Coming up in The Nest Egg

Plans for June and beyond...

---

Where did the last six months go?

Apparently we blinked and now its June.

GIF description: A Despicable Me Minion speeding along on a scooter with a mildly panicked face.

Time for an update!

Back in 2024, we announced the closure of our online training courses and the transfer of all our knowledge and teaching to this publication instead.

Interesting decision we hear you say….why would you charge £70 for something which used to cost £480?

Reasons for this change:

• We wanted to make our training accessible - by making our best, most up to date content available at a much lower price point

• We wanted to simplify our business - no more tech / design wizardry necessary

• We wanted to focus on the things we’re best at and enjoy the most (writing and consultancy)

So far so good!

Being able to finally live the dream of being paid to write for a living is the most incredible feeling. As we drink our morning coffee discussing topics for future editions, we have to pinch ourselves at the sheer joy that this is part of our job.

Thank you so much - all of you!

You are the ecosystem that keeps our little business thriving, and in times like these, we couldn’t be more grateful.

2025 highlights so far?

Big believers in taking time to reflect on progress, we are so proud of the content we've shared over the past six months.

Highlights have included:

• What fundraisers are thinking and feeling in 2025

• Ten places to look for funding

• How to spot a major donor in disguise

And for paying subscribers:

• Your 12 month trusts and foundations strategy

• From £700,000 to £4 million - how one charity diversifed their income and reduced their reliance on their Local Authority

Fundraising ROI’s

By far and away the piece of work we’re most proud of is our fourth Fundraising ROI’s study.

If you’re not yet read it - here you go!

62 charities took part and generously shared how much they are each spending and raising on different types of fundraising.

Caroline squinted at the data for long enough to say goodbye to her ‘contact lens wearer’ identity. It was worth it.

For paying subscribers, we went deeper on the data:

• Small charity ROI’s (under £1m)

• Large charity ROI’s (over £1m)

• I read five new reports (so you don’t have to) - analysis of Fundraising ROI’s in context of wider research studies / recent sector findings (definitely one for the directors / board members / decision makers)

What’s coming up next?

Articles we’re currently working on for June and July include:

• How to overdeliver on stewardship

• Great reasons to pick up the phone

• Two questions about giving circles

• Fifteen magical ideas to build relationships

• How to test a donor’s committment

• A library of strategic questions to help you develop stronger relationships

We’ll also be sharing:

• ROI data for healthcare charities

• Our crowdsourced directory of the best learning and development resources for fundraisers in 2025.

Following our annual August holiday we’ll be back with more trusts and foundations content:

• Brand new data on success rates

• Two signs your trusts programme is in trouble

• Tips to navigate pro-active / invite only funders

So are you with us?

If this is exciting to you and you want a piece of the action, then we invite you to become a paid subscriber of The Nest Egg today.

As well as all the exciting stuff planned, we have a library of over 70 articles for you to dive into immediately.

It costs £7 a month or £70 a year for weekly articles.

Here’s some further information for those of you who want to upgrade but your line manager is asking awkward questions (fair play, times are tight and all).

Here’s the button if you’re ready to treat yourself!

10% of total income from The Nest Egg is redistributed to local charities Gifted Women and Young Devon.

And finally…

We still believe in the democratisation of fundraising training and that fundraisers should have choices in how they receive information and from whom.

We love the idea of a newsletter (which is also not a newsletter) being considered as part of the learning and development mix for ambitious fundraisers, alongside courses, group programmes, conferences and coaching.

We believe that people deserve to be paid for their work and that fundraisers deserve to be invested in by the organisations that expect so much of them.

Through The Nest Egg, we want to be your companion in helping you to achieve your mission.

If you want to and haven’t already please upgrade your subscription today.

Thanks again for being part of our community. We’re so grateful to you all,

Tony and Caroline