This would not be possible without the efforts and support of our long-standing members. So, as we look back on the past 40 years of the Chartered Institute, we would like to thank and celebrate these members, one of which is the fantastic Valerie Morton.
When I left university with a degree in Maths and Economics, there was an expectation that I would go into business, as was the traditional next step. But, having done some interesting things at university, I wanted to do something that could make a positive difference – however the only options seemed to be youth work and teaching type roles. This wasn’t quite right for me, and I wondered if there was another career path out there that I could pursue. Luckily, I found out about an opportunity to join the Youth Campaign at Help the Aged (now Age UK) which involved organising fundraising campaigns in schools. It was a brilliant training ground is all aspects of fundraising. I’ve never looked back and feel very grateful that I discovered the wonderful profession that is fundraising.
It’s been 45 years since I started my first job in fundraising following university and although in many ways fundraising itself has not changed as much as people perhaps think, it certainly has become more professionalised. I remember being introduced by head teachers in schools as ‘…Valerie Morton, who has given up her valuable time to come and talk to you this morning’. The clear expectation was that I was a volunteer. I am not sure I envisaged a time when we would have a Chartered Institute and a suite of qualifications. The sheer number of people employed in fundraising these days has raised the profile of the profession but my experience of careers services and being on stands at careers fairs is that we have a way to go.
In terms of biggest impact, I would say my time developing and delivering corporate fundraising training through the Chartered Institute. With courses each year, full of professionals eager to learn and grow, this was incredibly rewarding, especially when hearing success stories from participants even years later.
Also, when the payroll giving scheme was first launched, I was at NSPCC – we set up a consortium called Charities at Work and spearheaded the structure and promotion of payroll giving, working with major companies such as BT. Playing a part in the development of this new initiative very exciting – and also how I met my husband!
In terms of my own personal fundraising, managing charity of the year partnership between NSPCC and Asda has to be the highlight. Only two or three such partnerships had been run in the UK at the time and the initial target of £100K from staff (matched by the company) was smashed with the total reaching £1m. From pitching to the finale thank-you event, I enjoyed every minute.
The people who have inspired me most have been individuals I’ve seen come new into the sector who have gone on to achieve amazing things. Appointing someone to their first job or early in their career and seeing them become amazing fundraisers, running their own fundraising companies or being outstanding CEOs of charities is truly inspirational.
There are so many different types of fundraising and the skills you need to be a trusts fundraiser and a corporate fundraiser, for example, look quite different.
I also think having financial skills is absolutely essential and may be overlooked at times but fundraisers should have the ability to carry out financial planning, monitoring and analysis.
Fundraising isn’t necessarily about coming up with the next big idea, it’s about working out what’s right for your organisation and recognising that risks can be managed. Some fundraising products might not fit your charity’s needs or values so be sure you have a business case rather than ‘going with the flow’. Make sure you take advantage of every available support or development opportunity-whether that is the mentoring achieved through regular one to one meetings with your manager, attending events and training, joining informal networking group or volunteering.
The Institute gaining Chartered status is just brilliant, and I would like to think that in the future, it will be second nature to say that you’re a Chartered fundraiser, like other professions, and to have the credibility that comes with that.