Share these talks and lectures with your colleagues
Invite colleaguesPractice paper
Bump It Forward: How a campaign challenged our fundraising status quo
Journal of Education Advancement & Marketing,
7
(2),
169-179
(2022)
Abstract
This paper describes the development and implementation of the Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine's (LSTM) Bump It Forward campaign, which was launched in January 2021 to provide personal protective equipment (PPE) and protect health workers in African countries until the COVID-19 vaccine reached them. As a specialist and small institution with an embryonic fundraising operation, it was assumed that LSTM would never be successful as a public fundraising charity. However, this campaign challenged these beliefs and LSTM's existing approach to fundraising, resulting in more than five times the original target being raised, and increasing donor numbers seven-fold. This paper considers some of the elements that made the campaign so successful, which shattered the previous misconceptions of fundraising ability and challenged what constitutes best practice, particularly for donor acquisition strategies. The paper concludes with a summary of the lessons learned, which can be applied to fundraising practice in any size of organisation.
Keywords: campaign; donor acquisition; leadership; social media; COVID-19; donations; impact
The full article is available to subscribers to the journal.
Author's Biography
Karen Brady is Director of Fundraising at the UK's Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine, the world's first institution of its kind, working to break the cycle of poor health and poverty and bridge the gaps in health inequality. She leads a team with responsibility for engaging alumni and supporters, and working with high-net-worth individuals, corporates, philanthropic trusts and foundations. In addition to her fundraising responsibilities, Karen also leads on HiVE (Health Innovation in a Virtual Environment), a pioneering virtual incubator designed to accelerate new solutions for global health. Prior to joining LSTM, Karen spent nine years at the University of Liverpool, initially as Head of Alumni Relations and later becoming Director of Philanthropy & Alumni Relations. She was a member of the first cohort to receive the Institute of Fundraising Advanced Diploma in Fundraising and has recently completed the Global MBA at the Alliance Manchester Business School. Karen is a Trustee of the Royal Society of Tropical Medicine and Hygiene and inHive Global, and Chair of Club Liverpool, a networking organisation that supports the growth of the conference and events business in Liverpool.
