David Burland is the director of DB Associates, a consultancy firm providing advice services to the voluntary sector, and the former CEO of Shooting Star Chase children’s hospice. Here he presents a quiz he has put together for hospices to consider how they handle fundraising activities.
A couple of months ago I presented a session at the National Association of Hospice Fundraisers conference on this question. This aimed to be somewhat light hearted, but also with a serious side to it. Given that hospices rely on their fundraisers to raise much of their income – the vast majority if you include lotteries and retail – you might assume that the answers would be positive ones.
To find out, I asked the fundraisers present to answer Yes or No to ten questions to see how their hospice scored. The results were somewhat varied – though everyone scored above 0!
If you fancy a go, the full list can be seen via this link. Some relate to structure or strategy, others to culture. Many of the questions are subjective, so try to be as honest as possible. You might even share it with colleagues – or the fundraisers themselves to get their views. There is a somewhat less than scientific rating system at the end for you to judge how your hospice scores.
I should add that the terms ‘fundraising’ and ‘income generation’ are used rather loosely and interchangeably. I used the first one in the title, not least because it was rather easier to find a suitable adjective to follow it with.
Good luck!
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