
Fantastic French Fundraising – the Fast Five
I don't think I'm the only one who never quite takes my fundraising hat off, even when on holiday?
And so it was that when I was in beautiful, sunny Lyon recently, I noticed a lovely bit of practice while on a stroll. It was at the former hospital, the Grand Hôtel-Dieu. There in the beautifully restored courtyard, you can see gorgeously stylish donor boards on all four sides (pictures below), with each year's donors listed and named with the size of their gift also shown. I know you're busy, so just quickly, especially as I was in France to see some Olympic events, here is a little list of five things that struck me, before I continued my walk across the city:
It's a wonderful piece of sustained fundraising practice - the donor boards cover a period of around 250 years. Supporters knew what they were going to get and how they were going to be recognised, and it remained unchanged for generations. It must have worked well, to have continued in exactly the same way for so long.
It doesn't start with the biggest donor each year and is in no particular order that I can tell, and seems to be remarkably egalitarian - there's no ranking of supporters here.
All amounts donated are listed specifically. The message here is (arguably above a threshold), it doesn't matter how much you give, you will be recognised, proudly.
It is both beautiful and prominent - this is another way of showing the supporters how important their donation is. It's not just on a list, and it's