I live in Peterborough in England which is about 80 miles North of London. Some call it East Midlands, others call it East Anglia - I call it home.

I have worked in marketing and as a graphic designer for nearly 20 years in the fields of travel, the Internet and the racy world of insurance.

In my current role I design all company printed literature and write and edit the company magazine. I also produce all press releases for the firm.

I made the long list - as opposed to the 32 person short list - in the BBC's The Last Laugh' national sitcom writing competition. Apparently the competition attracted nearly 5000 entries with all scripts (supposedly) read by a team of a professional readers. Each were graded 1,2,or 3 and those graded 1 made it onto the long list. My letter from BBC3 stated: The difference between the grades is that basically those graded 1 could with a little work and and editing could be performed for television.'

At the beginning of February I sold my first comedy sketch to the London-based satirical comedy troop, NewsRevue.

Last year I gained a Certificate in Personal Performance Coaching from the Coaching Academy and attended a Tony Robbins seminar where I walked across glowing hot coals.

Being barefoot in a car park in February usually requires a follow-up appointment at a mental institution rather than risking a trip to A&E. Needless to say my bunions have now been dispatched to the great chiropodist in the sky.

I am aged 39 and am married to Jo and we have three children 8, 6 and 5. We could have given them names but chose to give them each a reference number instead.

My passion is ...

secret

I know too much about ...

not enough

My parents always told me ...

that if I applied myself anything was possible

My childhood ambition ...

to own an art shop and gallery

My favorite memory ...

is of childhood holidays on the North Norfolk coast

Why I write ...

because I can

What I am reading/watching/listening to ...

the complete works of Neville Gumball (deceased)

My first job ...

was in womens tights - I sold them on a market stall

My best moment ...

completing my first London Marathon

My inspiration ...

is knowing I can do better

Business > Nonprofits Fresh ideas for fundraising

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SMALL CHANGE / BIG DIFFERENCE CAMPAIGN

The collection tin method of fund-raising has been around for many years and looks set to remain so for the foreseeable future. It may be that the technique of raising money has to change if the desperately high levels of funding required are to be maintained year-on-year.

One option to consider is to producing a folded credit card sized card which has the charity aims and details plus a list of different monetary amounts and what a donation of that size could pay for. The twist is that each amount is given an alternative value in terms of a daily e...

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