Every social movement, fundraising campaign and political party is built on the same foundation: people. People who need to believe that their effort, money or vote will make a difference. People who want to feel seen, heard and part of something bigger than themselves.
Over the past couple of months, I’ve been lucky enough to spend time in three very different rooms: the Labour party conference in Liverpool; the Party of European Socialists Summit in central Amsterdam; and the Resource Alliance’s International Fundraising Congress in Noordwijk in the Netherlands.
Different sectors, different contexts, but the same big challenges facing them:
How do we persuade people to support us and not the other guy?
How do we build confidence in our ability to deliver our vision? Particularly in this era of disinformation and dark money which seeks to undermine us.
How do we keep going when the issues we have to address are so big?
Whether you’re talking social movements or fundraising campaigns or elections, the questions – and, therefore, the answers – frequently overlap.
Here’s five observations from the events and my hot take on what we need to do differently.
We struggle to focus on the future (and why vision matters more than ever)
Campaigners, fundraisers and politicians – we all tend to talk about what’s broken, what needs fixing, what’s gone wrong. Focusing on the stuff that feels urgent and serious.
It’s often easier to pay more attention to the crisis than it is to imagine the future – partly because our brains are wired to pay more attention to threats than to opportunities. But the thing is: people don’t rally behind problems; they rally behind possibility.
Few of the organisations I heard from at the three events excelled at sharing their vision. Instead, I kept hearing a list of problems and policy fixes that rarely added up to a coherent story that I could connect to and get behind.
A good vision gives a campaign – be it a political, awareness raising or fundraising campaign – coherence. It doesn’t shy away from what’s wrong, but it also shows where we could go next, it gives direction. This is how you help people move from despair to hope – and to action. Reform UK do this well: while trading on problems and blame, they succeed because they talk about a vision for Britain which gives hope to people who believe they have lost their voice and place in society.
Aspirations are important (but they also need to feel attainable)
While an ambitious vision for the future is essential and can be inspiring, for it to have the desired effect, it also needs to feel realistic.
I was reminded of this after my IFC presentation with Damian Chapman of Fundraiser in the Room on how to dismantle the patriarchy (part of our work with Rogare - The Fundraising Think Tank). We had offered our vision of what fundraising could look like if gender equality was achieved, followed by a practical discussion about the actions that individuals and the sector could take. Afterwards, one of the fundraisers in the room came up to me and said that she loved our vision but found it so far from the reality in which she was living that she struggled to believe that what we had described was even possible. A sad reflection of the state of fundraising and an excellent reminder that we needed to be mindful of where people are at and their perceptions of what’s possible.
If vision gives direction, then an achievable plan gives confidence. It tells people change is possible – and shows them how. And, ideally, it will also help them understand their own role in making things happen.
We are not great at celebrating our successes (demonstrating impact is as important as it's ever been)
Did you know that the Labour government has already delivered or is making progress towards around two-thirds of its manifesto pledges, after just over a year in power?
Or that Spain’s liberal immigration policy has been a key contributor to the country's growing economy?
No, neither did I until I attended Labour party conference and the PES Summit. Both events were full of success stories, of how promises had been kept, policies enacted, and lives changed for the better. A stark contrast to the conversations going on outside. Most people don’t know what governments – or charities or unions for that matter – are doing that’s great. But what they do know about is the stuff that’s gone wrong.
It's a comms problem we all recognise. Bad news has more currency than good news. But it’s not beyond the realms of human capability to find interesting ways to showcase the positive developments and the success stories. We’re constantly advising unions to celebrate their successes in the good times – policy influence, innovations in professional work, growing numbers of skilled employees – not just the bad.
Demonstrating impact, highlighting a proven track record, showing people you’ve got what it takes – this is vital for building trust, confidence and authority. People are more likely to support leaders, causes and parties that do what they say will do. Plus showcasing how brilliant you are can also help to quieten down the naysayers and the critics.
Stay true to your values. I repeat, stay true to your values
We see it in politics all the time: governments and parties lurch from one crisis to the next, reacting to their opponents’ narratives instead of staying focused on their own direction.
The same can happen in charities: organisations limiting their advocacy work for fear of falling out of favour with a government or funder. Or responding to a ‘culture war’ issue by bending to the will of whoever has criticised them instead of standing up for what is right.
When an organisation faces pressure – be it from political opponents, funders, the media, culture warriors – it can be tempting to try and neutralise the threat by mirroring critics or by trying to appeal to as many people as possible. This is a false economy.
A case in point is the UK’s Labour party which, in its attempt to woo Reform UK voters by taking a hard stance on immigration, has only served to strengthen Reform UK’s message while also alienating its supporters on the left who are now drifting towards the Greens.
Communications should always be grounded in what you stand for. Your job isn’t to copy your opposition; it’s to persuade people that your way is the right way. When you stand for something clear and consistent, you give people something solid to believe in – and a reason to stay on your side.
Align discourse with audience cognition (or in other words – plain English still matters)
I loved the PES Summit. The speakers were excellent, the breakout sessions informative, and I left feeling inspired and ready for action.
But one thing I’ve been reflecting on since is the Summit’s key message: “We need progressive mobilisation.”
It sounded powerful – but I wasn’t entirely sure what it meant. Was it a call for progressive parties to work more closely together? Or an invitation for everyone who believes in a fairer society to get involved? Or both? What was my role in this? And what was the story I was to tell others to bring them on board with us?
This message is a prime example of why plain English and simple messaging is so important. It reminds me of when I did some analysis of the Labour and Conservative 2019 election manifestos. Labour’s read like a think tank report and I still can’t remember what the key message was; the Conservatives’ spoke directly to its audience and could not have been clearer about its mission to “get Brexit done”. Three words. Simple, memorable and something the bloke down the pub could relay to his mate.
(If you’d like to learn how to write with clarity and impact, why not attend one of Agenda’s writing workshops. I do a whole section on the importance of plain English.)
In the end, the tools of campaigners, fundraisers and politicians are the same: empathy, clarity and conviction.
We don’t win people over by shouting louder or sounding smarter. We win them over by showing them what’s possible – and making them believe they have a place in it.
