Amazon Axes AmazonSmile

Is your charity signed up to AmazonSmile? If so, and you didn’t get the memo, we hate to be the bearers of bad news, but the online shopping giant has announced it’s scrapping the scheme, as of February 20.

In an email to customers, the retailer said AmazonSmile, (an online donation service which enables shoppers to donate to a charity of their choice when making purchases), “had not grown to create the impact that we had originally hoped,” adding “with so many eligible organisations — more than 1 million globally — our ability to have an impact was often spread too thin.”

A financial blow

Amazon’s announcement has left thousands of local and national UK charities wondering how they are going to replace the funding which has been a lifeline, particularly amid the backdrop of the cost-of-living crisis.

Two charities that have relied on the extra income stream are the RSPCA, and the Royal British Legion, who raised £430,000 and £310,000 respectively, through the scheme.

The good news

However, it’s not all doom and gloom. For one thing, Amazon has pledged to provide participating AmazonSmile charities with a one-time donation equivalent to three months of what they earned in 2022 through the programme (to help with the transition).

Secondly, there’s a plethora of other brands that provide a similar service.

Here’s a few for starters:

easyfundraising

easyfundraising has raised over £43 million for thousands of causes across the U.K since launching in 2005.

The brand makes money through affiliate marketing. The brand has over 7,000 retail partners, including John Lewis, M&S, Expedia, Amazon, eBay, and all the major supermarkets. Each time a sale is made through the easyfundraising website, the retail partner pays them a commission, at least 50% of which is passed on to a charity of the shopper’s choice.

Charities can register on the site, and it’s free to use. Providing they have raised over £15, easyfundraising totals up all the donations raised by those supporting every three months and sends them by bank transfer or cheque. There’s no charge for this. If £15 hasn’t been raised in the previous three months, the amount rolls into the next payment.

FundUgive2

This unique company is putting a charitable spin on the mortgage market.

FundUgive2 offers free advice to help clients re-mortgage and save money.

The best part? When customers re-mortgage through them, the organisation donates 25% of the fees they receive from lenders to a charity of the customer’s choice.

They make the donations through Work for Good, which is free for charities to sign up to.

Charitable Travel

Charitable Travel is a social enterprise travel agency. They donate around half of the commission they make on each holiday to charity. Customers can also choose to donate 5% of their holiday price to a charity of their choice, providing it is registered on JustGiving. Once the donation has been paid, the organisation discounts the cost of their holiday by 5%, effectively making the customer’s donation free.

The organisation also offers a range of marketing and promotional opportunities for its charity partners (including free promotion in its magazine).

Looking for a talented fundraiser to help you identify alternative income streams? We can help. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 to get the process started!

Are you a Disability Confident Employer?

Over 7.7 million people of working age in the UK are disabled or have a health condition.

Many of them are more than able to work, but the disability employment gap (which measures the difference between the employment rate of disabled people, compared to that of non-disabled people) is sitting at 29%, meaning that more than two million qualified candidates are missing out on job opportunities, and employers are missing out on top talent.

Industry leaders

The good news is research shows that charities have consistently been ahead of the pack when it comes to recruiting disabled workers. The number of disabled people employed in the charity sector has risen from 14.1% to 20.6% in the last decade. Compared to a 15.4% average across other sectors in the UK.

The stats are encouraging but there’s room for improvement …

Want to improve the stats andwiden your candidate pool? You can start by becoming a disability confident employer.

The Disability Confident Scheme

The Disability Confident scheme is a free, voluntary government initiative designed to support organisations in employing and retaining disabled people.

Developed by employers and disabled people’s representatives, it was introduced to increase understanding of and challenge attitudes towards disability and remove barriers to ensure disabled people are able to reach their full potential in the workplace.

The scheme has three levels of accreditation. All employers start at Level 1 and progress through the others at their own pace.

