Words about Words - June 2021
Hi all,
Normal service resumes this month.
After sharing advice that might help you save a life in May’s edition, June’s Words about Words is back to sharing some things that I’ve found interesting, entertaining or useful over the past month - all loosely related to writing, fundraising, or other stuff.
Here goes…
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Radio for working from home
Most of the time I work from home, but occasionally I work in cafés. I’d do it more often, but my coffee bill would get out of hand. I find I work well when out and about, possibly because of the background hubbub. This is difficult to recreate at home, so the challenge is finding a radio station that strikes just the right balance between “background noise” and “engaging.” If it’s capable of giving me a boost on a Friday afternoon, then even better. Here are my current favourites…
NTS - with two channels, there’s usually something to listen to that’s “just right”. Failing that, their infinite mixtapes, based on different themes, are worth a go.
Worldwide FM - a similar vibe to NTS, with a broad range of hosts and shows.
Monocle 24 - turn it down low enough and the chat isn’t distracting, while the music is often central European pop that is perfectly inoffensive. I realise that’s hardly the most exciting review, but I don’t always want exciting music when I’m working.
26 direct mail ideas you can steal from one pack
I don’t do much in the way of direct mail fundraising, but there are still crossovers with trusts fundraising (which I do a lot of). The Agents of Good site is a useful resource, looking at examples of good and bad fundraising practice. A recent post on ideas you can use in your own work is worth a read. Here’s the link.
The grantmaking practices we need
Cassie Robinson shares her thoughts on how grantmaking can be improved. As someone who raises money from grantmakers, I often find myself pondering how I would go about things (unrestricted, long term, and with an as-yet-undecided alternative to the flawed burden of ‘self-assessment’ monitoring and evaluation). Cassie goes one level further, beyond the specifics of the grantmaking process, to the ideals that should drive the design of grantmaking processes. Here’s the link.
Climbing Desolation Peak
I’ve linked to Paris Review articles before, and I’ll almost certainly do it again as they’re almost always so good. I especially liked the extract from Alison Bechdel’s new graphic memoir. Here’s the link.
Dueling disciplines
Tracksmith make fancy looking running kit. I don’t own any of their stuff (and I probably won’t buy any as the benefit/problem of already having loads of kit, predominantly made from petrochemicals, is that it lasts for a very, very, very long time), but I do subscribe to their Meter newsletter. I like it as Tracksmith understand that the best way to create a long term relationship with your potential customer is to give them stuff they want - not just ask them to buy stuff. In this case, what I want is interesting articles to read. For a recent newsletter, they asked long-jumper/sprinter, Tianna Bartoletta and long-distance runner, Carrie Verdon, to interview each other. I’ve not seen this approach to athlete interviews before, and I reckon it worked. I’ll certainly be reading the rest of the series. And one day I may even buy some Tracksmith kit. Here’s the link.
Dear England
There’s some football happening at the moment, and a lot of conversations about abuse of players on social media and at matches. The England team’s manager, Gareth Southgate, who I reckon would make for a good headmaster, has a sensible take on all this, that I found myself nodding in agreement with. Here’s the link.
Guy’s News
We get a Riverford veg box at home, and I always read the little newsletter that’s included in it. Guy Singh-Watson (aka the Riverford main man) speaks a lot of sense. Guy for Minister of Food, I say!
I haven’t got a link to it, as it appears in a little leaflet with our veg, but you’ll have to take my word for it!
My stuff
I’m still doing a lot of charity fundraising work at the moment, which I can’t really share here. But the Lonely Goat blog is where you can read things I’ve written or edited. You can find it at this link.
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That’s it for this month. Thanks for reading.
Keep an eye out for July’s edition which should land in subscribers’ inboxes on the last Thursday of the month, and here on the Friday. However, I’ll be on holiday and will have to schedule it beforehand - so hopefully I’ll be able to do that without any problems!
Stay safe and have fun,
Jonathan
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