It’s the set of core values and assumptions that guide your team. Culture shapes the way people interact, solve problems, and behave even when no one is watching. You could say that performance and culture are like a bird’s wings: both are necessary for soaring to new heights.

A poor culture can lead to low morale, backdoor politics, conflicts, tension, and toxic behaviors. So how do you start shifting or building a great culture? Here are two things that have always worked for me:

Communication is at the heart of what we do, sharing our stories with potential donors to inspire support for our causes. We speak with care and always set healthy boundaries. Imagine if we practiced the same openness within our own team. When people feel safe to speak up, the benefits are many: increased engagement, fun, personal growth, etc. Whether you’re on the field, in the office, during training sessions, or meetings, effective communication makes a difference.

Focus on truly listening. How? Do this with the intention of understanding, avoid labels like “stupid” or “lazy,” and don’t interrupt the speaker. Let them finish so you can respond thoughtfully. A great way to ease tension is by reflecting their feelings back to them: “It sounds like you’re frustrated because…” or “It seems like you feel it’s not fair…”. Such practices not only build trust but also set the stage for better leadership.

There is an old saying “If man was built to speak instead of listen, he would have two mouths and only one ear”. Listening is at the core of a great communication system.

Of course, aside from open communication and a focus on relationships, there are other things that help you build the culture you desire: focusing on what is within your control, knowing why you are part of the organization, respect, integrity or trusting the process are a few examples.

A strong culture brings countless benefits: lower stress, high morale, low recruitment costs, growth and overall good performance. It all begins with your leaders focusing on relationships and communication.

So, if you want to secure as many quality sign-ups as quickly as possible as an organization, you must focus on your people by creating a powerful culture. Compromising on culture will hurt your performance in the long run.

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Join us at our Face-to-Face fundraising  Conference 2025.

People donate based on feelings. While facts inform, emotions inspire action. To produce emotions, aim to connect donations to real people. eCardWidget’s donor retention guide suggests telling donors about the communities they’re contributing to.

In direct appeals, tell individual beneficiaries’ stories. For instance, an animal shelter may share the story of a puppy that was rescued from an unsafe environment, malnourished, and scared. Thanks to donor support, he received urgent veterinary care, a warm place to sleep, and a loving foster home. After a few months of rehabilitation, he found his forever family.

Use donor-centric language to make the donor the hero of your story. For example, don’t say, “Our shelter has helped thousands of animals.” Instead, say, “Thanks to donors like you, thousands of animals have found safe and loving homes.”

This can also be as simple as assigning impact labels to donation amounts. These labels explain the direct impact beneficiaries receive from specific donations. For example, let’s say you work for an animal shelter. You might add these labels to your fundraising appeals:

Don’t assume donors know what you want them to do. Avoid vague requests and instead spell out their next steps.

End your fundraising appeals with a compelling call to action (CTA) that’s more specific than “Donate now!” For example, a stronger ask would be, “Give £25 today to provide a week’s worth of meals for a struggling family.” Or, for a fundraising auction item procurement letter, encourage businesses to give with CTAs like, “Please donate a gift certificate, gift basket, or local event tickets to raise funds for local families.”

Getting Attention’s copywriting guide suggests only issuing one CTA at a time. Otherwise, you’ll pull donors in multiple directions, resulting in them taking no action. The guide also encourages creating a sense of urgency, but do so without pressure. You could add a deadline by saying, “Our matching gift challenge ends tonight. Donate before midnight to double your donation’s impact,” or “Families need warm meals now—your donation makes a difference today.”

From here, place the CTA prominently in your appeal. In emails, add it toward the top and repeat it strategically throughout the message. For direct mail, make it stand out with bold text, colour, or a well-placed button-like graphic. On social media, keep it concise and follow platform-specific best practices. For instance, place CTAs within the first two lines of an Instagram or Facebook caption before the ‘See More’ cutoff. Use text overlays and verbal callouts early for video content like Instagram Reels or TikToks, then repeat the CTA in the caption.

No matter the format, your CTA should be easy to find and provide specific directions.

Hi [manager’s name],

I’d love to buy a paid membership for Fundraising Everywhere, please!

It’s a brilliant resource that offers so much value for fundraisers, including access to live and on-demand events, exclusive webinars, and a ton of helpful resources.

Fundraising Everywhere offers training across the breadth of fundraising from entry level to leadership.

It covers topics like:

• Individual Giving
• Corporate Fundraising
• Legacies & In Mem
• Trusts and Major Donors 
• F2F Fundraising
• Supporter Experience
• Leadership
• Digital skills
• ___*insert relevant conference topic here*_______
• And so much more!

Here’s what I’ll get with the Membership:

• Unlimited access to ALL fundraising events and webinars—no extra fees ever.
• Exclusive Member workshops with sector experts.
• A growing On-Demand training library with over 700 sessions and counting.
• A chance to connect with a community of over 2000+ fundraising professionals.
• 1:1 coaching whenever I need it.
• Member peer Match-Making with a large and varied community of fundraisers and marketers
  

At £25 a month,  it’s an affordable way to keep my skills sharp and stay up to date with the latest in fundraising. I’m confident it’ll help me bring even more value to our team and support me in hitting our income target.

Thank you so much for considering!

PS* There’s also an Organisational Membership option that could benefit the whole team if you think it’s worth exploring?

The benefits are numerous, both for the charity that receives the sponsorship support and for the corporate partner themselves. Here’s why they work well for both parties:

 Benefits for Charities

• Enhanced mission support. Sponsorships provide financial resources as well as expertise that can help directly advance your cause and mission fulfilment.
  
• Additional revenue. Sponsorships can help cover overhead costs or provide unrestricted funds, freeing up other sources of funds for mission activities.
• Expanded networks. Corporate sponsorships give your charity access to the sponsor’s networks, which opens doors to new potential supporters and donors. 

Benefits for Corporations

• Increased employee engagement. Supporting a charity can provide employees with new gifting and volunteer opportunities that increase employee engagement and boost morale.
• Improved brand awareness and lift. Partnering with a charity enhances public perception of a business and builds positive connections with the community.
• Access to new audiences. When a business collaborates with a charity, it introduces the brand to potential new clients and customers that align with their values.