The Open Channel

In today's rapidly evolving charity landscape, fundraising teams are navigating immense pressures. Changing giving habits and increasing demands to explore new technologies have left fundraisers grappling for solutions. Amid these challenges, benchmarking stands out as an important tool to identify which initiatives to double down on, which to phase out, and ultimately, how to drive more impactful results. Read more

In this Q&A, Richard Lee, Director of Fundraising, and Mark Lumby, Head of Fundraising Analysis and Insight at Marie Curie, share their experience on the benefits of Charity Benchmarks in today’s challenging fundraising environment. Read more

A few weeks ago, Open did something it probably should have done years ago. It became an employee owned company. So as of now, the business that brings people together to change the world is owned by the team it’s brought together. Read more

Join our free webinar on 9th October where we’ll explore the power of gratitude, and how combining notes of thanks with effective digital tools and thoughtful journeys can result in more income for care-based charities. Read more

The Chartered Institute of Fundraising recognises Open’s commitment with ‘Best Supplier to the Sector 2024’ award Read more

Is your charity struggling to recruit new donors? Do you rely heavily on one channel for acquisition? Are your costs rising faster than your income? You are not alone. Read more

Charity Benchmarks is back! Watch on-demand to hear how external events and internal challenges are impacting fundraisers and their causes. Read more

Following the pandemic, dialogue fundraising is on a comeback to be one of the most reliable channels for delivering regular donors at scale. Over recent years we’ve been working with charities to develop, relaunch, and scale their face-to-face approach – and with great results. Here's how we do it... Read more

DRTV is a powerful tool for charity teams looking to engage, move, and inspire their audience. But with attention spans waning and competition growing, what can charities do to create DRTV that works? Read more

In January 2024 we surveyed 104 charities to find out how the ongoing crises are affecting their winter appeals. Here’s what we found out. Read more

At Open, all our work is based on telling stories in some form or another. There are no set rules, but get it right and your audience won’t be able to stop reading… Read more

Camphill Village Trust wanted to take stock of their Individual Giving programme and set in place a strategy that would focus on building solid foundations for growth in future years. Here’s how we did it... Read more

We’re delighted to share our new neurodiverse football film “On the Ball”, created for Action-attainment and Brentford FC CST. Read more

As a company founded to change the world, becoming a B Corp™ was a natural step for Open. We are now a year into our journey and, as many organisations in our sector do at Christmas, we’re reflecting on our mission to use business as a force for good. Read more

An exciting opportunity to support a small community organisation came at just the right time for our spring 2023 interns to take on their very own rebranding project – with big ambitions on both sides! Read more

It’s time to write a new Individual Giving Strategy…but where do you start? We'll show you how. Read more

It’s a tough time for events and mass participation fundraisers. But behind these short-term challenges, there’s a longer, slower and more worrying decline in the once great world of mass participation. Read on for our take on what events fundraisers need to do next. Read more

How have short-term crises and long-term challenges impacted fundraisers and their causes? Read the Charity Benchmarks 2022 highlights to find out - and what to do about it. Read more

Charity Benchmarks is back! Watch on-demand to hear how short term crises and long-term challenges are impacting fundraisers and their causes. Read more

Alex explores the value of gap analyses – a look at your fundraising programme, your audiences, and the critical gaps and overlaps in between... Read more

Smashing the Silos draws on years of experience developing integrated campaigns. Download your copy today! Read more

In autumn 2022 we surveyed 1,000 charity donors about their winter giving plans and the outlook was bleak. In January 2023, we followed up with charities to discover if the picture painted was the reality they experienced. Here’s what we found. Read more

It was kind of inevitable that Open would become a B Corporation. But it still took 14 years for it to happen. Read more

We recently supported and spoke at the Individual Giving Virtual Conference to share behind-the-scenes insights of our integrated campaign work with Breast Cancer Now. Here are the learning highlights from that session. Read more

With the help of the Open team, St Mungo’s has launched their new integrated winter campaign, Last Night on the Streets. Take a look now! Read more

Watch the most up-to-date and specific research on the Cost of Living Crisis and Individual Giving. Read more

On February 24th 2022, we were all shocked and horrified by the invasion of Ukraine - we now mark a grim six-months milestone of this continuing crisis. Read our insightful thought leadership report for reflections on Ukraine appeals and more. Read more

Open will work with Oxfam to grow its supporter base and deliver its mission of a radically better world! Read more

Why fundraising urgently needs young people like Ocean, Valentina, Reuben and Silver – and how they came to Open! Read more

Watch our Emergency Fundraising webinar to explore what we’ve learned and dive into the Q&A session we held with Disasters Emergency Committee (DEC) to answer your most wanted questions! Read more

10 June is NSPCC’s Childhood Day – but what do you do on the day, and why is it so vital that we all play our part? This was the exciting challenge we faced in our second year working with the NSPCC on their flagship day. Read more

