Don’t Look Now

27th June by Imogen Ward

My time working in the charity sector is slowly inching towards its third decade. There’s a quote by writer Angela Carter that cites nostalgia as being “the vice of the aged”. And as we get “aged”, it’s oh so very easy to shake our heads and mutter that everything was rosier and happier back in the day.

There has been loads that has changed for the better.  The biggest of these is arguably around digital which has probably brought the most positive disruption not just in our working practices but how we effectively reach and communicate with supporters and other key stakeholders such as the media and policy decision makers.

It is still a very conservative sector (trust me, I have sat in enough Board meetings recently) but it’s a lot less restrictive and hierarchal than when I joined in in the mid-nineties. The localisation agenda in international aid and development is ultimately going to shift power from the North to the South and will hopefully move the dial on how the world addresses big and complex problems more effectively and sustainably. Lived experience in charity leadership teams and boards was almost unheard of 10 years ago as was diversity and inclusion. 

But indulge me a little in this vice.

Raising funds to support our work has never been tougher. Sorry.

Our ability to effectively use channels such as Face-to-Face, direct mail and the telephone to reach new supporters has become a lot harder and a lot more expensive and exclusive. Building a file of supporters was an achievable goal for even relatively modest organisations if you could find a bit of investment and the right channels. Now, like buying your own property, it seems to be the preserve of the rich.

One of my first business plans I put together for both Board of Trustee approval and to support funding in the form of a bank loan was focused on Face-to-Face fundraising. This was around 1998 whilst I was working for a small conservation charity. It took a lot of work to get the organisation (and the bank) over the line. But I did. My one regret? Not being bolder and asking for more money and being more ambitious with targets.

The majority of small to medium sized organisations that we are called into review on the income generation side are struggling with their individual giving programmes. This is not because they have bad programmes or because there’s a lack of talent in the team. It’s just really, really hard. And if funding in acquisition was turned off during the heat of the Olive Cooke tragedy, then the implications of this are very serious now. 

For all the talk of Philanthropy and Corporate Partnerships and even social enterprise, nothing has really emerged that satisfactorily solves the problem of how charities fund core costs and use those core costs to propel impact. Outside of full cost recovery (again getting harder) and the magical legacies, it really does feel like we are chasing our tails.

There are bits of the UK charity sector doing well which I think still have a chance to achieve substantial growth in Individual Giving.  Those with causes that are local – Air Ambulances, Hospices, Animal Shelters – these are bucking the trend and done correctly should do well.  In addition those causes that are linked to major news stories – Food Bank/Security charities and (up to a point) humanitarian charities will find recruiting donors easier. But it will take a lot more money and energy than I had or needed back in the 90s.

So. If I was my 20-something reading this missive from the future how would I stop the younger me from jacking it all in and running for the hills?  

Well, as with most things in life, it’s less about what you know and more who you know. And I think this applies here.

Focus on those closest to the organisation and the cause. Spend time getting to know them. Explore how you can develop the relationship. Stop looking at your donor file as pure entries on a database that need to be segmented and technically aligned, look at them as individuals. And treat them like people not numbers.

Yes, back in the day we could build a programme quickly but unless we nurtured our supporters they would still fall off at an alarming rate.

Perhaps 30 years on we’ve at last learnt the power of relationships and taking time to care. Now that is good news.