Friday, October 10, 2014

2014-I Wish I'd Thought of That

The annual SOFII-organised IWITOT charity conference recently returned to London for the third time. As in previous years, twenty guests were invited to present their views on a charity-campaign that has been inspiring to them.
Tony Charalambides and other members of Listen’s team were in attendance. James Nida, Listen’s account planner, was invited to speak at the conference. His topic of choice was the fundraising-campaign carried out  by the African National Congress before the country’s election in 1994.

After his successful and thought-provoking presentation, James explained how he came to the decision to use that particular campaign and why he felt it would inspire and engage with fundraising enthusiasts both now and in the future.

Thursday, September 25, 2014

Meet the Managing Director

The Managing Director of Listen Fundraising is Tony Charalambides. Tony has worked as the Managing Director at the successful, award-winning telephone fundraising agency that he founded since 2008, having being actively involved in charity activities since 2003. 
One of Tony’s main interests is in engaging with other fundraising supporters and this is highlighted with his excellent blog entries and commitment to organisations such as SOFII. Find out more and contact Tony by following him on Twitter @Tcharalambides or on his Facebook page.

Tuesday, July 30, 2013

Listen Fundraising | Fundraising Sector

Full details of the services offered by Listen Fundraising can be found on the company’s website www.listenfundraising.com. This is a professional fundraising company. Listen Fundraising is a registered company. Its registered office address is 9-13 Highbury Studios, 8 Homsey Street, London, N7 8EG. Listen Fundraising has successfully conducted fundraising campaigns on behalf of a variety of different types of local, national and international charities. Listen Fundraising has previously worked for Water Aid, Parkinson’s UK, Mind, PLAN International, and Centrepoint.

Listen Fundraising specialises in telephone calls and SMS messaging. Listen Fundraising has specific expertise in securing legacy pledges. This describes those situations where people agree to leave a certain amount of money to a charity in their will. Listen Fundraising recognises that securing legacy donations takes a particular level of skill. The methods employed to secure this type of donation are generally very different to the skills which might be effective in securing donations in, for example, a street-based fundraising campaign. Listen Fundraising is careful to employ fundraisers who are particularly well suited to this specific type of fundraising. Listen Fundraising also provides its staff with comprehensive training. The company avoids setting ‘targets’ for its staff. The reason for this is that targets tend to encourage an overly aggressive approach. They prevent representatives from building a rapport with a potential donor. Listen Fundraising also recognises that if a potential donor feels that he or she is being pressured into making a donation, the donor is going to be less likely to make a pledge. Similarly, donors are less likely to react positively if they feel that important information is being ‘glossed over’. Listen Fundraising Employees are provided with full training and information regarding the legacy process as well as the aims and objectives of the charity in question.

Listen Fundraising also has particular expertise in mobile technology fundraising. The company recognises that mobile telecommunications can be an extremely useful tool in the charity niche. As part of mobile phone campaigns, the company uses street based employees to approach potential donors. These donors are encouraged to make relatively small donations via text message. The benefit of this is that many donors are more inclined to agree to this type of ‘one-off’ donation rather than agreeing to a monthly Direct Debit commitment. The mobile phone contact details provided by the donor can then be used by the charity in subsequent fundraising campaigns.