The Fundraising Everywhere Podcast

What's The ROI Of Corporate Fundraising?

What does return on investment actually look like in corporate fundraising — and what can the numbers tell us about strategy? In this episode, host Simon Scriver brings together Caroline Richardson (Lark Owl) and Andy King (Fireside Fundraising) to dig into Caroline's latest benchmarking research on corporate partnerships. What does return on investment actually look like in corporate fundraising — and what can the numbers tell us about strategy?

They explore why more charities than ever are doing corporate fundraising, what the data reveals about success rates (including why 50% of respondents had a 100% success rate — and why that's not necessarily the full story), and how ROI for corporate partnerships is trending. Caroline and Andy also unpack the key strategic difference between a high-volume and a quality-over-quantity approach, why corporate fundraising has more in common with major gifts than trusts, and why it's very much a team sport.

Caroline and Andy also discuss:
- ROI
- Percentage of charities actually doing corporate fundraising
- Success rates
- Differences between large and small charities
- Differences between 2025 and 2026

• Caroline's newsletter, The Nest Egg
• Fireside Fundraising research on why companies give

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit follow and enable notifications so you'll get notified to be first to hear of future podcast episodes. We'd love to see you back again!

And thank you to our friends at JustGiving who make the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast possible.

Getting Your Digital Engine Room In Order: Meta, Google And Email

The digital fundraising landscape is changing. How are you navigating it? If you get your digital engine room (Meta, Google and Email) in order, then you can continue to get value out of digital, despite the ongoing restrictions put on charity advertisers looking to grow their share of voice and share of money.

Join Josh Leigh, Director at Hynt in this session that will equip attendees with practical strategies and tools to navigate the ongoing changes in digital advertising: charities need to know WHY they exist, and work in the middle of the marketing funnel to bring it to life.

Key learnings from this session:
Participants will understand how the ongoing restrictions on digital advertising are affecting charities.
You will learn how to create effective campaigns that leverage your charity’s value to grow consideration and create deeper value through digital retention.

Are you ready to gain actionable insights and tools to implement immediately?

Don't forget to join us at our Digital Fundraising Conference, happening on the 9th July 2026, learn more here

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit follow and enable notifications so you'll get notified to be first to hear of future podcast episodes. We'd love to see you back again!

And thank you to our friends at JustGiving who make the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast possible.

Email isn't Dead: How to Make It Your Fundraising Superpower

Is email the most underrated tool in your fundraising toolkit? In this episode, host Simon Scriver sits down with Anya Muir Wood, Head of Creative at Forward Action, to explore why email deserves far more attention than it gets — and how to make it work harder for your cause.
Anya shares how Forward Action takes a data-led, human-first approach to email fundraising, helping organisations of all sizes move from sporadic sends to strategic, story-driven campaigns that genuinely connect with supporters.

They cover:

• Why fear of unsubscribes is holding your email programme back
• How to overcome the blank page and write emails people actually want to open
• The power of honesty, urgency, and a single clear ask
• Where AI fits in (and where it doesn't) for creative email teams
• How to build an email content plan even with limited capacity

Anya also gives a preview of her session at the Digital Fundraising Conference on 9th July — "Six Email Tactics That Make Supporters Fall in Love With Your Cause" — packed with practical, steal-worthy ideas you can put into action straight away.

Links & Resources:

• Forward Action website
• Join us at our Digital Fundraising Conference

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit follow and enable notifications so you'll get notified to be first to hear of future podcast episodes. We'd love to see you back again!

And thank you to our friends at JustGiving who make the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast possible.

Feeling the Data: Measuring Emotion in Individual Giving

What does it actually feel like to be a donor — and why does it matter more than you think?

In this episode, host Simon Scriver is joined by Steven Dodds (Managing Director) and Paul Seabrook (CEO) of Beautiful Insights, a full-service market research agency specialising in the charity sector. Together they explore one of the most overlooked challenges in fundraising: how do you measure the emotional experience of your supporters, not just the financial data?

The conversation covers:

• Why satisfaction alone doesn't predict donor loyalty or generosity
• The SAFE Index — Beautiful Insights' benchmarking tool for measuring non-financial supporter KPIs
• How donors often vividly remember why they first gave, but rarely recall anything about the ongoing supporter experience
• Why feeling "useful" might actually be a warning sign in your donor data
• How charities can compete with commercial brands that have mastered emotional advertising
• The difference between transactional stewardship and communications that genuinely move people

This episode sets the scene for Steven and Paul's session at the upcoming Individual Giving Conference, where they'll dive deeper into the specific emotions that drive donor retention — and which ones should have your attention.

Find out more about the SAFE Index and Beautiful Insights at beautifulinsights.com
Join us at our Individual Giving Conference 2026

 

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit follow and enable notifications so you'll get notified to be first to hear of future podcast episodes. We'd love to see you back again!

And thank you to our friends at JustGiving who make the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast possible.

Reflections on Fundraising Everywhere's Supporter Experience Conference

In this episode, host Simon Scriver is joined by Natasha Evans (About Loyalty & Your Experience May Vary podcast) and David Amos-Reeves (Prostate Cancer UK & Experience Hub) to reflect on Fundraising Everywhere's recent Supporter Experience Conference.

Together, they unpack some of the conference's key themes - including the "relevancy crisis" facing charities, why so many organisations struggle to turn their commitment to supporter experience into real organisational change, and what it truly means to reflect a supporter's motivations back to them.

They also explore the differences between large and small charities when it comes to delivering great supporter experiences, share standout moments from the conference (including a powerful session on storytelling from Lisa at Fireside Fundraising), and look ahead to what's coming; from AI's role in closing the relevancy gap, to protecting the irreplaceable human element in fundraising.