Level 1: Disability Confident Committed

Level 2: Disability Confident Employer

Level 3: Disability Confident Leader

The benefits of becoming Disability Confident

Encouraging applications can help you to:

• Increase the number of high-quality applicants applying for roles

• Create a workforce that reflects the diverse range of customers it serves and the community in which it is based

• Improve staff morale, commitment, and loyalty by demonstrating that you treat all employees fairly

Simply put, being Disability Confident could help you discover someone your business just can’t do without.

How to make your recruitment process more accessible

If you want to find out more about the scheme and sign up, you can do so here. In the meantime, here are a few things you can do to make your recruitment process more accessible.

Ensure your hiring staff have disability awareness training

Unconscious bias can come into play when assessing or interviewing applicants with disabilities. By providing appropriate training, you’ll reduce the likelihood of discrimination.

Training can also avoid staff unintentionally offending disabled applicants by using inappropriate language and/or etiquette.

It goes without saying, if you’re using a recruiter, it’s important they understand the disability employment market.

Make it clear you want a diverse workforce

Disabled people might be put off applying for jobs over concerns that their accessibility needs won’t be met during the interview process, so make it clear in your job adverts that you’ll make adjustments where needed.

Make your job adverts accessible

It’s important that people with disabilities can read your job ads, so make sure they’re posted on websites that are compatible with screen readers. If you don’t, your ads will be inaccessible to some applicants, (such as those with sight impairments). You should also make the information available in different formats such as audio format, braille, and large print.

Make the interview accessible

Ahead of the interview process, ask applicants if they have any access requirements and make adjustments as necessary. And if the interview involves a test, be clear about what is involved and ensure candidates have access to any adjustments they might need (e.g., dyslexic candidates may need extra time, sight impaired candidates may need assistive technology). This will ensure no-one is unfairly disadvantaged.

Here are some things to consider:

Create an accessible environment

Is your building accessible? Do you have an access ramp? Are there any stairs people in wheelchairs or with vision impairment should be aware of? Is the physical space for the interview large enough to welcome a person in a wheelchair?

If there are barriers for wheelchair users, can you conduct the interview by video call instead?

Provide a quiet area for candidates to wait before the interview

A quiet waiting area can help people with disabilities feel more at ease. Candidates with Autism Spectrum Disorder (ASD), for example, can be sensitive to noise and their surroundings. A bustling waiting room could make them uncomfortable, which is not going to put them in the right mindset to ace an interview.

Offer the opportunity to break

For some people with disabilities, concentrating for long periods of time can be challenging. So let them know at the beginning of the interview that they can ask for a break whenever they need one.

Final Word

Recruiting disabled staff isn’t an act of charity - it’s what smart employers are doing to get ahead of the competition.

We have a diverse pool of candidates ready and willing to help your charity grow. Call us on 0203 750 3111 to discuss your requirements.

GivenGain

When COVID-19 broke out, much of the world moved online, accelerating a digital transformation that had been underway for decades. It affected every industry, including the charity sector. For fundraising, it meant the adoption of new tech and a greater reliance on digital platforms. This led to a boom in online fundraising platforms.

Today, there are loads to choose from, but we’ve come across one platform we feel stands head and shoulders above the rest. Allow us to introduce GivenGain.

What is GivenGain?

GivenGain is a global, not-for-profit online social fundraising platform that helps charities maximise donations by empowering supporters to fundraise on their behalf.

The app, which utilises cutting-edge technology, enables charities to receive donations from anywhere in the world, in multiple currencies. As a result, they work with organisations across 80 countries, enabling donors to fundraise in over 190 locations.

Since launching in 2001, the platform has helped high-profile global charities such as WWF, Médecins Sans Frontières and Unicef, raise hundreds of millions of pounds.

Why GivenGain?

You know the old adage, “it’s more blessed to give than to receive?” The folk at GivenGain live and breathe this, as they don’t profit from your fundraising. Instead, they reinvest every penny into the development of the platform and helping to set up charities in South Africa.

In addition, the platform, and all the donations made through it are managed by the GivenGain Foundation. The reason for this is the Founders believe that “managing donations through a supervised Foundation creates greater transparency and value for the global non-profit community.”

