As the calendar rolls into June, the CIOF Convention rolls into town, London town and the QEII Centre in Westminster to be precise. Once more the fundraising community descend from far and wide for 2 rollicking days of professional enlightenment, information and education as well as networking and peer engagement. This is probably the first time Prospect Research and Insight have been mentioned in the same sentence as ‘rollicking’. We try our best.
What is most notable about the convention programme is the spectrum of topics and expertise on show across the many disciplines within the profession. This is the opportunity for the brightest and the best to demonstrate the profound impact their work has had and how it can be translated into actionable learning points for charities of all sizes and capacities.
With two formidable plenaries opening proceedings on Days 1 and 2, the bar will be set high. Monty Halls’ elegant rendition of his expeditions and underwater explorations across the globe should be a lively opener and enough to open the heavily caffeinated and bleariest of eyes from those who have journeyed from far and wide for the early start. Priya Lakhani OBE will stimulate the mind and the taste buds with a gourmet menu of food tales, entrepreneurial spirit and her desire for social change and should energise those attending day two.
Max Newton and Cody Price will share their learnings from a Christmas Appeal at Sheffield Hospitals Charity (Affordable Small Charity Execution: A Case Study of a Christmas Appeal) and this intrigues me personally because I am a firm believer that innovation comes in all shapes and sizes – often the most effective work is being delivered at a local level where organisations are working with the proverbial shoe string budgets and crucially they must be given the opportunity to showcase. One hopes the larger charities take note.
At the risk of self-promotion, Prospect Research and Insight will have the pleasure of hosting the indomitable trio of Steven White, Andrew Lockett and Becky Turner for Forecasting for Fundraising: Building a Sustainable Future in which they will demonstrate how Alzheimer's Society used insights, What-If models and much other wizardry in order to ‘maximize return on investment across fundraising portfolio’. This session promises to demonstrate how fundraisers can be ‘data confident' in their decision making and will demystify and make such tools and techniques accessible even to the most Excel-wary.
In such times of social division where nuance is absent and opportunities to make capital out of headlines reign supreme, it is vital that Jaz Nannar (Jaz Nannar Consulting Ltd) and Anna Turner (Legacy Foresight) should bring to the fore such a session as In Memory giving in Multi-Cultural Britain. I have every confidence that this will reinforce and illuminate the power of engaging wider audiences and cultivating their own philanthropic capabilities in an area of highly sensitive and personal fundraising.
Ah, intergenerational wealth transfer. The buzz words that have major donor fundraisers licking their lips and AI realising it’s not the only new kid on the block(chain). I speak in jest however given that in How Fundraisers Should Prepare for the Great £5.5 Trillion Intergenerational Wealth Transfer Mark Phillips from Bluefrog will highlight how this gilded moment is the opportunity for organisations to future proof their income at many levels. His multi-pronged presentation should appeal to fundraisers across the discipline.
Following the theme of pulling oneself up by the bootstraps, Martin Bishop (Dementia UK), Jonathan Levy (Neurodiverse Fundraisers), Sonya Trivedy (Samaritans) and Kim van Niekerk (The View Looks Good) will speak about Fundraising Leaders Who Started on the Front Line. Such an array of speakers should be able to illustrate the benefits of working ‘on the ground’ and the ways in which this has provided the experience and framework in order to provide ‘air cover’ when needed and ensure individuals flourish; the two fundamental points of management in any sector.
On a personal level I am delighted to see that Erin Hughes (Music at Oxford) will be focusing on a topic that has a considerable degree of resonance and a growing visibility in the fundraising sector and more widely: Good different: Making the most of neurodiversity in fundraising Given the explosion of commentary around how the skills associated with neurodiversity can be harnessed by employers across a multitude of sectors, this will join the practitioner with the evidence in order to encourage employees to identify how they can enhance their career and workplace.
I anticipate these sessions bringing the convention’s proceedings to a crescendo before we depart exhaustedly, hurriedly but with our hunger for learning thoroughly sated by the gourmet feast of the preceding 2 days. Remember: the convention is not just for reinforcing that of which delegates are already aware, it’s an opportunity to explore new tastes, expand the information palate and have it served to you by the Michelin Stars of the fundraising profession.