Developing fundraising in the regions is high on the institute’s agenda, as Lee Grant explains
As an organisation based in central London we are sometimes faced with allegations that we operate with a southern bias. While this couldn’t be further from the truth, it is a claim that we are acutely aware of and it is one of the reasons why we have made a conscious effort to expand and cultivate our operations throughout England, Scotland and Wales and Northern Ireland.
We know it is vital for us to keep in touch with our grassroots members – fundraisers who are putting in the hard hours day after day, wherever they are based. This is why we are currently changing our governance arrangements to ensure that our members are properly represented wherever they are and that their voices carry more weight as we develop our policies and priorities.
Our new proposals to change our structure will still include trustees for Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland who have been elected by their members. However there will also be a chair of the English regional group and a chair of the special interest group joining the trustees.
Bespoke training
As part of this ‘one nation’ approach we have also introduced a new programme for fundraisers in the regions. Along with national partners including Attend, Voice 4 Change, Fundraising Standards Board, Women’s Resource Centre, PTA-UK and the Foundation for Social Improvement, we have rolled out our bespoke training at a regional level.
In the first year of the project, which is funded by the Office for Civil Society, we worked with our regional groups to develop a number of different training models that suited the capacity and skills of each group. We have delivered 20 regionally based courses to date.
We have also developed two regional mentoring schemes for the North West and North East groups, and are doing the same with the West Midlands group next year.
We’ve had very positive feedback about our mentoring schemes so far. One attendee from the North said: “My pairing is great, I have someone who has oodles of fundraising experience and is very inspiring to talk to. My mentee was glad I was there to offload onto, and I was glad to be there to listen, guide and support a fellow fundraiser.”
Many fundraisers are on their own in their organisation, ensuring the charity continues to exist but with no real support or understanding of their issues. We set up the mentoring scheme to ensure that those highly skilled, professional and passionate people have the support they need to continue their work and develop their skills.
Keeping the ball rolling
We will not rest on our laurels. We continually strive for excellence, and we need our members to keep telling us where we can improve and how we can help make them better fundraisers.
We can provide a high national standard of training and support for fundraisers, but they must apply those standards while retaining their own identity. While fundraising is in itself an activity which cuts across national and regional boundaries, successful fundraising must take on regional characteristics to appeal to local donors and charities.
So, while putting myself at risk of sounding dangerously like a U2 song: we are one – but we are not the same.
By Lee Grant, head of membership communities at the Institute of Fundraising
This article first appeared in The Fundraiser magazine, Issue 19, July 2012
