I met with a fundraising colleague on 30 June, new year’s eve for most Australian charities, and we were monitoring how many charities had reached out to us on the final day of the financial year. I remarked how quiet it had been. I commented I had received a handful of emails asking me to make a gift in the final hours and I shared the fact I received one SMS.
There are over 300 charities I mystery shop and I expected more. Perhaps I am a long lapsed donor to many and perhaps charities are scaling back on the volume of electronic direct marketing, as well as SMS, sent?
Here is the one SMS I received. This SMS is from CARE Australia (not part of mystery shopping).
What did your non-profit organisation do to attract donors to make a gift on the last day of the financial year? If you were in email in boxes, on mobile, you were likely one of the few.
Stephen Mally brings over 30 years of fundraising and non-profit consulting to the project. Having served as a 20-year fundraising veteran in the United States for a variety of health care related charities and hospitals, Stephen transitioned to consulting in Asia-Pacific and in Europe in 2008 where he has consulted with over 500 organisations in those regions gaining a vast amount of diverse exposure to diverse organisations, SRM solutions, fundraising programming and fundraising operations.
Stephen acquired his Certified Fundraising Executive (CFRE) credential in 2012. Less than 150 fundraisers in Australia and New Zealand hold the CFRE credential, which is the first globally recognised credential for fundraising professionals. CFRE International certifies experienced fundraising professionals aspiring to the highest standards of ethics, competence and service to the philanthropic sector.
Stephen was named a Fellow of the Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) in 2017.