Spotlight On: The Not Forgotten

Founded in 1920 for the ‘comfort, cheer and entertainment’ of soldiers wounded in The Great War, The Not Forgotten remains true to its founding principles today.

The charity runs an extensive programme of events, activities, and holidays for wounded and sick serving personnel and disabled veterans from the tri-service community, to improve their physical and mental health, address isolation and loneliness, and promote a sense of fun and community.

What’s on offer?

The charity hosts two prestigious Royal events each year - a Garden party at Buckingham Palace, and a Christmas Tea Party at St James’s Palace. Both events are attended by a senior member of the Royal Family.

They also organise a variety of outings and breaks, from relaxing boat trips to adrenaline-filled skiing trips. These activities provide much-needed fun, relaxation, and the opportunity to make new friends.

Elderly veterans don’t miss out on the fun either, thanks to the charity’s ‘concerts in care homes’ initiative, which sees them arrange dozens of concerts in ex-service care homes throughout England and Scotland.

In addition, The Not Forgotten provides televisions, TV licenses and tablets to ex-service men and women who are unable to attend their events due to mobility issues or disabilities.

Want to captain our fundraising ship? 

We’re working with the charity to help them find a Head of Fundraising. So, if making a positive impact on the lives of ex-servicemen and women floats your boat, check out the role and get in touch today!

Head of Fundraising

• Salary: £50-55k per annum

• Permanent

• Full-time

• London HQ Remote, or Hybrid Available

It’s a great time to join The Not Forgotten, as they’re currently in a period of rapid and positive change. Armed with a new CEO, and new organisational & fundraising strategies, they’ve never been better set-up to capitalise on what makes them great and deliver even more benefit to those they support.

Looking to step into your first fundraising leadership role? This could be the perfect opportunity for you! Initially, you’ll be working tactically with the CEO to implement current plans and get the fundraising programme ready for change, then transition into a more strategic leadership role to develop longer-term plans.

You’ll lead on fundraising strategy and activity and the development of the fundraising team, and review the charity’s existing portfolio of fundraising events, with the view to modernise and improve them.

With a healthy fundraising income of c.£1m, this role isn’t about achieving significant financial growth, but stabilising and diversifying their current income, to ensure they have the resilience to thrive in a rapidly changing economy.

If you thrive in times of change and can demonstrate success in driving growth across established fundraising programmes, we want to hear from you!

Ready to apply?

Want to join The Not Forgotten’s fundraising ranks? Give us a call on 020 3750 3111 to discuss it today.

To PAYE, or not to PAYE? That is the question

From Uber drivers and web designers to freelance fundraisers, the gig economy is vast in the UK. There are currently around 4.29 million self-employed workers, and that number is growing year on year.

The appeal of freelancing has never been greater. As a result of COVID, flexible working has become the norm, and advancements in digital communication have made it faster and easier than ever to stay connected.

This begs a question: When there’s a gap in your team, should you fill it with a permanent member of staff, or a freelancer?

Here are the arguments for each.

Freelancers

Cost-efficiency: Freelancers are cost effective because:

1. You only pay for the work they do, which means you don’t waste money on downtime.

2. You don’t need to worry about sick leave, holiday pay, NI, or pension contributions. You also save on desk space, equipment, and training.

To put it in perspective, the British Business Bank estimates that hiring someone permanently on an average UK wage of £32,084 actually costs the organisation £62,897.63 a year with all the add-ons.

Speedy recruitment process: The process of hiring permanent staff can be long-winded. Sifting through applications, interviewing, and notice periods all take precious time. A freelancer can be up and running in a matter of days.

Reduced risk: Even with a perfect recruitment process, you can never be sure how things will work out. When you hire a freelance fundraiser, you can easily and quickly terminate the contract (depending on the terms put in place in the contract)

Flexibility: The beauty of using freelancers is you can hire them on a per-project basis. This allows you to mix and match talent as your projects and needs change.

Permanent staff

Commitment: A freelancer will want to keep you as a client, but the long-term success of your individual organisation won’t be their priority. A full-time employee is likely to feel more committed and motivated to add to the bottom line.  

Engagement: Happy, engaged employees are crucial to the success of any charity. Research by The Institute of Leadership & Management found that 77% of respondents cited good relationships with colleagues as the most important factor in determining job satisfaction and engagement – even more so than pay.

While not impossible, it’s much harder for permanent staff to establish quality relationships with transient freelancers.

