Xperedon speaks to Lucy Gower, a passionate advocate of innovation with purpose within the non-profit sector, a public speaker who is evangelical about organisational and personal development in innovation as a way to increase fundraising success and improve service delivery for non-profits.

What are the key areas for non-profits to innovate in? What can be the most fruitful changes to an organisation?

Are there priority areas? Systems? Management? Technical innovations? Social Media investment?

Or is it more about shifting culture and increasing the value that individuals can bring when thinking independently but still working as a team...

Non-profits can benefit from developing a top to bottom culture of evolution around innovation.... that can increase fundraising revenues over the long-term by developing the numbers of committed long-term supporters...

"It is about a holistic approach..." says Lucy, who works on individual solutions to each organisation she works with, building better people involvement, management approaches, communications, and technical solutions.

"It depends on what the organisation is and what their needs are and what their focus is...

"I help them identify what areas where they can make the most difference. Where they are going to get the most bang for their buck if you like...

"And then it is about working with them distinctively around that particular area...

"It's more about the methodology and helping people think differently and taking a step back in terms of looking at their whole portfolio of fundraising offerings and products..."

Many bigger charities in the UK are starting to look more and more at innovation as a core strategy and looking to invest more in innovation as a strategic way forward...

They still have some way to catch up though to the corporate sector where businesses more often have structured Research & Development departments, looking at innovating new products and strategies as ways to increase revenues and keep their organisations fresh for their customers.

However, change is occurring in the charity and non-profit sector with more non-profits seeking inspiration from commercial organisations...

"In the last five years or so we are seeing more organisations being more deliberate about their strategies and investment around innovation...” says Lucy...

"We are starting to see that charities are realising that if they keep doing the same activities they are not going to increase their income via their products for support for their services for their beneficiaries.

"So something different has to happen...

"It's about looking outward at what the corporate sector is doing in terms of their investment approach to deliver and drive innovation but then it is also looking outside the sector at the ways that corporates and other organisations are engaging customers and getting repeat sales and we should translate that into regular gifts...

"It is about understanding the needs much better of donors and providing products and services that meet those needs..."

Some major charity organisations are implementing innovation teams. Others are looking at incremental changes, developing new products, changing culture perhaps by employing more maverick individuals that can work in a team but will ask questions and seek to improve the organisation.

Innovation is about stepping outside the box and looking at ways to improve strategic outcomes like increasing funds and developing wider supporter bases at different micro levels; and ideally as an entire organisational and cultural philosophy and of course, ultimately this begins with having a strategy and involves a lot of hard work...

Additionally and increasingly in many ways these days it can also be about embracing new technologies...

"Technology especially being used in new ways to connect online and give online is important," says Lucy...

"The world is changing so in terms of technology non-profits need to change with that in terms of understanding how their donors want to be communicated with and interacted with...

"Organisations are starting to realise we need to do something different and if we are going to survive actually we need to be much cleverer about how we invest our money to increase our fundraising..."

Core to increasing fundraising and developing regular donors is about understanding the donor base and wider cultural trends that inform choices; and finding out what donors want...

And then implementing measures that will help them to help the charity's goals.

That can be about providing feedback and engagement about what is being achieved but also about offering platforms and ways to get involved that are current and in demand from today’s donors, especially younger donors that are the future.

Creating a culture that supports innovation and is focused about moving forward is absolutely crucial... but it is not something easy to achieve...

The most successful innovation companies, Apple, for instance had the benefit of inspired innovation leadership, namely Steve Jobs...

Lucy cites Jobs as a prime example of an innovator leader, and one that can provide inspiration when tailored of course to the specific needs of non-profit engagement; and whatever the charity or non-profit's goals are...

Innovation can occur, for instance, by getting to grips with the subject of online campaigning on a human level, understanding the customers i.e. charity supporters not just as a series of clicks but as real people simply using technology to support causes they are passionate or compassionate about...

Beyond that it is about providing great products and great experiences for customers akin to philosophies that have powered the world’s greatest companies to the successful positions they occupy today.

Lucy Gower is speaking at the 2012 National Institute of Fundraising Convention in London, on Monday July 2, and

Tuesday July 3.