Most fundraisers and leaders have experienced it – the feeling sometimes that you’re not quite good enough, or that it’s only a matter of time before someone finds you out. It’s uncomfortable, and it can quietly limit what you do and how boldly you do it.

The good news? You’re in very good company. Coach and trainer Lara Roche shares why these feelings are far more widespread than we tend to assume. And she offers practical tools to help you reduce how often they arise – and find your way back to feeling confident.

If your fire has dimmed a little lately, you're not alone and this episode is for you. Esther Kwaku shares powerful questions to help you get unstuck, reconnect with your why, and bring more joy and purpose back into your fundraising. She also draws on her own story and the fresh perspectives she has gained from working both inside and outside the sector - and offers breathing and grounding practices and tools to help you enjoy your work.

When Future Dharma faced a £90,000 shortfall and possible closure, fundraising and communications director Kusalaraja had to act fast. And yet he found that what made all the difference was resisting the temptation to rush. Pausing to think carefully proved invaluable.

In this encouraging conversation, he shares how he planned and executed a successful emergency appeal, raising £74,000 for his small charity in around six weeks. His insights include: why thorough preparation beats rushing to send an ask; how a free, 40-minute online event generated valuable major gifts; the power of radical transparency with your supporters; and why an emergency appeal is a “one-shot” - and needs to be treated as such.

That voice in your head - the one that says we don’t really stand a chance - is understandable but often wrong. And all too easily it creates a self-fulfilling prophecy.

Bright Spot trainer Ben Swart shares what he’s noticed when fundraisers decide to truly commit. With examples, he shows that although committing doesn’t guarantee fundraising success every time, it absolutely increases your chances of winning.

Why? Because the moment you decide to really go for that valuable funding application or ideal partnership, you gain three advantages over the many other organisations that haven’t done so. You find courage you didn’t know you had, creative ideas you wouldn’t otherwise have thought of, and a persistence that outlasts setbacks.

If there’s a fundraising or career opportunity you want to really go for, this episode is for you.

If you've ever wondered whether a Giving Day might work for your organisation — or how to make an existing one even better — this is the episode for you.

Mel Bushell is Director of Development at Winchester College and a hugely experienced fundraising leader. She has found Giving Days incredibly effective.

This rich and practical conversation explores: the recipe behind what was at the time the most successful school Giving Day ever run in the UK; the lasting fundraising benefits that a well-run Giving Day creates long after the event is over; how to approach match funding and make it work hard for you; smart ways to keep your Giving Day feeling fresh and engaging; and how the process can be a wonderful opportunity to deepen relationships within your charity and across your community.

We'd love to know what you think! And thank you so much for supporting the show, e.g. by sharing it with colleagues or on social media. We are both on LinkedIn.

Relatively small shifts in what you say, and how you say it, lead to big differences in your fundraising results. Rob has always been fascinated by these distinctions and how they affect your applications, conversations and pitches for funding.

He was very excited to talk to the brilliant Sarah Pryer, who is Director of Fundraising and Marketing at Bristol and Weston Hospitals Charity. Inspired by a team training day with Bright Spot a year ago, Sarah’s team have been creatively applying certain principles and enjoying the difference they have made.

This wide-ranging conversation includes: the communication shift that inspired a new five figure gift from a foundation; the storytelling approach that moved a corporate partner to choose to extend for a new valuable three-year partnership; the factors that have boosted the team’s confidence; ideas for building relationships internally; and what led her team to create their Trolley of Joy!

We’d love to know what you think! And thank you for supporting our podcast, e.g. by sharing it with colleagues or on social media. We are both on LinkedIn.

Every fundraiser knows the sting of a donor saying “no.”

An invaluable skill is knowing when to step back and when to learn, adapt and try again. In this encouraging conversation, Sarah Tavener, Head of Global Philanthropy at Mines Advisory Group (MAG), shares the remarkable story of how she secured a multi-million-dollar donation after 19 years of thoughtful persistence with the same funder!

We hope Sarah’s insights will help you be tenacious and creative when your idea or proposal still makes sense, so that you too get the transformational results that your hard work deserves.

We’d love to know what you think! And thank you so much for supporting our show (e.g. by sharing it with colleagues or on social media). You can find both Rob and Sarah on LinkedIn.

Obviously great fundraising involves building great relationships with your supporters and donors. But how do you do that in practice?

One charity that has been making wonderful progress in recent years is Rennie Grove Peace Hospice. For instance, for their recent Big Give campaign they took on their biggest ever target… and they hit it in just over 24 hours.

Laura Elliott, Head of Supporter Fundraising, talks about a range of effective strategies that have been inspired by listening to the Fundraising Bright Spots show.

This conversation with Rob includes their approach to: stewardship; thanking; the 80/20 Principle; creating Wow Moments; and a culture of learning. She also describes a Gift Aid campaign that has so far inspired an extra 7% of supporters to opt in.

We’d love to know what you think! And thank you so much for supporting our show, e.g. by sharing it with colleagues or on social media. We are both on LinkedIn.