If you haven't seen this clip before, prepare to be appalled...

  

But if you are one of the 2 million + people who has already heard this man's delight at the financial melt-down, you might be surprised by what I'm going to say next.

There is one important point to extract from his otherwise appalling views.

We may not be as bullish as traders, but as fundraisers we have to believe it is still possible to bring in the money that the good causes we represent need – more than ever.

As I've mentioned before in this space, I think some of the best fundraising is done in emergencies. And since the news from the outside world is predominantly doom and gloom right now, I thought I'd share two inspiring examples of successful fundraising in desperate times. 

Great Ormond Street Hospital 

You may have heard the current financial outlook described as the worst since the Second World War, so here's some amazing fundraising from precisely that time. 

I wish I knew more about this story but here's what I've been able to piece together. In (I think) 1940, Great Ormond Street Hospital was bombed. As you can hear if you click here, large parts of the building were left in ruins, equipment was destroyed and patients had to be evacuated.

What would you do if you had to try and raise the money needed to rebuild the hospital?

Well, this is the part of the story I love. Whoever those fundraisers were, they looked around at the rubble and found a solution.

To raise money, Great Ormond Street Hospital sold matchboxes of the debris. Each matchbox bought by a member of the public brought in funds for rebuilding work. I wish I had a picture of one.

As you can see here, a book was also opened and circulated, with messages of support coming from the Royal Family, politicians and celebrities of the day.

Ai Wei Wei

Example number two is contemporary and comes from China. As you may be aware, artist Ai Wei Wei has incurred the displeasure of the Chinese government. Having been detained for 81 days, he was presented by the state with a tax bill of 15m yuan – a sum he can't possibly pay.

So what's happened since then? Well, Ai Wei Wei describes it as 'a beautiful thing' and I agree. Well-wishers have put themselves at risk by coming forward to help Ai Wei Wei pay the bill.

As you can see from these great photos from the Guardian, donations have come in unusual ways.

 

People have screwed up money into a ball or made it into a paper aeroplane to get it over the wall into the grounds of Ai Wei Wei's studio.

 

Other courageous individuals pass on their donation covertly.

Ai Wei Wei may not be a fundraiser, but donors are thanked in a memorable way. Volunteers send out some of his ceramic seeds.

 

To sum up

Here are two examples of great fundraising in worse situations than we face. So chin up! Keep doing good fundraising.