“Excellent service overall, incredibly valuable market knowledge and above & beyond level of service”
Between performing contracts, I was working in a marketing department in a big leisure complex in Yorkshire (where I’m from) and the venue had the opportunity to host the Royal Shakespeare Company with Richard III played by Simon Russell Beale as part of its non-traditional venue tour. The Chief Executive at the time told me that if I wanted the first major cultural performance of this kind in the organisation, I had to make it happen by finding the money to fund it.
I had built up relationships with the local business community through the marketing activity, so to go to them and make a compelling case for support and say “here’s a great opportunity to bring the best company in world to our city, would you be willing and interested to make this happen?” wasn’t a difficult proposition. The result was a six performance run with a different corporate partner every night and of course the most fantastic performances by the RSC.
Raising the money for something I believed all those years ago was the start of my professional career in fundraising and the rest is history as they say….. I am very fortunate in that in each of the great arts and cultural organisations I have been part of over the last 17 years, I have had that same sense of belief in what the organization has been looking to achieve if it was able to secure the financial support and a real sense of making something significant happen.
Being a part of something that makes a difference. Making things happen that have an impact which could be on people and their development, an organisation’s capacity or leading major organisational changes. For me, I have been continually motivated by the real impact that you can have in doing this on an organisation and the personal sense of satisfaction that comes from being part of a great team.
Raising money undoubtedly… though often I find when speaking to peers and colleagues, raising money can sometimes be the easiest part and institutional change the harder task; the politics around an organisation, leading, changing and building a new value system which actually can then help you to raise the money can often be the most significant challenge for fundraisers.
Another challenge is finding excellent, great people who become part of the team and we all recognise that in this sector, there aren’t enough good people with experience to fill the many vacancies. There is particularly a skills gap at the most senior level in our profession and it’s a great opportunity and privilege for those of us in the senior leadership roles currently to be developing and supporting the next generations of fundraisers.
I think focus, energy, commitment, belief, confidence and great communication skills amongst other things. The trick is not only knowing what your organisation wants to say but knowing what the donor wants to hear and what motivates them. The ability to communicate, listen and then to follow through and being really on top of the detail is crucial. A sense of “can do” and a “cup half-full” attitude is key and you need to be very resilient as there are more no’s than yes’s in this job!
I knew the Chairman of the Board of Governors, Sir John Ritblat through my career in the arts sector. He was (and is) always a great advocate for London Business School and was able to convey a sense of the vision for the future to me. I was over time really compelled to be a part of what this great Business School is committed to delivering for the future and it was a really key motivator in making my decision to move.
I had had the most fantastic 10 years at Southbank Centre; it was a great privilege to be part of that wonderful organisation and team and I was involved in many great things with some extraordinary people. I wanted another challenge and although London Business School is number 1 in the Financial Times rankings for the full time MBA and a phenomenal place; it had never fully developed a mature sophisticated fundraising function that can sit up there with the other top universities/business schools. London Business School will be 50 years old in a few years and I was interested to join them at such a unique time and to be part of such a great challenge to underpin the future financially in a way that has never been done before. The Dean has a really clear and compelling vision and I wanted to be a part of this exciting era, to come in and make a real difference.
People ask me this all the time! There aren’t as many differences as people may think from a fundraising perspective, what’s most different are the acronyms! Great artists and great academics are both incredibly exciting to be around as they are changing and impacting the world.
I find that it’s very very similar in the issues and challenges that Southbank Centre faced 10 years ago and that many in the arts and cultural sector face in that the organisation was the best in its field but had never truly developed a great fundraising capacity. For me at London Business School, because it’s young, entrepreneurial and independent, it’s been a very easy change.
London Business School is all about having a positive impact on the way the world does business, so the challenge is constantly identifying how we’ve made a difference to an individual or organisation. The arts can equally make its own case on the impact it has on society and its importance.
Fundraising is never easy and in an economic downturn there are more challenges around that.
One of the things that you must recognise is the need to set realistic goals and assess what you require, dependent on your costs, and have a mature, sophisticated understanding of your budgets so your organisation isn’t over-exposed.
A trend many are seeing is that donors are more cautious, but those that are rich are still rich and those who give, amazingly and generously keep on giving! There might be a different thought process or a different payment schedule or lower level of gift in the early years, but we’re still seeing fantastic support.
The education sector benefits from the government’s 3 year matched funding scheme. The timing of this, though not planned, has been really helpful as we as are many others, are able to leverage this on new gifts in the downturn.
There is also a growing awareness of the need to support non profits and I have no doubt it will always be a tough job, but collectively we raise understanding of the need for philanthropy and that’s got to be good for everyone.
All organisations need to develop deeper and more meaningful relationships with donors and this is especially true with international donors, though you do need to maintain a practical level of engagement. Technology is rapidly changing the way we fundraise regardless of the sector, and there is more to be achieved using these tools effectively. However, the personal touch will never go away; it is part of the DNA and donors require and deserve it! I can see that this may be a challenge especially on the international scale, but the use of technology needs to support the face to face contact, not be a replacement.
