History of fundraising – Critical Fundraising

NEW THINKING: The history of fundraising is more complex than our simple narratives suggest

Our standard narrative of the history of modern fundraising is simplistic and doesn’t contain as many truths as it could do. Marina Jones explains why we need more complexity in our study of fundraising history. Oh, and that as soon as we look for it, we find that women have had a major role in the development of our profession – a role that has previously been obscured.

NEWS: From CSW (Charles Sumner Ward) to CCF – fundraising since 1900

Details about the first charity greetings card* (1949), first charity rock concert* (1969) and first fundraising telethon* (1951) are among the entries on a timeline of fundraising history from 1900 to the present day, unveiled today by Rogare – The Fundraising Think tank.

NEW THINKING: Blog digest – September 2022

Each month, the Critical Fundraising blog presents a digest of the best fundraising-related blogs and articles from the previous month that have adopted a critical fundraising mode of thought.

Inclusion in this digest does not indicate that Rogare agrees with any arguments presented, only that we thought they made a good argument.

The ‘wildcard blog’ (there are two this month) is a blog that does not discuss ideas that are directly related to fundraising, but whose ideas we might be able to use if we think critically and imaginatively about them.

NEWS: How should we study the history of fundraising?

What little study of fundraising history there is takes the ‘great man’ approach
We aim to explore research questions using social and cultural history lenses
Looking for fundraisers to be part of the project team, especially those who have studied history.

KNOWLEDGE: Blog digest February 2017

Each month, the Critical Fundraising blog presents a digest of the best fundraising-related blogs and articles that have adopted a critical fundraising mode of thought. Inclusion in this digest does not indicate that Rogare agrees with any arguments presented, only that we thought they made a good argument.