This weekend has seen another round of charity and fundraising bashing from the national press in the UK. That’s why this week’s Monday Morning Memo from Roy H. Williams  (the Wizard of Ads) was such a welcome read this lunchtime.

As the wizard himself explains…

    Branding – as it is taught today – will at best cause people to remember you and have a mild opinion.

    But unlike yesterday’s branding, today’s bonding is the beginning of relationship, the essence of loyalty and the foundation of     community among human beings.

    Bonding, when done properly, makes people feel connected to you. It is the little-known secret of marketing to millennials and     their parents.

    Bonding creates community – surrogate family – connectedness – relationship – belonging.

    When we talk about “community” in marketing, always remember: We buy what we buy to remind ourselves – and tell the     world around us – who we are.

    “I am irresistible, I say, as I put on my designer fragrance. I am a merchant banker, I say, as I climb out of my BMW. I am a     juvenile lout, I say, as I down a glass of extra strong lager. I am handsome, I say, as I don my Levi’s jeans.” – John Kay

• The personality you craft for your brand is essential to the bonding process.

    The public will give you their time if you offer them entertainment.
    They will give you their money if they feel connected to you.

    In the days of the Old West, branding made a cow yours.
    In today’s hyper-communicated society, bonding makes a customer yours.

As fundraisers, the importance of bonding  and connecting with our donors has never been more important.

As Christmas and the New Year approach it is fair to say it has been a tough for UK fundraisers. Will 2015 be remembered as an annus horribilis and the mark of a decline in fundraising or as a watershed moment for our profession and a renaissance in how we raise funds? Time will tell, but we'll begin this time with further opinion on the new fundraising regulator in the UK and the proposed fundraising preference service.

Like many fundraisers, I have been disappointed with the response of the Institute of Fundraising to the proposed regulation. It was good to (finally) hear from chief executive, Peter Lewis who thinks fundraising expertise must be at the heart of self-regulation.

The Fundraising Collective give an update three years on from two phone calls and some thoughts on the proposed fundraising regulation. One from a university (good), one from an animal charity (bad) - discover what has happened since!

Rogare report on the results of their survey about fundraisers attitudes to the proposed fundraising preference survey. Also on Rogare, Zoe Bunter makes a plea for the voice of the beneficiary to be heard.

Two great posts on 101 Fundraising on how fundraising needs to evolve. Rachel Beer takes a close look at relationship fundraising and Richard Turner explains why fundraising needs to change.

I reviewed the excellent book Innovation Workout last month. Author Lucy Gower has an upcoming webinar with Australian fundraising expert Sean Triner on Monday 14 December when they will discuss some of the content. Check it out!

Giving Tuesday has also been in the news this week. UK Fundraising took a look at 14 fundraising ideas from the day and John Baguley shares his thoughts.

Rob Woods on the art of pitching and three influencing tricks.

This months Nonprofit Carnival hosted by Pamela Grow is excellent. Lots of great posts on adopting an abundance mindset.

Veritus Group explain the importance of attitude over aptitude in major gifts fundraising.

Agents of Good share a fantastic appeal for the Humber River Hospital Foundation. Filled with love, it raised a lot of money and had high engagement with donors.

Tobin Aldrich has been researching on investing in fundraising. His findings are well worth a look.

Some interesting reflections on 10 years of 'free wills month'.

The Fundraising Coach has launched a study on nonprofit leadership. This is a subject close to my heart and I look forward to hearing the results.

Donor Relations Guru on why great fundraisers don't need brochures.

You. Because. Thanks. Clairification shares the three words (with great examples) that are guaranteed to help you raise more money.

Bloomerang on why 'treat every donor like a major donor' is terrible advice.

'It would be nice not to be asked' says Amanda Santer.

The excellent Story of Telling blog explain the new rules of e-mail marketing.

The Hilborn blog on reigniting the 'why'.

Finally, a bit of humour (and some interesting points) from David Burgess on UK Fundraising. 10 things fundraisers could learn from Star Wars. Anyone else looking forward to the new film?!