By now, you've probably come up with a method of keeping track of the blogs you're interested in, whether that's a list of bookmarks you visit daily, or a newsreader like NetNewsWire or a Windows equivalent.

If you've defaulted to using a list of bookmarks, consider giving Bloglines a try. It's a browser-based application (so there's no software to download) and it will replace all those bookmarks with just one site where you can catch up with all you reading. It works like this: you set up an account, and are given a bookmark link to 'Subscribe with Bloglines'. When you visit a new blog and want to keep track of it, hit this bookmark and it adds the site to your list of subscriptions.

Then, each lunchtime as you enjoy your sandwich, or whenever it is you catch up with blog-reading, you just visit your Bloglines account. When the number of subscriptions gets unwieldy, you can organise them into folders - mine looks like this (click to enlarge). The bold numbers show how many new posts in each folder there are to read. The plain numbers in brackets show the posts that I've clicked to 'save', so I can come back to them and read again.

Of course, conscientious professional that you are, you'll be looking for lots of interesting blogs to read on the subject of non-profit marketing. Once you've added Whitewater, you could do worse than starting your search with a list of every website that has taken part in the Carnival of Non-Profit Consultants over the last year.

And let us know if you have any other 'must reads'!

Anna Crofton

Posted by Whitewater Team at 09:56 AM | Permalink

The NSPCC has appointed the agency Whitewater to help develop its legacy fundraising. The appointment follows the NSPCC's creation of a new strategic legacy directorate, designed to maximise legacy income after the FULL STOP appeal.

The agency will work in partnership with the new team at the NSPCC and will help create and drive a campaign across its supporters and to the wider market. Development Director for Legacy Fundraising, Stephen George said: "We want to apply our learning from FULL STOP and give this special way of giving some new energy, commitment and creativity."

"We are developing a fresh approach to legacies with a strong emphasis on the donor and to enable our staff and volunteers to have a natural and inspiring conversation with anyone about how a gift in their will can help children. We are delighted to be working with Whitewater who share our vision to create something special."

Whitewater's appointment follows a four-way pitch. The agency will work with the NSPCC to develop a clear legacy proposition, an integrated approach across the whole organisation, an internal campaign with the NSPCC's closest supporters and a wider marketing campaign in the New Year. It will also involve a tribute fund element and will support the NSPCC's newly developed common legacy approach.

Chairman of Whitewater, Steve Andrews said: "The NSPCC has laid down an extraordinary marker - to do a 'FULL STOP' to legacy marketing and reinvent how charities approach it. Whitewater showed them how this might be done. Together, we expect to achieve great things and we can't wait to start."

Posted by Whitewater Team at 10:52 AM | Permalink

If you've been told that size doesn't matter, it's possible she was just being polite. Nowadays, the little guys are in demand.

Big, established charities may be losing ground in the hearts and minds of the giving public, to charities that are small, focused and less well known. A great illustration of this emergent trend can be seen at The Kitchen Table Charities Trust. It's been set up John Humphrys as an umbrella organisation to promote and vouch for all the small and very deserving organisations it represents. As the man himself says on the site, 'They don’t have swanky offices or air-conditioned Land Rovers or money to spend on expensive advertising. Every penny goes to people in need... I have either seen them myself or know someone who has and can offer an independent assessment.'

It's a sentiment we've seen in Whitewater's focus groups, too. We've frequently heard people saying things like, 'I only give to small charities now': and implying that this is the informed choice.

Large and small charities are equally valuable. Causes need the power and influence of large charities working alongside the 'one problem at time' focus of some of the small ones, and economies of scale can make bigger charities more efficient. The important question is: why is smaller being seen as better by the punters? What makes small charities so attractive? Well, here are some ideas to start the debate:

• Personal impact. Your donation will mean more to a tiny charity - you'll feel like a bigger fish in a smaller pond.
• The real deal Small charities have authenticity, that 'coal face' feeling that many consumers actively seek.
• Trust. People worry about their donations being spent on salaries, admin and fundraising. The bigger the charity, the worse this perception appears to be.
• Need. A small charity seems to need your donation more than big one with reserves stashed in the bank.

There's a lot to learn from the way smaller charities present themselves, particularly if you work for one of the big ones. It's time to get back to basics, to put reality, honesty and passion ahead of corporate guidelines, to stop dodging the earmarking question and give supporters what they want - fresh offers that feel genuinely real and tangible.

Mark Cook

Posted by Whitewater Team at 11:54 AM | Permalink

It was a big night for Whitewater and our clients at the Institute of Fundraising National Awards yesterday. We had three packs short-listed, in two categories, and came away with a double win!

It seems the judges simply could not choose between the welcome pack we developed for ORBIS, and last year's Sutton Fen land purchase appeal for the RSPB (which I wrote about here). So they gave a joint first prize in the category of Best Donor Development Campaign!

Of course, our unbiased opinion is that both pieces richly deserved to win, and we hope that the client teams, account teams, creative and production teams involved are delighted with this recognition of our work.

Anna Crofton

Posted by Whitewater Team at 12:16 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Recently, we beat a long-time ORBIS banker with a wild and wacky paper aeroplane concept. At the same time, for a different client, we ran another mould-breaking concept which crashed, spectacularly, in flames. My idea, embarrassingly.

Which proves what?

Let's go back for a moment to the days of my youth, when the Wright brothers struggled to prove that manned flight had a future. There were plenty of hopeful aviators on crutches after failed attempts at flight. The Flyer herself was built on totally un-aerodynamic principles. She should never have flown.

But she did. Just a few yards. And from there we've gone to the moon and back.

The Wright brothers believed they could fly. They challenged the orthodoxies of the day, and found a way to do it. If we allow ourselves to be discouraged by our failures, we'll never improve - never beat the banker.

So when you hear of another turkey that I'm training to fly, buy me a drink. It may turn out to be an eagle.

Barry Evans

Posted by Whitewater Team at 10:55 AM | Permalink

So six months ago I gave £100 of Steve Andrews' cash to a charity of my choice (no names, no packdrill). I gave online, and apart from a bounceback email from Justgiving, thanking me on behalf of the charity, I have received nothing.

So I thought I'd ask the others at Whitewater what their experiences were…

Out of 46 donations given, it's roughly level: 17 people were either very 'happy' or 'happy', with 20 'unhappy' or 'very unhappy' with what has followed.

Most of the donations were given online, so it seems that half the charities who use this method to take donations haven't got their act together.

We work with charities, so we know they do good work, and the bad experiences we've had aren't down to ungratefulness: more likely inefficient fulfilment for unprompted online donations.

But what about the public? We know there is increasing distrust of large charities, so this isn't just about donors getting p***ed off with one charity. It's about the public's perception of the sector.

What's your online thanking programme like?

Nick Couldry

Posted by Whitewater Team at 11:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)