Managing the platform through a Foundation also means GivenGain can't be bought out or swallowed up by a larger platform, so you can rest assured it’s here to stay.  

Benefits of GivenGain

• Global platform

• Easy-to-use

• Provides support in multiple languages

• Accepts donations in multiple currencies

• Their API can easily integrate with any website, database, or CRM

• Split charity donation function

• No subscription or campaign fees

The app comes with expert fundraising advice and custom-branded fundraising materials to make the fundraising process even easier

GivenGain Giving Back

As an employer, the GivenGain foundation provides employees with an additional 12 days of paid leave each year to volunteer with a charity of their choice, anywhere in the world. Nice touch eh?

What About Fees?

Set-up fees? Nope

Subscription fees? Nah.

Campaign fees? Nada.

The GivenGain Foundation collects a 5% admin fee from each donation, which is used to build new tools and features to improve the platform. There’s also a transaction fee to cover the costs from banks and credit card companies. But that’s it.

What next?

Want to find out more about GivenGain? Send Will Irwin an email at will.irwin@givengain.com, or give him a call on 07811110023.

Alternatively, you can jump right in and register your charity here.

And of course, if you need some help recruiting talented digital fundraisers to manage the tech, don’t hesitate to get in touch on 0203 750 3111 or info@bamboofundraising.co.uk.

7 reasons to give candidates interview questions ahead of time

Few people enjoy interviews. Sure, some people thrive on them, but for the vast majority, the process of the interview, and the anticipation of it, brings an overwhelming sense of dread and stress.

And it’s no surprise. Not only do we walk into an interview knowing we’re being judged on our appearance, demeanour, and ability to sell ourselves – we’re going in blind. At most, we know when and where to show up and, if we’re lucky, who we’ll be meeting. The rest is guesswork.

Sure, we do what we can to prepare: Review the job description, check out the organisation, and prepare answers for questions we think will be asked, but it’s impossible to second guess everything.

No matter how much prep we do, there’s a very real fear of being caught out and looking foolish. No wonder 93% of us experience job interview anxiety.

All change …

However, the interview landscape is shifting. Hiring managers are realising that they’re not going to get the best out of interviewees by keeping them in the dark and there’s a growing trend for sharing interview questions with candidates in advance.

You may think this defeats the point of an interview, but, unless you’re recruiting for a job where the primary responsibility will be answering difficult questions with no time to prepare, surprising candidates in an interview is not a good way to figure out if they'll be a good fit for your organisation.

Here are seven reasons why:

1.     It creates a level and fair playing field

Every candidate has the same information and an equal chance of succeeding. It also negates the problem of over-preparing and focusing time and energy on the wrong things.

2.     It shows candidates you’re empathetic

It tells candidates you appreciate interviews are tough, and you’re doing what you can reduce the pain. It also levels the power dynamic between candidate and organisation. 

3.     It reduces candidates’ stress

Allowing candidates to prepare and not putting them on the spot will reduce their anxiety and give you a clearer picture of who they are.

4.     It helps candidates understand what you’re looking for

By telling candidates what you're going to ask, you're giving them insight into the skills and attributes you think they'll need to succeed in the role.

5.     It leads to more thoughtful answers

Candidates have the time and space they need to prepare. They can brush up on skills that may have atrophied but could quickly re-learn. They’ll also be more likely to recall meaningful experiences that provide the best evidence of their capabilities.

6.     It reduces bias

Ensuring all candidates are asked the same questions reduces bias by making it difficult for interviewers to ask softball questions to those they like and curveballs to those they don't.

7.     It’ll make your organisation stand out

Most companies aren’t candid with their interview process. Being transparent signals that you’re fair and empathetic, as mentioned above, thoughtful, organised, and professional.

Final Word

When you have important decisions to make in a meeting, you prepare an agenda, share it, and confirm that people attending the meeting know what’s expected of them. Why should a job interview be any different?

