them achieving it? How can the donor help them overcome this barrier? What emotion do you need them to feel at the point you ask for a gift? Remember – while you might use complete case studies to show the difference your work can make, you also don’t want the potential donor to feel there is no room for them. Leave space for them to be a Helping Hero. After all, you are asking the donor to help write the story’s ending.

Remove barriers to giving – having compelled someone to take action you need to make it as easy as possible for them to give. What channels make it easy for them to give in that moment? How can you reduce the mental and physical effort required to make the gift?

Use SUPER thanking – make donors feel valued and respected by ensuring your thank yous are speedy, unique, passionate, engaging and repeated.

Make them see the impact – having given the donor the chance to help write the ending to your story, you now need to show them what’s changed as a result of their gift. Showing that their support made a difference can help pave the way to talking about their next gift.

Prepare to ask again – encouraging existing supporters to give again is far more efficient than having to constantly recruit new donors. When the time is right, present people with a new invitation that aligns your needs with the donor’s motivations and drivers. And one final tip – don’t fall in to the trap of assuming you need to wait a year before asking again. Memberships might work on the basis of annual renewal dates but philanthropic gifts don’t have to.

Now, if only there was a handy acronym to remember all that…

A big chunk of my summer has been spent writing fictional funding proposals for real charities based solely on the information on their website and in their annual accounts.

​Jealous? Don’t worry – I’m sure your summer was lovely, too.

​While you might be judging me for my slightly unorthodox hobby, it’s actually been a really interesting exercise because, in a lot of cases, I couldn’t do it. The basic information I needed to write a compelling proposal wasn’t available – at least not in a way that was easy to find or understand.

​And I think that’s a problem.

​Because while my choice of holiday activity might seem unusual, I’m not alone in doing this.

​Over the last few years we’ve seen a growing trend of funders taking a more proactive approach to their grant-making.

​Rather than inviting applications, they’re doing their own research. They’re seeking out charities and projects that align with their objectives and using that research to make decisions on who to invite to apply.

​In effect, they’re writing their own applications.

​And what happens if they can’t find the information they need on your website?

​They move on to someone else.

​So, here’s a test for you.

​Using just the information on your organisation’s website, see how easy it is to answer the following questions:

1. What does the organisation do? (You’d think this would be obvious, but I was surprised how hard it was to find a clear and concise answer to this question for a lot of organisations)
2. What need or societal problem does the organisation’s work address?
3. What impact does the organisation’s work have? What is their track-record of success?
4. What are the organisation’s current fundraising priorities?
5. What are the organisation’s future ambitions?

​Now compare the answers you’ve got from your website to the information you would normally include in a typical funding application. What’s missing? Which is more compelling?

​If you’ve struggled to answer any of the questions, consider where this information might naturally sit on your website, and who else might be interested in it. For example, perhaps you might want to consider having a number of 1-2 page template proposals for specific projects or initiatives that require grant support on the ‘Support Us’ or ‘Trusts and Foundations’ page of your website.

​In particular, I think it’s worth looking at Questions 4 and 5, as these were the ones I most frequently struggled to find answers to. While the ‘Future Plans’ section of the organisation’s Annual Accounts often included exciting plans for growth or new projects, these were rarely mentioned on the website.

​This is perhaps not surprising. Organisations might be pursuing a “private” or “silent” phase approach, and might not be ready to talk publicly about their plans. Others might feel vulnerable talking about projects that might not happen if the funding is not secured.

​However, if more funders are taking matters into their own hands, perhaps we need to be a bit more open to this vulnerability and to sharing the dreams and aspirations that can only become reality with their support.

​At the very least, we need to make sure it’s as easy as possible for potential funders to find the information they need to pique their interest.

Marina Jones, Deputy Development Director at English National Opera has just returned from a supporter trip, taking donors to the opera in San Francisco. On a night off during the trip she went to a drag show. In this guest blog she shares some reflections on what a drag show can teach fundraisers.

When the show starts the first thing the hosts of the show ask is ‘What’s the first rule of drag?’

The answer – “Tip your artists, dancers, servers and hosts”.

This ‘pre’-suasion or priming is setting the scene right from the start, and for the rest of the night – you will be asked to contribute.

Giving is expected, normal, encouraged and celebrated. The message is, if you care about the art form and want to enjoy it you need to be part of funding it and making it happen. Your support has a direct impact on the work you see on stage. Donors want to see the impact of their gift – seeing the impact live on stage makes it immediate.

Often in the arts we can shy away from articulating the ‘art for arts sake’ or for the pure enjoyment but a drag show connects immediately and says to you ‘if you want this it costs money and you need to give to make it happen’. Sometimes fundraisers also delay asking, missing out on the opportunity when people are feeling and experiencing all the emotions of connecting with our art forms.

At a drag show, there is no fear of asking and making it clear that funds are needed.

Now, a bit of background if it’s a while since you went to drag show or have yet to go … Tipping your artists involves putting dollar bills into whatever their fabulous outfits they are wearing.

If there are barriers to giving people won’t do it – it needs to be easy and friction free. If there are obstacles to making the gift it creates friction. Overcoming this friction uses too much brain power so we don’t do it. Your brain moves from the intuitive and automatic system one to system two and your rational brain kicks in and stops you completing the action.

So make it easy to give – anticipate the friction points and barriers that your donors have in that giving journey. Have they got what they need to donate?  For example, at the drag show you need a dollar bill to tip but you only have a $20. No problem – they have thought of that! The hosts come out and offer change – so you can change that $20 for twenty $1 dollar bills so you can easily make your contributions directly to the artists.

