Why has Relationship Fundraising Failed? With Ken Burnett

Why do people give?

I'm back with another episode of Two Ps on a Pod with Giles Pegram CBE, and one of my favourite fundraisers, Ken Burnett. In today's episode you'll hear that we chat about the brand-new edition of Ken’s fantastic book on donor-centred fundraising, Relationship Fundraising.

You'll hear that we don't tell Ken how brilliant the book is (it is brilliant). Instead, we look critically at why Relationship Fundraising has failed! After all, there are very few significant charities that practice it today.

Despite evidence supporting Relationship Fundraising as the sole long-term strategy guaranteed to boost lifetime and legacy giving, its widespread adoption seems to have been hindered by the delayed realisation of its benefits.

This means that the new broom or innovation FOMO (fear of missing out) syndrome can easily destroy its impact, way before the rewards are felt.

But I can vouch for Relationship Fundraising. Over Bluefrog’s history, we have seen the benefits of implementing it for many of our long-term clients. Even at times of crisis (pandemic, the invasion of Ukraine and economic downturns) we have been able to grow income for charities that follow its guidelines.

I have also seen what happens when innovations or rebrands are introduced without giving thought to donors' needs. That’s when we see income stagnate and go into decline – even in the face of increased spending.

The fact is it takes about two years for a “new creative or strategic direction” to have a significant negative impact on a previously well-run relationship fundraising programme. Donors are, after all, pretty forgiving. That’s enough time for the collective memory in the charity to grow dim and fuzzy, loosening the ties to the original strategy as decline is now accepted as the ‘new normal’. What usually follows is a series of lurches from one new creative solution to another as a charity tries to regain the growth that was once taken for granted.

If you’ve read the first or second edition of Relationship Fundraising, there is plenty of new insight in the new volume. Ken focuses on the donor experience and covers my favourite area of fundraising – thanking. He also takes a deeper strategic view, as you’ll hear in our conversation, where he considers the importance of developing a strong and supportive organisational culture.

You can buy a copy of Relationship Fundraising through Ken’s website – kenburnett.com or you can get a free copy by answering Giles' question, which you’ll find towards the end of the podcast which is, What is the most interesting thing you can do with Two Ps?

Make of that what you will!

Answer in the comments on Youtube or email Giles at [e-mail] or me at [e-mail]. We’ll announce the winner at the end of September.
Happy listening!