Members can watch the Supporter Experience Conference sessions On Demand
Not a member? Check out our membership options here

Find Natasha and David's podcast, Your Experience May Vary
Check out The Experience Hub
Connect with David
Connect with Natasha

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit follow and enable notifications so you'll get notified to be first to hear of future podcast episodes. We'd love to see you back again!

And thank you to our friends at JustGiving who make the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast possible.

Community fundraising: The key to your career development and charity growth

Here's a session from Community Conference 2025, hosted by Nikki Bell.
With speakers: Bushra Ahmed from Lloyds Bank Foundation, Kerry Thomas from Pancreatic Cancer UK, Gemma Sherington from Refuge, Lauren Williams from Age UK

Community Fundraising can help kickstart your career. Don’t believe us? Then hear from four sector leaders, each with very different and inspiring careers as they share how their experiences working in partnership with communities and in community fundraising have helped them be where they are today.

From CEO to board member, to heading up fundraising teams and working across services, our four panellists will share their insight, expertise and learnings that we hope will inspire you in your career path. This session is not to missed!

Our Community Fundraising Conference is back on the 17th June! Learn more here

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit follow and enable notifications so you'll get notified to be first to hear of future podcast episodes. We'd love to see you back again!

And thank you to our friends at JustGiving who make the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast possible.

Making Sense of the ICO Soft Opt-in Guidance: What it says, what it means, and what to do about it.

The charitable soft opt-in ICO guidance has just landed.

For many charities, this is the biggest shift in supporter communications rules in years.

And our inbox and membership chat are already full of questions:

• Does event attendance count as expressing interest?
• What about volunteering, buying a raffle ticket, or clicking a link?
• Can we now contact people we previously couldn’t?

And just as importantly…Where are the grey areas charities need to tread carefully?
To help the sector unpack all of this quickly, we’re hosting a session with Mark Burnett from Hope & May.

Get access to the full webinar & 30 minute Q&A.

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit follow and enable notifications so you'll get notified to be first to hear of future podcast episodes. We'd love to see you back again!

And thank you to our friends at JustGiving who make the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast possible.

Meet Zosia - The AI Fundraiser

What happens when you hand your fundraising campaign over to an AI?

In this episode, Host Simon Scriver speaks with Ben Cohen, AI Lead at Good Innovation, about a bold experiment he ran during his London Marathon fundraising campaign. Rather than host another bingo night or curry evening, Ben built Zosia; an AI agent - and gave her one job: raise £500 in a month.

Ben shares how he set Zosia up with her own email address, a website, a newsletter, and even a Telegram connection, then gave her as much autonomy as possible. The results were remarkable (she raised nearly £2,000), but not without a few surprises along the way - including the moment she tried to break into his WhatsApp.

They explore what it really means to build an AI agent, why personifying your AI can actually make it work better, and what this experiment reveals about the future of fundraising.

Ben's donation page For Dogs for Good
Meet Zosia
Want to dive deeper into supporter experience? Join us at our Supporter Experience Conference on Thursday 21st May 2026

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit follow and enable notifications so you'll get notified to be first to hear of future podcast episodes. We'd love to see you back again!

And thank you to our friends at JustGiving who make the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast possible.

Richer supporter communications whatever your budget

Are you looking to make your emails stand out in ever busier inboxes? It’s time to step away from the humdrum and get creative. In this session the mobilisation agency Claire Donner of More Onion will take you through the key elements of the creative process including practical exercises and ideas you can take away and use with your team right away. They’ll share how you create richer experiences whatever your budget and team size.
Patrick Beswick of the homelessness charity St Mungo’s will then share examples of how they’ve used creativity to step up their supporter engagement and strengthen their fundraising work.

Join us to learn how to add elements of interactivity, creativity and humour to make your emails and webpages stand out and keep supporters engaged.

Key learning from this session:
How to be creative at any budget level and create richer supporter communications.

Want to dive deeper into supporter experience? Join us at our Supporter Experience Conference on Thursday 21st May 2026

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit follow and enable notifications so you'll get notified to be first to hear of future podcast episodes. We'd love to see you back again!

And thank you to our friends at JustGiving who make the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast possible.

Careers in Corporate Fundraising

This episode with Harbi Jama, Director of Philanthropy and Partnerships at Impetus is designed for people considering a career in corporate partnerships or corporate fundraising, as well as those already in the field who are looking to take the next step in their career. Drawing on real-world experience, the discussion will explore what it takes to build successful corporate partnerships, develop commercially minded fundraising skills, and progress into senior leadership roles.

Participants will gain practical advice on career pathways, skill development, and strategic decision-making, including how to position themselves for growth, navigate career transitions, and build strong relationships with corporate partners. The session will also offer honest insights into the realities of the sector, helping attendees make informed choices about what to do next and how to accelerate their impact.

Key learnings from this session
By the end of this session, participants will:
- Understand the different career pathways into corporate partnerships and corporate fundraising
- Gain clarity on the skills, experiences, and mindsets needed to progress at different career stages
- Learn how to build and manage strong corporate relationships, from first conversation to long-term partnership
- Receive practical advice on what to do next to accelerate their career, whether entering the sector or aiming for leadership roles
- Hear honest insights into the realities, challenges, and opportunities of corporate fundraising
- Leave with greater confidence in how to position themselves, grow their network, and maximise impact

Click here to subscribe to our email list for exclusive fundraising resources, early access to training, special discounts and more

If you enjoyed this episode, don't forget to hit follow and enable notifications so you'll get notified to be first to hear of future podcast episodes. We'd love to see you back again!

And thank you to our friends at JustGiving who make the Fundraising Everywhere Podcast possible.