By thinking about what your donors need you are helping them give by making it easy for them.

An additional bonus of having lots of dollar bills is that it makes it easy to make repeat gifts to a preferred artist or many artists.

Each time you give a gift your brain gets a hit of the happy chemicals (dopamine, oxytocin, serotonin and endorphins). By making it easy and encouraging more gifts you are making people happier.

We are motivated to do what others are doing. Repeatedly seeing people make donations establishes giving as socially normal and encourages others to participate.

Every time a note is given the crowd cheers and celebrates the donation. Each contribution is celebrated. Celebrate that your donors are choosing to voluntarily give you to you to make the world better.

In an increasingly cashless society the lack of cash should not be a barrier to being able to contribute. So adapt – even drag queens use QR codes!

As well as giving directly to the artist or by QR code there is also a collection bucket. This means you can give whatever way makes you feel comfortable. Whether you choose to give publicly or more privately, all gifts are cheered!

Don’t shy away from asking again and again and reiterating your need for support. There are repeated asks throughout the show. The audience have been primed with the need for support and that they will be asked from the first moment the hosts walked out onto stage. Keep asking – you need the money.

You have an audience who care about your art form and what you are doing. It is part of their identity. Celebrate it, celebrate them and give them the opportunity to celebrate their identity.

Remember – people want to give!

Thanks to Marina for sharing these tips with us!

If you’ve got a blog, tips or suggestions you want to share with arts and culture fundraisers please get in touch with David by emailing David.Burgess@ApolloFundraising.com

“Donor You Loved” is a fundraising parody of Lewis Capaldi’s “Someone You Loved”, written and performed for Fundraising Everywhere Festival 2020.

Donor You Loved lyrics by David Burgess

Someone You Loved by Lewis Capaldi, Benjamin Kohn, Peter Kelleher, Thomas Barnes and Samuel Roman

Commissioned by SHARE Museums East as part of their Coronavirus Emergency Support package.

If you are a museum in the East of England we are operating a free fundraising advice helpline in partnership with SHARE Museums East. Please email David.Burgess@ApolloFundraising.com to find out more.

Commissioned by SHARE Museums East as part of their Coronavirus Emergency Support package.

If you are a museum in the East of England we are operating a free fundraising advice helpline in partnership with SHARE Museums East. Please email David.Burgess@ApolloFundraising.com to find out more.

This isn’t the first time Notre-Dame Cathedral has required major restoration. In the 1840s the Cathedral required extensive repair work to fix the significant damage caused during the French Revolution. It was at this time that many of Notre-Dame’s most famous features were added, including the gargoyles and the ill-fated spire.

According to Twitter user Michael Slavitch, it was also at this time that work began on preparing for future restorations.

The story goes that the team behind the 1840s restoration knew the mighty wooden roof beams would need to be replaced in the future. They also knew that replacing beams of that size would require around 1,300 mature oaks – or a forest the size of 15 football pitches, if you prefer.

It would have been easy for them to leave this problem to future generations – a challenge for their great, great, great, great grandchildren to solve. Instead, Slavitch says, they adopted the problem as their own.

The solution? To plant a forest of oak trees at Versailles, ear-marked specifically for the future replacement of Notre-Dame’s roof. This would mean that, when the time came to replace the beams, there would be enough trees of the perfect size to provide their successors with all the wood they would need.

Sadly, the story is almost certainly not true. However, it still got me thinking about the needs our organisations might have 100+ years from now, and what seeds we should be planting today to ensure our successors have the resources they need in the future.

In one of his tweets, Slavitch described the story as being an example of “The Long Now in action”.

“”Now” is never just a moment. The Long Now is the recognition that the precise moment you’re in grows out of the past and is a seed for the future. The longer your sense of Now, the more past and future it includes.”

Brian Eno, Co-founder of The Long Now Foundation

The Big Here and Long Now, January 15 01995

The phrase ‘The Long Now’ was originally coined by Brian Eno as a reminder to a world increasingly obsessed with instant gratification and short-termism that we still have a responsibility to the long-term future.

Many charities are working on a “Long Now” timeframe. They know it will be decades (and, for some, centuries) before they will achieve their charitable mission and solve the societal problems they have committed to solving.

For example, Breast Cancer Now have set a target of 2050 to achieve their goal of nobody dying from breast cancer.

For other charities, their mission will never end.

This means that a lot of charities fundraising today will still need to be fundraising in 30 years time. Some might still be fundraising 100 years from now.

Yet it is almost unheard of for fundraisers to be thinking about the “Long Now”, or to make plans for how they can support the work of their successors decades down the line.

Instead, fundraisers tend to operate in the “Short Now”. This is in no small part down to the focus on annual fundraising targets, Business Plans that often span no more than 5 years ahead, and a trend for fundraisers to spend (on average) just 4 years in senior posts.

Our work is shaped by what Eno calls “short-horizon perspectives”.

Our success is judged and rewarded against these short-term targets, meaning fundraisers prioritise activities most likely to provide near-instant gratification. There is little time – or incentive – to think about the impact their actions might have across a longer timeframe.

We have no idea what the world will look like for fundraising leaders 100 years from now, or even in 30 years time. But there are some things they are almost certainly going to need:

They are going to need a sustainable forest of prospects and supporters.

And they are going to need a sustainable forest of talented fundraisers.

Whether you like it or not (and whether you chose to act on it or not), the actions you take today have a direct impact on the long-term future of your organisation.