My #IWITOT 6 minutes from #IFC2015

At last week's IFC I was asked to speak at I Wish I'd Thought Of That. I've pasted the words I tried to learn below.

Hello. My name’s Paul de Gregorio and I’m Head of Mobile at Open Fundraising, I’m really honoured to have been asked to talk to you all about the fundraising idea ‘I Wish I’d Thought Of’.

I’m going to talk about Save the Children UK’s 2009 Gaza Ceasefire campaign.

There isn’t a single campaign out there that has inspired me more in my career.

So I hope in a few minutes’ time it will have inspired you as well.

 

On the 27th December 2008 the Gaza conflict began.

As is always the case in any conflict, in any part of the world, it’s the civilian population that bears the brunt.

So, on the 5th January Save the Children decided to act. They launched a campaign to demand a ceasefire so vital food, shelter and medical supplies could be delivered. And they asked the public to support this demand.

 

Five days later this ad was run in four newspapers over one weekend.

I love this campaign because it was big, it was bold and it was impactful.

100,000 people responded to the ad by the end of the weekend. 180,000 responded in total.

At the outset there was no fundraising plan. This was a campaigning ask:

Add your voice. Sign the petition. Demand a ceasefire.

But as the scale of the public response became clear, rapid decision making took place at Save the Children which resulted in fundraising becoming central to the campaign.

A telephone fundraising agency was hired to talk to responders about financial support in addition to their petition action. Tests were conducted and rollout was swift.

90,000 calls were made. 10% of those spoken set up a monthly gift. That’s 9,000 new monthly givers almost overnight.

I love this campaign because the creative is brilliant.

Everything about it, the words and the picture, make you want to do something.

It makes you angry, it shocks you, it’s an ask you just can’t say no to.

 

Look at this image. Taken just two days before the first ad was run. It’s a photograph of Mohammed, a three year old boy being comforted by his mother after a bomb strike. It’s a picture that re-enforces the horror of conflict for children.

And the words; some of the words are incredible.

ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

RELENTLESS BOMBING IN GAZA IS KILLING A CHILD EVERY THREE HOURS.

HOW MANY MORE MUST DIE -- BEFORE THIS STOPS?

And the call to action is perfect:

We have to act now.

Every person can make a difference.

Take action. Add your voice to our plea.

We’ll make sure your message is heard.

Selecting SMS as the only way to respond was inspired. Because sending an SMS takes seconds. You’ve been moved to act and taking the action is frictionless.

I love this campaign because it proved to me that there was new life in UK fundraising…

If I’m honest, at the time this campaign was launched, I was getting a little frustrated at the fundraising techniques being employed in the UK.

Huge volumes of cold telemarketing calls were being conducted to recruit monthly givers, targeting responders to mail, telephone or online surveys.

In order to drive these massive volumes, there was a huge growth in the number of companies selling these lists to charities. And no shortage of charities willing to test them.

But to me it felt as if the people being called had displayed no real engagement in the charity calling them beyond ticking a box.

The Save the Children Gaza campaign proved that there was another way. That investing in campaigning actions was as effective, if not more so, than simply ‘buying’ prospects.

That if you could drive a genuine emotional engagement with your cause, you could take people on a journey to other methods of support.

Speaking of which I love this campaign because it proved that when fundraisers and campaigners work well together amazing things can happen…

I’ve spoken to a lot of people at Save the Children about this campaign. And the most striking thing is that fundraising was never part of the initial plan.

This was a campaign to mobilise the support of the public. Not to raise money.

But the quick thinking and acting of the senior team at Save the Children meant that this outpouring of support for the issue of the day was effectively translated into monthly donations.

There is a lot of talk in charities all over the world about the need to remove departmental silos. To align organisations behind the needs and wants of the beneficiary and supporter.

This campaign is a fantastic example of what is achievable when smashing silos becomes a reality and not just a buzzword

And last, but by no means least, I love this campaign because it was genuinely transformational for UK fundraising…

It showed us that it was possible to drive mass engagement with a non financial, but cause led proposition. Something that is common place now.

It showed us that mobile, specifically SMS, was a critical tool for fundraising and activism and it was the catalyst for a huge growth in the use of mobile to recruit and retain supporters.

