Uncovering common behaviours of a successful fundraising organisation

“Fundraising is unique: we are selling a problem, not a solution,” said Alan Clayton, Chair of Revolutionise, as he opened a thought-provoking event examining common behaviours that lead to successful fundraising.

In the latest ‘Perspectives on Leadership’ series, hosted by the Centre for Charity Effectiveness at Bayes Business School, Alan reflected on 10 years of research into how organisations can grow their fundraising efforts – documented in his new book, Great Fundraising Organizations (Wiley).

Principles of success, he claims, are developed in the professional modelling of a fundraising organisation as one with two businesses, four key actors and one common mission.

“Meeting needs of the donor and service user are two entirely different things, even if these people are the same person,” he said.

“Charities’ fundraising fails when they lean exclusively on their brand reputation to raise funds, rather than focusing on what the problem is that they’re trying to address.

“Effective organisations must understand that under their single mission is delivered by two businesses: fundraisers must attract donors to solve real, unique, sizeable and emotional problems, and services must provide for service users’ needs. The two business models need to be led in different ways.

“When leadership understands that donors pay to fix a problem rather than give to a brand, fundraising accelerates. When a whole organisation gets this, fundraising thrives.”

Alan was then joined on a plenary by three not-for-profit leaders, with a discussion moderated by Dr Haseeb Shabbir, Reader in Voluntary Sector Management at Bayes and lead for the MSc in Charity Marketing and Fundraising.

Asked about the inspirations behind his research, Alan explained he was seeing a trend of talented fundraisers becoming stifled and leaving the industry, because of frustrations at not being properly understood across the organisation.

Emma Malcolm, Director of Income and Transformation at the Macular Society, discussed the need to constantly return to the ‘why’ – and the problem that needed to be solved – while educating new board members about fundraising and how it could be best supported.

David Craig, CEO of Scotland’s Charity Air Ambulance, expanded on this by saying entire organisations needed to immerse themselves in a fundraising culture. The majority of leaders, he said, tend to bring high credibility and business acumen without specific fundraising expertise – pointing to his own organisation’s policy of all staff completing fundraising training to ensure alignment of values.

Harpreet Kondel, Chair at the Chartered Institute of Fundraising, explained the importance of using effective storytelling and giving fundraising directors a seat at the top table for decision-making – claiming organisations were ‘doomed to failure’ without their presence on the senior leadership team.

The panellists each gave tips for early-career fundraising, managing the stresses of leadership and the biggest challenges to organisational growth.

An audience Q&A then addressed further topics of growth, legal mandates and responsibilities of charitable organisations, and the power of face-to-face communication between leaders, fundraisers, donors and service users to bring together ideas and knowledge.

Dr Shabbir said the event shone a light on the importance of fundraising culture in organisations.

“The journey towards creating a great fundraising organisation involves being prepared to learn lessons from successes and failures along the way,” he said.

“Tapping into the knowledge of fundraising supporters, and understanding what they need to succeed, is critical for any leader looking to grow an organisation.

"By empowering those working with donors on the front line, leaders can take more informed strategic decisions and allocate resources appropriately.

“Our thanks go to Alan for presenting his fascinating research on the topic, and to our wonderful panellists who shared such a range of experiences and recipes for success. I’m sure our audience will have taken away valuable lessons.”

Find out more about the Centre for Charity Effectiveness.

Read about the Charity Master’s programmes available to study at Bayes Business School.

Purchase your copy of Alan Clayton’s Great Fundraising Organizations.