For those who aren’t familiar with Dave Fishwick and the ‘Bank of Dave’, he’s an ex-DJ, self-made millionaire with a minibus business from Burnley. His is the story of a man with a big idea to solve a big problem. Living by his mantra of ‘never, ever, ever give up’, he took on the biggest of the big boys (and they are mainly boys). And he won. Even though most of us will never undertake this kind of crusade, Dave’s story provides some lessons and inspiration for us all.

Dave has been the subject of a television series documenting his fight for a better banking system in Britain, which grew out of his desire to set up his own bank. He saw that people in his town were struggling even to get small business loans from the big high street banks. So Dave decided to set up his own – which meant getting into the murky, closed-off world of banking and financial regulations. It’s a fascinating tale of the man on the street vs. the fat cat. It also highlights the tangled, tortuous and unwieldy regulatory system.

He wanted to set up a bank to compete with the high street banks to offer a service they weren’t and found out that there were many obstacles in his way. These included the banking industry itself and the FSA. He couldn't set up a bank, so he started a savings and loans company that donates all its profits to charity.

Beyond the banking component, there’s a lot we can learn from Dave Fishwick and his ‘Bank of Dave’.

• Identifying a problem that needed solving: As highlighted in our recent Innovation (Still) Rules Report, one of the first steps to solving a problem is identifying it exists and that there's something to improve upon. His ‘a-ha’ moment was seeing the people he knew and hearing how the lack of available loans meant their businesses were closing down. Thousands of people must have shaken their fists at the TV with the latest banking scandal and muttered they could do a better job. That’s probably where Dave started, but then he carried it on to a national campaign for better banking.
• Communications and mobilising support: He kept his message simple and his passion was there for all to see. By talking to people and his supporters, he found the right way to communicate with those he wanted to reach. He asked them about what they needed, the problems they were facing and what that meant to them. Then he told them what he wanted to achieve, what his solution was and asked for their support. He also made himself totally available. People came up to him on the street to ask questions and he took the time to answer them all.
• Campaigning: He went to the party conferences and tapped the shoulders of all the people he wanted to speak to. Result? He got Vince Cable and Ed Balls talking about him in parliament and he managed to get in front of the AAPG on banking to argue his case.

A big part of what’s making Dave’s campaign successful is… well, Dave. It’s the fact that he is providing a personal guarantee and a personal relationship with his customers. People buy from people, people lend to people, and crucially for charities, people give to people.

Without that personal touch, your marketing, your campaigns and your fundraising can be as sophisticated and strategic as you like, they won’t get you as far as being seen as human. The number of times I’ve had appeals from charities I support addressed to 'Mr Smith' is ridiculous. Even worse – 'Mr/Mrs Smith'!

Dave is campaigning without a dedicated marketing team, a campaigns team or even a background in the area. Yet he is seeing results in the space of just 2 years. It is surely heartening and inspiring for all those charities trying to fight City Hall and make change happen on a range of issues no less significant or challenging than Dave’s.

Yes, he’s riding a wave of public dissatisfaction with the banking world. But he also picked an adversary with serious clout and power - the FSA. He took on the most closed club in one of the most regulated sectors in the country. No mean feat.

Maybe the main lesson for us is a reminder of the basics. The trappings of teams, resources and collateral are great and make life a lot easier for those that have them (think of all those over-stretched people combining several roles into one), but they’re not essential.

What it comes down to is a lot of persistence, dogged determination, sheer strength of conviction… and an unwillingness to stop until you’ve got what you want. As the campaign gathers public and political momentum, Dave Fishwick is showing us that while it’s anything but easy, it can be done.

So any charity - large or small, campaigning for change, large or small – could take a leaf or two out of Dave’s book. And at the very least, after another long, unforgiving day of trying to get people to listen, take heart and draw inspiration.

"I'm not 'avin' it," Dave says. "I'm not 'avin' it. We're right. They're wrong. Bollocks to 'em."

Forget about Obama. There’s a new masterclass in campaigning in town.

Can we Bank on your support? Or are we a-loan here? Leave us a comment below.