Flexible contracts: Permanent employees don’t have to be full-time. Let’s say, for example, you’re in need of a grant writer. Up until now you’ve used freelancers to write them, but you want to bring the function in house and introduce some consistency.

You have options in terms of employment contracts - for instance, fixed-term or part-time.

Insider knowledge: Unlike freelancers, permanent staff go through an onboarding process, and ongoing training. This equips them with the knowledge to:

●       Answer questions from donors, volunteers, and other stakeholders

●       Deal with problems quickly and efficiently

●       Pick up the slack when colleagues go on holiday/sick leave

Final word

There’s no right or wrong decision when it comes to hiring freelance or permanent fundraisers. It comes down to where you stand on the factors above. If you’d like some help deciding which is better for your charity, give us a call 020 3750 3111.

How to choose between two job offers

After months of searching, weeks of prepping, days of worrying and hours of selling yourself at interviews, you receive the call you’ve been waiting for … you got the job.

You finish the call on a high and return to your emails. But five minutes later, you’re stunned to receive a call from another charity with another offer.

You end this call feeling stressed. You feel passionately about both causes, both roles excite you, and you got a good vibe from the people at both organisations.

Which offer do you accept? And how can you be sure you're making the right decision?

First off, congratulations. The fact you’ve received more than one job offer shows your skills, experience, and personality impressed a lot of people!

Here’s what to do next.

Ask for both offers in writing

You’ve got two verbal offers, which is great. But until you have them in writing, nothing is confirmed. So, the next step is to request a written offer so you can review everything in detail before making a decision.

It’s perfectly reasonable to ask for a couple of days to do this.

Compare the offers

Once you have both offers in writing, compare the packages. Create a score sheet to quantify the elements of each offer, and write down the pros and cons, weighing up the salaries, company perks, benefits, location, commute, cultural fit, working environment, and your career prospects.

Figure out what really matters

Is a good salary more important to you than career progression? Does flexible working take precedence over a generous pension scheme? Everyone’s priorities are different. Work out what matters most to you and see which package ticks more boxes.

Reflect on the hiring process

One way to determine how much you’ll like working with each employer is to think about your experience of the hiring process. Was one charity more timely, responsive and approachable than the other? How did you connect with the interviewers? Which gave you the best feeling?

Reflect on your conversation with each interviewer and think about whether the organisations core values align with yours. 

Reviewing the interview process is a good way to determine if the work environment and culture is a good fit.

Research the charities

You probably did some research when preparing for the interviews, but now’s a good time to dive deeper. Check out platforms like Glassdoor to better understand salary expectations and employee impressions. Browse current employees’ LinkedIn profiles to see if they’re actively sharing content from their employer, as this signals they enjoy working there. 

Consider where you can negotiate

Let’s say, (after weighing up the options), your heart is set on the first offer, but the package is worse than the second. What would need to change to entice you to accept the first offer? More annual leave? A more flexible work schedule?

Seeing the positive elements of the competing offer can help you identify your priorities and help with your negotiation.

Ask for another call

Hiring managers understand that choosing a job is high stakes. This is how you’ll spend a good chunk of time each day.

If you’ve accumulated a list of questions you forgot to ask during the interview, ask for another call. They’ll appreciate you taking the initiative and you’ll gain further clarity before making a decision. 

Trust your gut

An important thing to remember when debating job offers is you can always make a change if necessary. You won’t be stuck in the role for the rest of your career, so don’t burden yourself by putting too much weight on the decision.

If, after a few days you’re still feeling uncertain, it means you’d be happy with either position, so choose whichever one you feel most excited about.

Turn down the losing charity with grace

Once you’ve made your decision, be sure to politely reject the other job offer before opening the champers. Thank the employer for their interest, explain why you’re declining their offer, and express an interest in staying in touch.

Follow it up by sending the person a connection request on LinkedIn.

The bottom line

If you find yourself in the enviable position of having two job offers on the table and want some impartial advice, give us a call on 020 3750 3111 or email us at info@bamboofundraising.co.uk

‘Feel Good’ Fundraising’ Cara’s Ceilidh Celebrations

In our ‘Feel Good Fundraising’ series, Bamboo’s digital marketing apprentice, Georgie, follows up on the stories of inspirational volunteer fundraisers to ask them the questions no one’s thought to ask.

Georgie, it’s over to you.

Today I’m talking to Cara, Bamboo’s Content Manager. Cara recently organised a charity Ceilidh night: a traditional Scottish event with folk music, singing, traditional dancing, and storytelling.

I caught up with her to find out how it went.

