Sadly, my time at nfpSynergy is winding down and someone new will soon take my place. I thought I would take this time to reflect on my work and share my experiences so that applicants can know what being an Intern with the Business Development team is like.

Legend has it that we’re living in a brave new world of community minded companies and business like charities. So a partnership between a company and a charity is now a partnership of equals with shared values and a common goal, right? Maybe. Maybe in some cases, the company and the charity have achieved the holy grail of cross sector partnerships where both are getting what they need.

But maybe that’s in the minority of cases and for the rest, asking whether it’s worth the hassle is a question worth asking.

Audience segmentation by attitude and lifestyle is just one of the ways that charities can make sure they get the right message across to the right audience. But what is the theory of segmentaiton? This presentation explores how charities can make sure they exract every ounce of value from their investment in research and marketing.

I am over the moon with the findings/what you have given us to articulate to various stakeholders to enable us to drive our fundraising forward

Instead of bombarding us with statistics about young people's behaviour, nfpSynergy used the research to provide us with key points reinforced by real-world case studies. And each point was summarised with the relevance to Mencap. Instead of handing us a report that is thick with data, still to be interpreted and understood, nfpSynergy gave us a useful tool that can form the basis of our strategy for engaging with young people. They've saved us vast amounts of time, and have delivered something we will definitely be able to use.

It is always a pleasure to work with people who are enthusiastic, hardworking, in possession of a broad range of experience and willing to adapt their approach during project development to suit a client's changing needs. nfpSynergy's final report was crucial in our decision making process.  It ended a period of organisational speculation and allowed us to move forward from an authoritative position of knowledge and understanding.

Elizabeth Finn Care

By unlocking some of the secrets of what makes young people tick nfpSynergy helped me devise new strategies for engaging them in volunteering and fundraising - such valuable stuff! (on ‘Typical Young People’)

Sophie Randles, when she was at Leonard Cheshire Disability. She is now Head of Fundraising - Classic FM, XFM, National Events at Global Radio.

We were really pleased with the clear presentation of the findings which managed to be both succinct and comprehensive. The breaking down of results by type of drinker has really helped our work since the evaluation was completed. It was a really good project to work on.

Jane Greenstock, when she was Research Coordinator at Drinkaware. She is now Research Assistant at Social Care Institute for Excellence.

We were very happy with the way that nfpSynergy commissioned the research looking at older peoples attitudes to dying, death and bereavement. As is often the case this work was commissioned almost at the 'last minute' . nfpSynergy presented the outcomes in a very insightful way and they have definitely influenced the delivery of a very sensitive communications strategy.

John Palmer, Director of Marketing and Communications at NatCen (for Dying Matters Coalition audience insight and communications testing)

As nfpSynergy clients who attended our March Insights event and heard the presentation that forms the basis of this editorial will be aware, one of the themes to emerge in recent waves of our research is that while charitable giving levels in 2012 remain volatile, the picture is not bleak.