In this blog Caroline Doran, Founder of Deliver Grow, talks about the opportunity to speak at Fundraising Convention and how it gave her a great opportunity to let people know they are not alone in the challenges they are experiencing.
When Sarah Tite asked me if I would like to put in a joint submission to speak at the Chartered Institute’s Fundraising Convention 2023 to talk to fundraisers about how they can do their essential work in the world and thrive, it was an easy yes.
I am passionate about supporting people in the charity sector to deliver impact in a way that is sustainable – for them, for their teams, for their organisations. As a coach and facilitator working in the sector, I often hear how exhausted, overwhelmed, and burnt-out people are. I knew that speaking at Convention would give us a great opportunity to let people know they are not alone in the challenges they are experiencing.
We wanted to be able to share the context and provide clear, practical tools that could help people step out of overwhelm and establish a more sustainable way of operating. Our talk, which we did together with Daryll Upsall, covered the ‘state of the nation’ context; actions we can take individually that help us to thrive; and the role leaders can play in creating safe spaces for teams to challenge, learn and contribute.
It was wonderful to speak to people in the audience after our talk to hear just how welcomed this session was. People I spoke to were so relieved to hear an honest representation of how hard it can feel in the sector, especially at the moment, and shared how helpful it had been to reflect on the changes they could make for themselves, their teams and their organisation.
That feedback gave me renewed energy around my own mission – we have to shift the culture of overwhelm and burnout in the sector and create cultures where people can thrive. I genuinely believe this is how we do our best work and have our greatest impact. Speaking at Fundraising Convention helped me to spread my message of hope for a more sustainable future in the sector. I have since spoken on a Beating Burnout panel for the Chartered Institute of Fundraising Event Fundraising special interest group and run my How to Thrive workshop for charities who first heard me speak at Convention. I believe in the power of the ripple effect. Speaking at Convention was a great way for me to set those ripples in motion and, I hope, create waves of change that are needed to support fundraisers to have incredible impact and thrive.