And for me personally, it’s the campaign that gave me the inspiration to do the job I strive to do well today. To fuse creative, strategy and technology to create campaigns that bring huge numbers of people towards amazing causes and hopefully help change the world.

And that’s why the Save the Children Gaza appeal is the campaign I wish I’d thought of.

Thank you.

One of the best things I have ever been a part of...

Earlier this year I was given the incredible opportunity to be a judge in the competition arranged by SOFII to find three amazing young fundraisers to present the idea they wish they'd thought of at this years 'I Wish I'd Thought of That' event.

I gave Lucy Sandford my vote, she was first up on audition day and delivered a brilliant idea really well. She's on Twitter if you want to follow her.

Between audition and the actual event we met a few times and ran through her slides and script. If I'm honest I didn't have to do much as Lucy is incredibly talented and had a very clear sense of how she wanted to present her idea.

Take a look, in just shy of seven minutes, she tells the story of the British Red Cross's Penny a Week fund from the Second World War. And tells it brilliantly. Made this old git feel very proud indeed.

And while I'm at it. It felt like all the 'young' fundraisers kicked ass.

Ben Nolan was superb.



As was Jessica Borham...



James Nida was incredible...



Aditi showed no nerves...



And Fiona made me cry.



It really is an incredible event and I hope I can be involved again in 2015.

You can talk at this (year's) #IWITOT

I spoke at last year’s I Wish I’d Thought Of That (IWITOT). IWITOT is the now annual event where the great and the good (and last year me) get 7 minutes to tell the 300 or so fundraisers in the room about the fundraising idea that they wish they’d thought of.

I spoke for 7 minutes about Race for Life. It was a terrifying experience. But I’m really glad that I did it.

This year things are being shaken up a little.

There are 3 speaker slots up for grabs for this year's event on Tuesday 16th September in London. If you want to speak AND I SUGGEST THAT YOU DO it’s super easy to apply. Email my colleague Ian at Open and he will tell you all you need to know. 

Then, you might get invited to pitch your idea to Tanya Steele from Save the Children, Imogen Ward from the Lessons for Life Foundation and me. Between us we will decide who gets the chance to speak at the event and if you're successful and you want it, you'll get one of us as a coach/mentor/sounding board for your session.

So act quickly and email today as the closing date for applications is Monday 7^th July.

My #IWITOT notes

I was asked to speak at this years #IWITOT event. It's an ace event organised by SOFII and Open (where I work). 

I picked CRUK's Race for Life. Nothing to do with mobile. And I learnt that I get quite nervous.

It is the most incredible event. If we what do is about connecting people to causes - we all need to learn from the story. 

My notes are pasted below. Excuse the poor grammer, terrible formatting and inevitable typos. 

Hello. My name’s Paul de Gregorio…

I’m Head of Mobile at Open Fundraising. I’m really honoured to have been asked to talk to you all about the fundraising idea ‘I wish I’d though of’.

Deciding was a really difficult process. But once I got thinking about the idea that has had a huge influence on me and my fundraising career – it was really quite easy…

I’ve picked Cancer Research UK’s Race for Life. I’m sure you all know it, but if you don’t it’s a woman only fundraising event. Women walk, jog or run 5K in return for sponsorship.

I’ve worried that I was picking something too obvious.

Something, that you might all tut and roll your eyes at.

But the story of this event inspires me for lots of reasons… and I hope in 6 minutes time it will have inspired you as well.

I love this event because of its story.

Like most great ideas, Race for Life isn’t a completely original idea. It’s an idea borrowed from the USA.

The charity Susan G Komen in America came up with the original idea.

They held the first Race for the Cure as it’s known there, in Dallas in 1983.

800 women took part in. It’s now huge.

In the early 90’s, news of this event inspired an events manager called Louise Holland at Imperial Cancer Research Fund. ICRF is one of two charities that would later merge and form Cancer Research UK.

And I’m told Louise did all the work to bring the event to the UK and to ICRF.

I love this event because of its scale.

Race for Life is 19 years old this year.

The first event took place in Battersea in 1994.

650 women took part and it raised £35,000.

Not bad at all – but not setting the world alight.

But Louise and ICRF had proved that there was something in it.

That this idea from across the Atlantic could work here in the UK.

And over the 19 years since, the event has grown massively.

The numbers are huge. 6 million women have taken part since 1994… 6 million women. That’s an incredible number.

