Never backwards in coming forwards, Mark Astarita blows a few fundraising myths out of the water… including why UK fundraisers still surpass their American cousins

What attracted you to your first fundraising role?

My wife, Gill, was the fundraising manager at Prisoners Abroad and she left to go to the Critical Learning Alliance. I was at the Institute of Chemical Engineers as head of PR at that time and I applied for the job and didn’t get it. They thought I was more of a PR person, so they offered it to someone else and that person never turned up. The job was advertised again, and again, I didn’t get it. Another person was recruited and because it’s such a hard charity to fundraise for they backed out. So in the end they didn’t have any choice really. I was given the role by default.

What was it that drew you to the cause?

Prisoners Abroad is a remarkable cause but very few people support it. I’ve raised money for drug traffickers, murderers and rapists and if you can do that, you can do anything. I don’t have much truck with fundraisers who say their cause is difficult, as I’ve worked for the most difficult cause in Britain.

How do you convince someone to part with cash for a cause like Prisoners Abroad?

You’ve got to focus on people who might be moved to give. Don’t be afraid to ask – it’s a very British trait, which is why we’re not considered as good at it as our cousins in the US. It’s about being bold and brave about the cause that you’re fighting for. You’re the voice of the beneficiaries, so for God’s sake be up there in people’s faces I’ve certainly been taught that I’m doing donors a favour because people feel good about giving.

How do you significantly increase the fundraised incomes of the charities you join?

First of all you have to be ambitious for the organisation. The best thing I do is recruit amazing people. I lead from the front and I inspire. About 14 of my staff have gone on to be directors of fundraising, which is the thing I’m most proud of.

Will your first job as chair of the Institute of Fundraising be recruiting a new chief executive?

Yes, it’s a hands-on role. They’ve got to be able to drive a policy agenda, support a brilliant convention and articulate the learning agenda that we have in front of us, so that young fundraisers – all fundraisers – get better at what they do. It’s a tough job. They’re going to have to negotiate with an awful lot of people and with external bodies and then the next day go in and see the minister and give him what for.

We’re very lucky that we have a brilliant board, including Richard Taylor from Cancer Research, Gill Raikes from National Trust and Tanya Steele from Save the Children. These are of the biggest charities in the world, let alone just the UK, and their directors of fundraising are sitting round that table. It’s a highly professional board, which can provide the strategic direction and support the chief executive to do their job.

What are the main issues facing the IoF today?

We’ve got a golden opportunity to help shape the giving agenda in the UK. Civil society is the prime minister’s pet project and however that is articulated, fundraisers are going to be a huge part of it.

We need to make sure that the opportunities to give are extended. Over the past two decades, fundraisers have been brilliant at increasing the value of donations in a declining pool of donors and that’s why British fundraising bestrides the world. Make absolutely no mistake – a lot of tosh is talked about American fundraising. International NGOs are recruiting British fundraisers to lead their fundraising, particularly in the area of individual giving. There’s too much conversation about major donor fundraising and major philanthropy. It’s wonderful and it could be the next big thing, but it hasn’t happened yet and certainly not in the UK.

So it’s raising a social conscience really?

What people don’t talk about in the US is that if you want that kind of culture you will be asked incessantly. If you want a lot more giving, you’ll need a lot more fundraising. Our charities are much better at that than those in the states. We have the most sophisticated charity sector in the world and our future probably lies in going global as a sector. At the moment it’s easier to open a bank in Europe than to be a cross-border charity.

What’s been the pinnacle of your career so far?

Fundraising for the London bombings was a moving and very important piece of fundraising. My job title might be director of fundraising but I’m also a life saver and if I do the right thing today, I’ll save more lives tomorrow. That’s what makes me get up in the morning.

Mark Astarita is director of fundraising at the British Red Cross and incoming chair at the Institute of Fundraising.

This article first appeared in The Fundraiser magazine, Issue 5, May 2011