Paul Amadi, director of fundraising at NSPCC, looks forward to a transformational period in fundraising, not only at the NSPCC, but across the sector

What are the biggest issues facing fundraisers?

For the sector as a whole, it’s encouraging more people to donate and encouraging those that do give to give more. There is a realisation that we need to change the culture of giving in the UK, which is demonstrated by the government’s giving green paper.

Do you think the green paper offers enough direction on how to achieve that?

UK society is remarkably generous, not least given the current prevailing economic climate. But I still think that there are more ways in which we can encourage people to engage. I would have liked more conversation about how we can capacity build and enhance the fundraising wherewithal of the sector. But it is a good starting point.

What do you find most rewarding about your job?

The thing I find most rewarding is what actually brought me to the NSPCC, the cause. Knowing that I’m part of an organisation which is working towards ending cruelty to children – and working with people who wake up in the morning and go to bed at night thinking about how they can achieve that – is incredibly rewarding.

Why do you think that you can regularly trace the big names in fundraising back to the NSPCC.

The NSPCC has a long established reputation for excellence, being innovative and challenging convention. I think anybody who has been in that hotbed has a great platform for excellence going forward.

Did you ever have a ‘plan B’?

I might have been an accountant at one stage but I wanted to be improving people’s lives and making a difference. I very much felt it was a calling to the sector.

How does the NSPCC differ from your previous roles?

The issues are not dissimilar to previous organisations that I’ve worked with. But at the moment my key priority is driving forward our fundraising transformation programme. This is a significant change management exercise designed to ensure that the NSPCC generates significant income to achieve its corporate objectives.

Does that involve change outside of fundraising too?

Anybody will tell you that a successful organisation has to have fundraising at its heart. Everybody throughout the organisation has a part to play in fundraising and that is definitely one aspect of the change that I’m seeking to drive through.

Do you have an inspirational motto to keep your team motivated?

Yesterday is history, tomorrow is a mystery and today is a gift – that's why it’s called the present.

What prompted you step down from your role as chair at the Institute of Fundraising?

[Paul laughs] It was a deeply sinister plot. No, it was very much about what I have just been describing to you. There were two practical reasons. First, the scale of the job at the NSPCC is significant. In fact, it’s all consuming. So, given that we are embarking on a significant change management exercise, I wanted to make sure that I was focusing all of my efforts on driving that through. But I’m still a trustee, so I still retain my involvement and am a passionate advocate of the Institute.

If you could do anything to make a fundraiser’s life easier, what would it be?

To return to the point that I made earlier, being a fundraiser can be a very isolating profession so recognition from other parts of the organisation about some of the challenges faced by fundraisers makes our lives a great deal easier.

How do you unwind in your spare time?

I have two boys who are both football mad. So, in my spare time I run the Paul Amadi taxi service, which is ferrying my children from football matches to football training. But I do like reading and I’m a bit of a fitness fanatic as well.

How do you see the role of the fundraiser evolving over the next few years?

I would say that an ability to talk with confidence about all aspects of their cause and the organisation’s operations will be the characteristic of a successful fundraiser. I’m always tremendously excited when people talk so knowledgably, and with commitment, about what we do on the ground. I think that sort of ability is only going to increase over the next five years because it’s what donors expect.

Tell us something nobody else knows about you?

It’s quite funny because on away days you always get asked that question. Not many people know that I’ve got a tattoo.

Can you tell us what and where it is?

We’ve only just met!

Paul Amadi is director of fundraising at the NSPCC

This article first appeared in The Fundraiser magazine, Issue 3, March 2011