To put that into context that’s 19% of the UK female population.

Between them these amazing women have raised over £493 million pounds. Again, an incredible number.

In it’s first seven years Race for Life grew from that one event in Battersea to over 70 around the country.

It grew from that first £35,000 to £8 million pounds. There was clearly something in this!

In 2002 ICRF merged with Cancer Research Campaign to form Cancer Research UK. The merger seemed to act as a catalyst for huge and rapid growth. 250,000 participants at the time of merger became nearly 750,000 just seven years later.

Since this peak there has been a decline in numbers. But lets put that into context. Decline in this sense means over 500,000 women taking part last year. How many of us in the room today would take half a million people taking part in our flagship fundraising event?

I love this event because it has evolved time and time again through hard work and Innovation.

You can’t achieve this scale and success without hard work.

It’s impossible to be this successful without major innovation.

All this innovation has been focussed on making this the best and most successful fundraising event possible. But just as importantly on making the event as inspiring and supportive for all of the women who take part, by giving them the opportunity to take their stand against cancer.

Every single year new things are added this event doesn’t stand still…

In 1998 the back signs were introduced. They are a simple but brilliant way for participants to celebrate survival or commemorate the life of someone they’ve lost to cancer.

In 2001 the minute’s silence before every event was first introduced. If you have ever been to an event you will know how emotional and inspiring this moment of reflection can be.

All of these things and many many more have contributed to Race for Life’s success – but there are two very big innovations that the whole sector has benefitted from…

First up is the innovation in online sponsorship with JustGiving.

Online donors raise and return more money than offline donors. It’s easier for them. So if you get more people to sign up when they register, you will make more money. It sounds easy, but it’s taken a lot focus and a lot of effort. JustGiving and CRUK worked hard over years and years to make this as simple as possible. It’s now seamless and more money is raised to beat cancer as a result. Lots of you in the room today are raising more money as a result of this.

The second thing is huge. In 2004 there was a small telemarketing test to see if those that had taken part in Race for Life would support CRUK by taking out a regular gift by Direct Debit.

They did, and at impressive rates. And in classic CRUK style they tested it again. It still worked. So after proving the concept they rolled out. The team that CRUK formed as a result, has been responsible for the recruitment of over 100,000 new regular givers. And pretty much all charities now do something similar - but it was CRUK who paved the way.

But, The main reason I love this event is not because it’s massive or because it’s raised millions of pounds.

It’s not because I admire CRUK’s focussed approach to fundraising – which I really really do.

I love this event because I am truly inspired when people come together on this scale to achieve a common goal. It’s the 6 million women that inspire me.

Forget the big brand, forget the huge budget, and forget the dominance that brand and budget give. Race for Life is inspiring because it creates the moment for individuals to take action against cancer.

Every single one of the 6 million women who have taken part has a personal story to tell.

They are taking part because of their personal connection to the cause.

They are taking part to honour the memory of a loved one who is no longer with us.

Or, they are taking part to celebrate the life of someone who has survived.

Which is why Race for Life is the fundraising campaign that I wish I’d thought of.

Thank you.

I wish I'd thought of that #IWITOT 2013

Some pictures from this years 'I wish I'd thought of that' event.

They will give you a flavour of the event. More here.



I was honoured to be asked to speak. A very nerve racking experience.

I might post my talk here. At some point.

Movember, by a nose ...

I was lucky enough to go to the recent ‘I wish I’d thought of that’ event hosted by SOFII. The agency I work for Open Fundraising helped plan and organise the event. It was a fab afternoon out of the office – a real and rare chance to pause and reflect on some amazing fundraising ideas.

I’ll confess to being a little tense as we had decided quite late in the planning of the event to run a text vote, where the audience could vote on the most inspiring fundraising idea presented. In the end it worked brilliantly (despite having to access the results via 3G as the wifi in the hall let us down) and Movember presented by Andy Harris was the idea that topped the poll.

Everyone in the room applauded, it's a campaign that raises a lot of money - a worthy winner.

A couple of days later, I got a deeper insight into the camapign. I was sent a Movember email from a mate, that included this video.

I love it. It shows exactly why this campaign is so great, yes it raises a lot of money, but just as importantly it raises a LOT of awareness. And the information is presented beautifully.

And here are some pictures from the event.