Sunday, October 11, 2015

One Photo Can Change the World

It's been nearly six weeks since the powerful image of Aylan Kurdi made the news.  This incredible image showed his small lifeless body, which had been washed up on a beach in Turkey.  It was an image that stopped us all in our tracks. 

This heart wrenching image tells a tragic story.  His parents, who had fled from the conflict in their home in Syria, had been struggling to make ends meet in Turkey.  They decided to risk everything to give their children a better chance at life.  They took their two young sons on a midnight dinghy ride from Turkey to Greece.  But the powerful waves were too strong and swamped the boat, tossing its passengers into the sea a mile offshore.  Aylan, his brother, his mother, all lost their lives that night.

Their story is not a new one.  More than 3,000 refugees have died crossing the Mediterranean to Europe already this year.   Many have drowned.  Some of been crushed by stampedes, others asphyxiated by boat engine fumes. And this has been going on for years.  And for years the media have published photos of Syrian refugees - dead, wounded, and distressed.  But none of them have moved us the way this one has. This photo broke through the clutter - and it hit people not in the head - but in the heart.  It is impossible to say why this one photo has had such an impact - it is not the first image of an innocent young victim of this crisis - but it is an image that has changed the world.

In the wake of this photo, the world is reacting.  The New York times is reporting that in America donations for refugees are surging, and nations are demanding more from their leaders.  More financial support, but also by opening their boarders to accept more refugees.  Donations in the UK have been pouring in, when at the end of August it was being reported that trust in charity was at an 8 year low.

As a sector - its our job to bring these real stories to the world. It is our responsibility to tell the stories of individuals, like Aylan, and so many others, and to give people the opportunity to respond.  While the impact of this photo seems unrepeatable, I don't believe that it is.  I have been incredibly moved by the stories of refugees that have been shared over the past few weeks not by the news, not by charities supporting refugees, but by Brandon, the amazing photographer who is Humans of New York.  Humans of New York went to Europe to see the Refugee Crisis firsthand, and the stories and images he shared are some of the most powerful I have ever seen. 

Please - if your cause works with refugees - share the stories of the victims of this crisis.  The real, horrible stories.  The ones that once herd, people can't forget.  The ones that disrupt someone's day.  The ones that will inspire action. 

And no matter what cause you fundraise for - remember the impact of a single image, and the powerful way a photo can  tell a complex story. 

Wednesday, September 9, 2015

What we can learn from Olive

Last week, I was fortunate enough to be able to attend the F&P Forum here in Sydney.  This years keynote, Mark Phillips, is someone I have been following for quite some time.  He's a brilliant fundraiser, and CEO and founder of Bluefrog - an agency based in England, and doing amazing work around the world.

Mark spoke a lot about what is happening in the UK, following the tragic death of Olive Cook, a beautiful 92 year old woman from Bristol, who ended her life in May when she jumped from a bridge.  Olive was a volunteer and donated to a large number of charities, and the newspaper picked up on the amount of requests she was getting to give more, both through the mail and over the phone, and cited this pressure to be the reason she chose to end her life. 

You can read some of what is being said in these articles from the Daily Mail, the Telegraph, and the Guardian.  British daytime television show This Morning even created the hashtag #charityonslaught and ran a special feature on the fact that kind people are being bombarded with unwanted mail from charities asking for money. 

The truth is, we will never know what caused Olive to jump from that bridge.  And while I believe it is a pretty big stretch to assume that it was because of the requests that she was receiving from charities, I do think Olive's death should be a reminder to all of us to look at the ways we are asking for donations.

There is no doubt that aggressive fundraising techniques will raise money for charity.  Money that is desperately needed, and money that is being used to make our world a better place.  However, when these techniques are then used by multiple charities, a small number of our most generous donors are being put under an overwhelming amount of pressure. And many of these beautiful, incredible people find it difficult to say no. 

I know, as a sector, we have to be cautious not to react too quickly or drastically when we hear a story like Olives. If we stop asking for money, we won't be able to accomplish our mission and to serve the beneficiaries who are relying on our support. 

However, I do think we should pay attention to what is happening.  And I think that as a sector we need to constantly strive to be better.  I think we can start by looking at our current communications and the relationships we have with our donors.  What are we giving them, that they would miss if that relationship didn't exist?  Are we thanking them? Really genuinely thanking them?  Are we telling them about the impact that their donation is making, and explaining to them how it is making this world a better place to live?  Are we giving donors a reason to connect to our cause and our mission, or are they giving because they are good people who just can't say no? And are we confident in the fundraising tactics that we are using - and willing and prepared to explain those tactics to our donors? To the press? To our critics?

There was an opinion article in the guardian this week, A Message to Big Charities, which urged charities to stop groveling and sand up for themselves, and I think it is on point in so many ways.  We are incredibly lucky to do what we do.  We get the incredible opportunity to connect beautiful people with opportunities to change our world.  We need to ensure that our fundraising is responsible.  And if it is, we need to stop apologizing for what we do, and start telling the world why our charity matters. It is our responsibility to raise money for the causes and people who are relying on us.  And there is no shame in that.