Why did you choose this challenge and cause?  

We chose a Ceilidh night as it’s fun, interactive, and gets everyone involved. Also, the event fell on Burns Night, so it was fitting!

We organised the event to raise money for the Trussell Trust (a UK food bank charity), as we wanted to do something to help with the cost-of-living crisis.

What was the vibe? 

Informal and fun.

All the attendees were lovely and very supportive of what we were doing. And they were totally ‘up for it’. We had a few men in kilts (which was surprising as it was a really cold night) and one man came in a tux. We didn’t ask people to dress up, but we should have done!

I wish I’d worn my ginger tartan wig.

We also had a fantastic band, The Conquering Heroes. The caller (who led the dancing) was amazing. He was really funny and engaging.

Everyone was on the dance floor all night. And they loved the impromptu sing-along the band initiated at the end of the evening. I’m Gonna Be (500 miles) and Auld Lang Syne were among the requests.

We had considered doing a traditional haggis, neaps, and tatties dinner, but catering for 100+ people would have been a logistical nightmare (especially with my cooking skills), so we decided against it. In the end, a local Persian restaurant donated the most amazing bread, kebabs, and dips. However, people didn’t eat much as they were too busy dancing.

To raise more money, we organised a raffle. I sourced prizes from local businesses. We had go-karting tickets, massages, spa experiences, meals, and a PT session, to name a few. We also had a paid bar which boosted the income.

Was it a successful night?

Yes. It exceeded our expectations. There were about 100 people (any more would have been too many due to the nature of the dancing and the size of the hall) It brought the local community together and raised funds for a worthy cause, which is exactly what we wanted. It hasn’t been finalised yet, but I think the final total will be in the region of £2,000. 

I know you do a lot of fundraising, what’s next on the agenda?  

I ‘officially’ hung up my event organising boots in 2018, but this event reminded me how much I enjoy it. I’m not sure what I’ll do next, but we got such a buzz from the Ceilidh night, we’re going to do another one in the autumn.

If you’re looking for a community fundraiser to inspire volunteers like Cara, get in touch at info@amboofundraising.co.uk.

‘Feel Good’ Fundraising’ Margaret’s Magic Hands

In our ‘Feel Good Fundraising’ series, Bamboo’s digital marketing apprentice, Georgie, follows up on the stories of inspirational volunteer fundraisers to ask them the questions no one’s thought to ask.

Georgie, it’s over to you.

Just before Christmas, I came across Margaret’s JustGiving page. She was aiming to make and sell 50 jars of jam and marmalade in her 100th year to raise funds for Nightingale Cancer Support Centre.

I wanted to see how she got on, so I got in touch.

By my count, you’ve made 115 jars, smashing your original target of 50. How do you feel? 

I feel overwhelmed. In no way, did I think I would be able to make more than 50 jars of jam and marmalade, the target I originally set with my son-in-law David. But all the support I’ve received spurred me on. I can’t thank people enough.

I enjoy making jam and marmalade. I’ve been doing it for years. But it’s challenging now, partly because of my age and partly as I have limited sight due to Macular Degeneration, and Rheumatoid Arthritis in both hands.

I was admitted to hospital twice last year, and I’m still recovering from the latest visit. I hope I can get back to making my jam and marmalade soon. As I’ve got orders coming in but I’m getting low on marmalade.

I’m extremely grateful to Lucy from the Nightingale Cancer Support Centre, who has made me labels for the jars. The only problem is, due to the Macular degeneration, I sometimes put the labels on upside down, so there’s the odd unique jar out there.

What keeps you motivated on difficult days?

I hit my target of 50 on 11/7/22 and the orders have continued to flood in, so I’ve kept going, and I love doing it.

Fundraising for a worthy cause and knowing my jams and marmalade will bring some enjoyment to others keeps me motivated.

Classic FM also keeps me going. I have it on in the kitchen.

You’re clearly a jam connoisseur. Have you got any top tips for our readers? 

1. A little flora (the vegan one) in the jam helps to prevent foam from forming while cooking. I add a ½-teaspoon as soon as it starts. Otherwise, I have to skim off the foam with a spoon before adding the jam to the jars.

2. Cut up the fruit while it’s frozen. This will prevent the juice from staining your hands.

3. Weigh everything properly. Even a small variation will affect the process.

If you’d like to support Margaret, there’s still time. Click here to donate.

Or, if you’re looking for a community fundraiser to inspire volunteers like Margaret, drop us a line at info@amboofundraising.co.uk.