If you want to trial this approach with your next round of interviews and need a little guidance, we can help. Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 to talk tactics.

Does job hopping help or hinder your career?

Back in the day, once you bagged a job, the ‘done thing’ was to stay there and work your way up the ladder until the grand old age of 65 when you retired with a handshake and a gold-plated watch. But times have changed. Today, the average person will have 12 jobs in their lifetime.

It’s common for people to juggle multiple positions and move from organisation to organisation in search of better benefits, more autonomy, or a better salary.

But some people go to the other extreme. Regarded as ‘job hoppers,’ they take on roles at lots of different organisations and stick at them for short periods of time - usually less than two years.

Despite the fact it’s increasingly common for people to job hop, some employers have an unfavourable view of it (and always will).

With this in mind, the ‘million-dollar’ question is: Does job hopping do more harm than good to your career?

Let’s look at the pros and cons and find out.

PROS

Self-discovery

Maybe you’re starting out in your career … you know you want to work in fundraising, but you don’t know what type of fundraiser you want to be. Exploring different options, (such as community, corporate or trust fundraising) can help you identify what you like/don’t like and what you want to specialise in.    

The same goes for organisational culture. Every organisation is different. Job hopping early in your career enables you to test out different environments and work out what the best fit is for you.

Developing skills

In today’s economy, agile learning is essential to compete in the job market. One of the benefits of job hopping is it gives you the chance to develop a diverse range of skills.  

Every time you change organisation, you build relationships with a new team and learn a new way of doing things. This hones communication and adaptability skills, (both considered valuable soft skills), as you adjust to your new working environment.

Broadening your network

Providing you conduct yourself professionally, and quit your jobs gracefully, regular job-hopping can do wonders for your professional network. As you move from one charity to another, your ever-expanding list of contacts can open up doors to fundraising collaborations/opportunities in the future.

CONS

Risky investment

Some employers see job hoppers as a risky investment. After all, hiring new staff is costly and time-consuming. If your CV shows you’re likely to move on again in a year or two, they may be reluctant to invest time and resources in hiring and training you.

Less in-depth knowledge

As mentioned above, frequent job changers have the benefit of possessing a wide variety of skills, but how in-depth are those skills?

When you move from one charity to another within a short space of time, you also limit the learning opportunities that occur when you work for one organisation for an extended period of time.

It can weaken your CV

Moving from job to job limits your potential to create an impact. If you can’t demonstrate your achievements on your CV, employers will probably opt for someone who can.

How can you reduce the chances of job hopping hurting your job hunt?

If the ‘cons’ have made you break into a cold sweat, don’t panic. According to the Monster Future of Work: 2021 Outlook survey, 49% of employers said that job hopping is becoming less of a red flag due to current market conditions.’

However, if you’ve switched jobs a few times in a few years, you need to be prepared to talk about it. Here are a few tips to help you navigate the conversation …

Be transparent

Whether you’ve had a string of bad luck or moved around in search of your true calling, the best way to handle the questioning is to be honest. Maybe you were pursuing the next great opportunity. Or you had to escape a toxic boss. Or you were subject to forces outside your control, like a layoff.

Whatever the reason, be up front about it.

Keep it short and sweet

Offer a short explanation of why you left each job. There’s no need to provide long-winded explanations or give a play-by-play of how things went down.

It’s a good idea to craft ‘exit statements’ – (simple explanations as to why you left each job) in 25 words or less. For example: “When I got settled into my position, I realized the work I was doing wasn’t what was described in the job ad,” or, “I wanted to develop my skills in a new area, and the charity didn’t have an opportunity for me to do that.”

Focus on results

Emphasise your achievements and how they helped the organisation thrive. Did you start an event that they now run annually? Did you exceed your fundraising targets? Or form a new team? Whatever you have to share, make it clear you left your mark in each role.

Final Word

Whether you’re a job hopper or not, we can help you find your dream fundraising job. Give us a call 020 3750 3111 to get started!