Fundraising – let’s not shy away from it: it’s hard work! The emotional weight of what we do, the pressure to deliver more services with fewer resources, the constant navigation of ethical complexity, the expectations, the scrutiny – it adds up, and it takes its toll.
We keep going as much as we can, because we know the cause matters and our help as fundraisers is essential. But as a result, our sector is facing significant burnout with too many of us leaving.
As a lifetime fundraiser myself, I know as well as you do that things have to change. To reverse the decline in giving, meet the demand for services and create sustainable futures for our charities, there needs to be more of us. But for more people to consider fundraising, greater support is needed for both. Fundraising must be championed right from the top of the organisation, invested in and valued, and fundraisers respected and nurtured.
I’m proud and excited then that at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising we have just announced our key priorities for the next ten years, which are all about driving the change we need. We’re aiming to double our impact in a decade by reversing the decline of fundraisers, the decline of donors, and creating a sustainable future for fundraising focused on inspiring people to give.
We’ll do this through four key pillars of work – the foundations for the Institute’s vision: attracting, retaining and nurturing fundraising talent; changing the perceptions of fundraising; driving excellent fundraising practice, setting standards, ethics and guidance; and creating a culture that is easier and more inspiring to give. You can read more about the four pillars.
Essentially, it's about investing in the collective future of our sector. Our overarching purpose at the Institute is to help fundraisers have a lifetime of impact through this very special career that supports charities in navigating their challenges and delivering on their mission. With these areas of focus front and centre we believe we can achieve that.
We want to make fundraising an attractive, respected profession – elevating the sector’s profile by sharing success stories, career impact narratives and profiles of fundraisers from varied backgrounds, and ensuring the pathways, training and nurturing are in place to make it a viable lifetime career for more people.
I know from my experience that as well as sometimes being tough, fundraising really is the best of careers – I wouldn’t have stayed in it for so long if it wasn’t! There are so many of us who are proof that it’s a career worth pursuing – and our vision at the Institute is to ensure more people see it as such.
We also want to help others see the value of fundraising and fundraisers – to invest in them, and to trust them so that fundraising reaches its potential in every charity. That’s where our other pillars come in. There’s nothing more demoralising than fundraising being under-valued internally, and as a trustee myself I’m committed to supporting and championing our fundraisers at board level. Working to improve this across every charity will be a key focus.
But as fundraisers we all know that the other people we need to engage more are the public. People want to give, yet fewer are doing so. Not least because of the relentless rise in living costs, from our food shop to our mortgage rates and energy bills. But there’s also still a job to be done to bolster trust, so people feel confident about where their money is going, and to tackle misconceptions and build understanding – so they know that even just giving a little makes a lot of difference.
This starts with improving how we engage and ensuring we’re all up to date with best practice, ethics, and legislation. For me, I know learning is a lifelong journey – there is always a new rule, an update to guidance, or change to legislation to find out about! So, we’ll also be working to help fundraisers keep up to date with changes that impact them and implement best and ethical practices that inspire confidence among the public.
Essentially, these changes are what we as fundraisers hope and strive for every day, but achieving them sector-wide will take a long-term strategic approach that we can all play a part in. That starts here, and we will be seeking your support, and announcing initiatives and opportunities to share your expertise over the coming months. Watch this space – but don’t just watch it, join us and get involved!