Praxis papers
Praxis papers – ‘Praxis’ means ‘doing’ or turning theory into action – showcase a fundraisers’ recent research completed for a PhD or Master’s degree, and provide suggestions about how fundraisers can apply this in practice.
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Recommendations a labelled according to a traffic light system to give fundraisers confidence in using them.
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Green The recommendation is supported by a body of evidence. The author tested this in their research or it builds on/incorporates other research where this recommendation was tested.
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Amber The recommendation is strongly implied by the research and the theory behind it, even though the author might not have tested this idea. In this case, we could recommend that practitioners could try this out, for example, in split tests.
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Red The recommendation is highly speculative, perhaps because it’s come from a discipline outside of fundraising but has never been tested in a fundraising context, or it is a stretch of the theory to get to this recommendation.
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We’re aiming to publish three praxis papers each year. Papers published are:
1) The importance of psychological well-being in driving charitable bequest decisions
Dr Lucy Lowthian
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2) How charities can overcome donors’ ‘silent resistance’ to engage them in taboo causes. Rogare praxis paper
David Harrison
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3) Value creation and the role of the donor in supporter-led fundraising
Katie Mitchell
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The praxis paper series is edited by Rogare Council member Dr Claire Routley. Any fundraiser who has recently completed academic research that they would like to adapt for a Rogare praxis paper should contact Dr Routley via LinkedIn or use the contact form below.
Rogare praxis paper #3
Value creation and the role of the donor in supporter-led fundraising
In the third paper in the series, Katie Mitchell, head of supporter engagement at British mental health charity Mind, summarises the work she did for her Master’s in Business Administration at Aston University, in which she considered how services marketing theory can be applied in fundraising.
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There are obvious differences between the services delivered by charities to donors than with services provided by businesses to customers. But Katie maintains there are enough similarities for strategies developed in the commercial sector to be deployed by charities to improve donors’ experiences, increase satisfaction, drive trust and improve the chances of donors carrying on giving.
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The key part of Katie’s thesis is that fundraisers can help donors to create their own value in how they conduct their own fundraising efforts, particularly community fundraising.
More information
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Download Value creation and the role of the donor in supporter-led fundraising, by Katie Mitchell optimised for desktop viewing.
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Download Value creation and the role of the donor in supporter-led fundraising, by Katie Mitchell, optimised for tablet viewing.
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Download Value creation and the role of the donor in supporter-led fundraising, by Katie Mitchell, optimised for home/office printing (block colour removed).
Rogare praxis paper #2
How charities can overcome donors’ ‘silent resistance’ to engage them in taboo causes
David Harrison ​of Blind Veterans UK presents research carried out for his Master's degree in marketing at Birkbeck College, University of London, that explored donors’ ‘silent resistance’ to causes that are taboo or tackle socially uncomfortable issues (which he did while working at Marie Curie).
The paper recommends fundraisers can break through such resistance by:
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‘Deliteralising’ communications though the use of songs, animations and metaphor, which as the effect of dissociating the taboo subject from reality
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Clarifying the organisation’s values as an activist brand to help reassure supporters about the reasons for communicating about taboo issues
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Creating ‘hope’ among donors to encourage them to commit to positive actions to support the charity in tackling taboo issues.
More information
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Download How charities can overcome donors’ ‘silent resistance’ to engage them in taboo causes, by David Harrison, optimised for desktop viewing.
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Download How charities can overcome donors’ ‘silent resistance’ to engage them in taboo causes, by David Harrison, optimised for tablet viewing.
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Download How charities can overcome donors’ ‘silent resistance’ to engage them in taboo causes, by David Harrison, optimised for home/office printing (block colour removed).
Rogare praxis paper #1
The importance of psychological well-being factors in driving legacy bequest decisions
Dr Lucy Lowthian – legacy marketing manager at The Samaritans in the UK – details her research at Plymouth University into the psychological well-being factors that influence people’s intention to leave a gift to charities in their wills.
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These are:
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Connectedness
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Self-efficacy
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Purpose in life
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Identify importance…
…which Dr Lowthian brings together in a model that is published in the new paper.
More information
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Download The importance of psychological well-being in driving charitable bequests decisions, by Dr Lucy Lowthian, optimised for desktop viewing.
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Download The importance of psychological well-being in driving charitable bequests decisions, by Dr Lucy Lowthian, optimised for tablet viewing.
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Download The importance of psychological well-being in driving charitable bequests decisions, by Dr Lucy Lowthian, optimised for home/office printing (block colour removed).
Praxis paper editorial panel
Dr Claire Routley
Series editor
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Legacy Voice (UK)
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Dr Jessica Burgess – Brighton and Sussex University Hospital Trust (UK).
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Nigel Harris, CFRE – Nigel Harris and Associates (Australia).
