When Fundraising Goes Wrong
In an ideal world, all your fundraising campaigns would go off without a hitch. You’d smash your fundraising targets, attract loads of new donors and everything would run seamlessly.
But that’s in an ideal world. In reality, things go wrong.
Unsurprisingly, charities tend not to broadcast when something goes badly. But this is a shame, as mistakes offer great learning opportunities.
With that in mind, here are three examples of fundraising fails, and the lessons you can learn from them.
1. Concern Worldwide’s money mistake
Back in 2016, things were going well for Ireland's largest aid and humanitarian agency, Concern Worldwide. And then, all of a sudden, the amount of money coming in shot up.
You’d think this would be a success story, but the increase was not due to an influx of donations, but a catastrophic financial blunder.
The charity accidentally charged donors 100 times their chosen direct debit amount. i.e., donors that had set up a monthly payment of £5 a month, had £500 taken from their account. Those that committed to £20 a month, were charged £2,000.
ThirdSector reports that this was due to a new Bacs system which “had not been sufficiently tested and staff had not followed the charity’s internal control procedures”.
As a result, the charity not only had to refund all the donors but cover the charges they incurred as a result of the overcharge.
While neither the exact amount of money the fiasco cost them nor the amount of donors who jumped ship because of it was revealed, the charity was no doubt significantly affected on both counts.
What we can learn:
Don’t go live with new software until it has been checked and tested thoroughly with a control group. Then double-check and test it again. You can’t afford not to!
2. Women’s March email fail
In November 2021, the Women’s March USA sent out a call to their supporters, asking them to donate.
This is pretty standard practice, but what stuck out to recipients was the amount they were asked for: $14.92.
To those of us in the UK, the number might not have any significance. But to an American audience, 1492 is the year that Christopher Columbus arrived in America, marking the beginning of the genocide of indigenous people.
The charity received a barrage of complaints from left and right-wing audiences and was forced to put out the following statement in response:
“We apologise deeply for the email that was sent today. $14.92 was our average donation amount this week. It was an oversight on our part to not make the connection to a year of colonisation, conquest, and genocide for Indigenous people, especially just before Thanksgiving.”
The charity didn’t disclose how much was raised as a result of the email campaign, but it goes without saying, criticism and donations don’t generally come hand-in-hand.
What we can learn: Think about the implications of your fundraising campaigns. Could anything be misconstrued or offensive to your audience? Run the campaign past as many people as you can before going live, just to be sure.
3. Garden Bridge Trust’s catastrophic collapse
The Garden Bridge Trust was established as a charitable company in 2013, to deliver Transport for London’s high-profile “Garden Bridge” project (a footbridge and public garden over the River Thames, linking Temple with the South Bank.)
Between government grants and donations, over £50 million was given to the Trust for the project.
But in 2017, London Mayor Sadiq Khan withdrew funding for the project as he was concerned the Trust wouldn’t be able to raise the remaining £185 million needed to complete the project. This would have resulted in a partially constructed bridge in the centre of London or a massive bill on the doorstep of the government.
Either way, it would have hit taxpayers.
Once the Mayor of London withdrew support, the project was cancelled. But the chaos didn’t end there. Around £7 million was donated on a “restricted” basis, on the understanding that it would be paid back if the project wasn’t completed.
By December 2018, donors hadn’t seen a penny. This was particularly frustrating given how much money the Trust had received and how little transparency there was when it came to how they’d spent it.
A spokesperson for the Garden Bridge Trust said: ‘In all cases where the advice confirms funds as returnable under Charity Law, it is the intention and expectation of the trustees that they will be, and funders have been advised accordingly. The process of repayment is certainly taking longer than anticipated, for reasons that are beyond the control of trustees, but we continue to work towards resolution with Transport for London; and in the meantime, thank our funders for their support and continuing patience.’
The whole thing was a sham. The Trust was bailed out by TFL, but still, it cost the public a whopping £43m.
What we can learn: Although this is an extreme example, the lesson is simple: Never over-promise. Exaggeration or overconfidence in your ability to deliver can lead to your funders losing confidence and withdrawing support entirely.
And whatever you do, don’t start a project if you don’t have the funds to complete it.
When it comes to fundraising, you need a competent, capable team who won’t lead you into these kinds of mess-ups. We can help you find them. Give us a call on 0203 750 3111 to get started.