15 Aug 2022
London’s Air Ambulance Charity’s CEO, Jonathan Jenkins, can often be found on the streets of London, fundraising for the life-saving charity he leads. With the Big City Collection upcoming on 4 October 2022, Jonathan wrote about his personal bucket experiences and invites you to join him next month to experience them yourself:
“I have the utter privilege of being front of house for London’s Air Ambulance Charity in our fundraising efforts. It’s such an honour to represent the fabulous team that provides the service that protects this glorious city, 24/7, 365 days a year. The sense of purpose and pride when I am in front of people is very real and all encompassing. It is something I have never felt before in my career and doubt I will again.
“I get to talk about our work to potential major donors, corporate partners, community groups, regular givers, our volunteers, or those who are sponsored to run, cycle, swim and bake on our behalf. And I absolutely love it.
“The hardest thing to do between speaking to a room of city grandees at the Bank of England or standing with a collection bucket at Bank Station? It’s the bucket, every time.
“It’s fundraising at its most visceral – your window of engagement is literally seconds, you have to get outside your comfort zone and be vocal, the rejection is immediate and fast flowing. You are acutely aware of the lack of eye contact, the apologetic shrugs. The unexplained and irrational fear of bumping into someone you know. There is nowhere to hide.
“In terms of revenue, it’s not the biggest earner, and with a largely cashless commuter group, it is transitioning to a contactless ask.
“So is it worth doing it? Should we really be asking volunteers and colleagues to put themselves out there?
“Hell yes. Because it’s not actually about the money.
“It’s about being out there amongst the people we serve, the people who effectively commission us.
“For every 100 sideward glances to avoid you, there will be one heart-warming moment where you see someone go past, hesitate and come back. They will empty their pockets, they will mention a loved one we have attended, they will be so grateful for the service being there. There will be the child who puts in a coin and you get to tell them they could be helping to save a life – the look of wonder and pride on their face is extraordinary.
“You never know where that chance conversation may lead, the serendipity of random connection. We have built relationships that have generated tens of thousands of pounds, on the street.
“Plus, believe me, 90 mins on your feet at Kings Cross at rush hour teaches you the value of every single hard-earned pound in a way that other fundraising simply doesn’t.
“The day I consider grass roots collections as unimportant or in any way ‘below me’, should be my last as CEO of this charity.
“So, I will continue to proudly stand alongside our volunteers that lead the charge on our collections, and we have few coming up. The London’s Air Ambulance Charity’s Big City Collection lands (pun intended) on 4 October 2022 in the Square Mile and we are looking for you, your friends and colleagues to join us. We want to flood the city with our t-shirts, stickers, pin badges, buckets and contactless machines. We will all be there from the charity – frontline operations team, fundraisers, trustees, colleagues from finance, data and HR. Please do join us, add your name to the list of lifesavers list by filling in this form.
“If you just don’t fancy doing it, I have a simple plea – please come and say hello to us or any other charity you walk past on your way in – it’s great just to be acknowledged (and remember most of the people will be giving up their precious time as volunteers). I appreciate there’s a different cause at the station every day, I get that it’s a distraction just at the wrong time of day, I know how tempting it is just to walk past pretending to be absorbed in whatever your AirPods are playing.
“So, I’ve committed to give to whatever charity is at the station without fail. More importantly, I will ask if they are a volunteer and say thank you for giving up their time. It costs me about £2 a day and is maximum one minute out of my day. I think every single cause deserves that.
“Most of us are lucky enough to afford that, and you will be giving a tens of charities a bit of cash, but you will be acknowledging hundreds of volunteer hours doing the toughest gig in the business.
“And I tell you what, it feels really great to do it.
“See you at the barricades (well, the ticket barriers).”