Sunday, April 3, 2011

The Cities Conscience

Charity fundraisers are truly the conscience of a city...

Reminding everyone that whilst their lives may be comfortable and happy, not everyone is so lucky.

Giving perspective to those that think they are having a tough time of it.

Not only do these brave souls risk the wrath of someones bad mood, they risk physical violence, abuse and rejection.

However, these often young, often foreign people stand out there, rain or shine to spread the word for hope and chance, for tolerance and understanding, for selflessness and charity.

Their persistence and resilience often mirrors that of the organizations they represent.

Trying to cure cancer, save swimmers out of their depth at the beach, helping the blind, hungry, impoverished or less fortunate. Being a voice for our endangered or abused animals or beautiful countryside or natural resources.

So as far as a conscience? No one likes that friend that states the obvious... "smoking is bad, you should quit", "if you want to lose weight eat less biscuits", "you can send 200 kids to school for the cost of a sandwich each week"

It's a sad reality of the modern western world that "community" has started to fade, and, that many many deserving organizations are seeking the help of the common people.

It was Churchill who said all a good man need do for evil to triumph, is nothing at all.

So next time you see one of those ridiculously happy and friendly (probably foreign) people on the street asking if you "have a sec?"
Think to yourself .. Will 5 minutes of my day kill me? Will ten bucks a week bankrupt me? Or am I just ashamed that I don't really care!

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

The Forgotten Children...

The children of the world

The children are the people who will become tomorrow’s leaders and adult population. Their existence is very important for our honour and fulfilled human duty. Children are also humanity’s symbol of all virtue.

It is almost tempting to suggest that sufficient nurturing and support of children is a lasting solution to most current and future problems facing the world. Children are the ultimate gift between two people who love each other and also the world that needs them for its lasting prosperity. Without children, the future becomes non-existent and ultimately lacks meaning. The children are a real symbol and point of reference on how to live a completely truthful, happy and contended life.

Unfortunately, the children are the most at risk of the human unit. Children of the world are literary at the mercy of their parents, as well as the vibrancy and shape of the community they reside in. We are a fragmented world, our people suffer, and our people die for mostly escapable causes of death. We are all children but the vulnerable are the very young simply because they are unable to fend for themselves being at a stage of complete dependence.

A large number of parents are not prepared sufficiently in order to handle life’s challenges with a confidence that will benefit children. This happens as a result of various adverse realities that inevitably affect the general wellbeing and growth of the children. The children of the world are definitely and usually at the receiving of these harsh realities.

The Asia-Pacific, Africa and America have a fair share of surmountable and unacceptable problems that affect children. A recent study reveals that children, especially those who are located in these regions are the ones most affected by the impact of poor or unclean water supply and sanitation when compared to the effects of the outcome of war.

Across the world many children miss out on their education because:

• they are made to work,
• they are recruited into armed forces,
• their families do not have the means to pay for schooling,
• discrimination and racism undermine their chance to receive an education,
• they face violence as they pursue their education.

The list is endless and is threatened by continual growth unless thorough measures are implemented throughout the globe. Far too many children of the world live such undignified lives. Should the children continue to live such undignified lives?

Proverb Etiquette

Monday, April 19, 2010

Further response to the Age Article

Hi my name is Matthew Brine and I am the Director of The Fundraising People.

You could say I have a slight bias on this subject but after 11 years of passionate dedication to the raising of vital funds for awesome NFP’s I feel I have the right to get on my soap box in response to this rather misleading article.
I started my fundraising adventure back in 1999 as a street fundraiser on the mean streets of London and I fell in love with the idea that we can make a difference in our short time on this planet. In the past 11 years I am clear my efforts have made a difference after raising millions of dollars and pounds for many vital NFP’s.

I have worked with 100’s of the so unfairly named “chuggers” and the one common characteristic present in these passionate young people is their desire to make a difference to the people of this planet. They do not do it for money or for their ego, they do it make a positive contribution. And YES they are paid as they to, have to pay the bills, just like you...
Face-to-face fundraising remains the most profitable way for charities to raise money and increase their donor databases. Regular giving supporters become the lifeblood of the charity, increasing awareness, income, advocacy, the number of volunteers and most importantly secures the future of the organisation.
I find articles of this nature very disrespectful to fundraising staff, highly skilled individuals who take their responsibility to their charities very seriously and thus would not continually invest in activities that weren’t beneficial to the cause. Please, please, please give these people the respect they deserve!

Finally for those people who disagree with what we do, all we ask is that you say “no thank you” and we will in return, BEAM you a smile and throw you a “have a nice day!”

Wednesday, October 28, 2009



Sorry people but it’s time to wake up. The days of Harold Bishop busting out his tuba to earn a little coin for the Salvos are over. Who is going to volunteer to do this job full time? Charities need money, lots of it, and these agencies deliver.


The reality is that this is the most efficient way of recruiting regular givers.


It’s terribly assumptive to insinuate charities are getting duped by marketing companies. I don’t think they feel that way, in fact they have all made well informed decisions to employ professional fundraisers to bring is some serious cash. Maybe Daniel Flitton needs to apologise to the guys down at Oxfam whose intelligence he’s publicly undermined.

It’s mentioned that people don’t know how much of their money goes to the charity. Well why not let them know? That 95% is ONLY THE FIRST YEAR, the average supporter stays on for 4 years so it turns out somewhere around 20%. And there are frequently bequests and pledges increases to boot. Not bad hey?

So jump on board and cut these guys some slack, they raise money for charity after all!