In recognition of our commitment to mentoring and supporting young people in their early careers, we have been awarded the Community Business Award by Local Village Network. Read more

It’s our fourth year hosting Charity Benchmarks where we go through some key findings from our latest Charity Benchmarks report with the participation of UK’s leading charities. Read more

With the help of Local Network Village and City & Islington College, our intern programme gives young people a taste of the opportunities in our rewarding sector. Read more

Engaging younger audiences is becoming increasingly important in future-proofing your fundraising. Our Gen-Z interns Olivia and Yasmine are sharing some of their top tips and learnings from their time at Open. Read more

Sharing creative feedback is a vital process in developing successful campaigns. Our Deputy Creative Director, Richard Young, shares some top tips to help you get the best out of your creative team. Read more

Learn how to fundraise effectively and appropriately in an emergency, when income is needed more than ever, and your cause is in the public eye. Read more

Watch the second webinar in our free masterclass series to deepen your audience segmentation skills. Read more

Are you running a fundraising programme without a strategy? Do you need a strategy and don't know where to start? Have you inherited a strategy that is not fit for purpose? If you answered ‘yes’ to any of these questions – we’re here to help! Read more

Tune in to Sky at 8:00pm to see an incredible show featuring Bastille, Elbow, Ellie Goulding, Rudimental, Ray BLK, Miles Kane, Corinne Bailey Rae and Lola Young. Read more

In the face of the climate crisis, our sector has a responsibility to lead the way to a greener future. Read more

People or planet? When the world is on the brink of a climate catastrophe, when countries are being plunged into famine… who do we support first? The answer is both – it’s always been both. In our new campaign for CARE International, we focus on the women protecting both. Read more

It was thirteen years ago today that we set Open up with the express intention of bringing people together to change the world. And since then, we think it’s fair to say that the company has done a lot of good for the UK charity sector. Read more

Creative Director Jamie Tierney shares his top tips to help you make the most out of your DRTV. Read more

Our Associate Creative Director, Nayyar, guides you through some top tips and quick wins to help you write more effectively for charity – for any channel or communication. Read more

Open’s founder, James Briggs, covers 20 years of fundraising experience in less than 15 minutes. Read more

Mark shares some of Open’s top tips for planning and launching a successful subscription product. Read more

Alex shares insights from taking a fresh look at NSPCC’s well-established product ‘Letter from Santa’, and the principles used to drive growth during an uncertain festive period. Read more

In the aftermath of Christmas in the time of Covid, find out how you can plan a successful seasonal campaign, whatever the festive period throws at you. Read more

As Covid restrictions lift and we mark mental health awareness week, Noah reflects on the past year and the changes ahead – encouraging us all to go easy on ourselves as we readjust. Read more

Get the complete picture of fundraising in 2020 – how Covid left its permanent mark, and what you need to do about it. Read more

How did NHS Charities Together turn claps into millions of pounds to support frontline NHS staff? We reflect on the collaboration that went into launching the organisation’s first national emergency appeal. Read more

As we hesitantly step, cycle and bake our way back to events fundraising, hear tips and insights from leading charity events experts. Read more

With the lines between profit and purpose rapidly blurring, Amy looks at the opportunities, and how clarity could be key in determining the success of the sector. Read more

James goes through the things he’s learned about creativity – and himself – during Covid, providing some helpful tips and advice on working from home. Read more

In a time where you can save the rainforest with the right laundry detergent, and fight racial injustice with your trainers, discover the real threat of purpose-driven brands, and what you need to do about it. Read more

Your guide to the immediate impact of Covid-19 on fundraising, with analysis info and insights from some of the UK’s biggest charities. Read more

Covid isn’t going anywhere. Nor is the uncertainty of the sector’s future. Find out how your charity can prepare for the pitfalls of these ever-changing times. Read more

As the next decade heralds some major shifts in how our society deals with money, discover the giving trends charities need to be aware of for the years ahead. Read more

We’re a competitive bunch at Open and we love winning pitches. But we were especially happy last week when the team at the Trussell Trust told us that they’d chosen us to be part of their mission to end the need for food banks. Read more

At the height of the pandemic, Open’s planners analysed the pandemic bombshell on fundraising, giving invaluable insights on audiences and donations in times of crisis. Read more

Three weeks ago, we were at UNICEF. It was a day after Open had trialled working from home. It seems like a year ago. We talked about whether schools would close and whether there would be a lockdown. What would this mean for children? Read more

Late last year, the NSPCC asked us to pitch for an irresistible job – a through the line, fully integrated, highly responsive campaign to help reposition them in the hearts and minds of the public…  Read more

We’ve analysed over £1bn of income from fifteen of the UK’s most-loved charities – and highlighted key risks and opportunities for fundraising. Read more

All we want for Christmas is… preparation! It may be a little too early to queue Mariah Carey into our playlists but it is never too early to prepare for a wonderful Christmas fundraising campaign. Read more