A bit of Scottish culture for you today…
One of the greatest Christmas ads ever made is the 2006 Irn-Bru Snowman parody — the one where the Snowman nicks the boy’s Irn-Bru… and then casually drops him head-first into a snowdrift.
It’s brutal. It’s hilarious. And it feels a bit like grant fundraising in the sector right now.
Everyone’s trying to fly, trying to stay hopeful, trying to make it through December — and then suddenly you’re flat on your back while someone else sails off with the thing you were holding.
So here’s your reminder:
Have a laugh.
Keep your eyes on the bigger picture.
And remember that collaboration usually works out better than getting shoved into a snowbank.
Small charities are often treated like competitors — forced into the application Hunger Games for what looks like scarce funding. But zoom out: around £96 billion flows into the UK charity sector each year.
The problem isn’t a lack of money. It’s that the vast majority of it goes to the biggest organisations, while the small charities who make up four-fifths of the sector receive only around 4% of that total.
So the real challenge isn’t small charity vs small charity — it’s small charities trying to get a sliver of attention in a system designed around the big players.
That’s part of what we’re building with Raiser: a world where collaboration is easier, impact is clearer, and small charities finally have a platform big enough to be seen alongside the giants.
But for now, enjoy the chaos of that advert. Brush the snow off. Keep going. Preferably with something orange and fizzy in hand.
