​Earlier this week, Stuart and Georgie had the pleasure of visiting Auditory Verbal UK’s London Centre in Bermondsey. The organisation work with pre-school aged deaf babies and children and their families and train more specialist therapists to help deaf children to learn to listen and speak. This is the account of their meeting this small, yet incredibly valuable charity. Auditory Verbal UK (AVUK) are a wonderful charity based in Bermondsey on Jamaica Street. Before our meeting, we didn’t know a huge amount about the charity…after we left we spent the whole time walking back to the office discussing this niche and caring organisation. We met with Emma, the Head of Fundraising at AVUK and someone who is clearly one of many at the charity who are completely motivated by their work. The time was spent discussing the charity, their history, what they specialise in and what they plan to do in the future. We were engrossed in the conversation from the very start. Founded in 2003 by Jacqueline Stokes, who started this charity working with deaf children from her home in Oxfordshire, the charity now has over 20 fantastic and dedicated individuals, all working together to achieve the same goal: ‘’To ensure all deaf babies and children have the opportunity to listen and speak as equals alongside their hearing peers.’’ Their CEO, Anita Grover, who is also profoundly deaf, has led the charity through its current five year strategy, to help even more deaf children to get the support they need and to train enough specialist therapist so that every deaf child, no matter where they are born, can access auditory verbal therapy (AVT). Each charity has a goal, a mission they try to stay true to. One of the most poignant comments Emma made during our time with her, was the following: ‘We have a plan to exist until our services are no longer required. This means achieving the target we set ourselves, which is to train as many therapists as required to support the thousands of pre-school children who desperately need this early intervention, which we estimate to be 300’. You have a sense that the charity is completely selfless. You would expect that with most charities, but AVUK have a goal to not exist in the future, which seems strange but isn’t. It means they will have conquered what they set out to do. The reason they do their jobs every day, is because everyone at the charity is motivated to achieve this target. They run early intervention programmes to help enable pre-school age children to talk through listening. AVUK offer a 2- 3 year programme of one-on-one sessions with specialists accredited through AVUK’s own training programme. Throughout the country, there are currently only 25 professional therapists but over 7000 pre-school children who are deaf or impaired hearing. There is a clear and very real demand for more therapists in the UK to receive this training. 10 of the currently qualified therapists work for AVUK, the others are working for the NHS or independently. The charity are working tirelessly to train more therapists. They are offering training in-house, online and are looking at evening classes for people who want to train but don’t have the time. This charity is truly inspiring and unique. They rely solely on the generous donations from individuals, trusts and organisations, with no direct funding from the government. They are a small team with an enormous impact on so many young children and their families. It was a pleasure to hear the accounts of people that visit. Everyone that comes to the charity walks away having a fantastic experience. Parents and Grandparents of children who are deaf walk in with a child excited to be going in, and walk away with a child with the biggest smile. It’s reported that 80% of children who graduate from AVUK have language skills equivalent to their hearing peers. The charity are so in tune with the children they work with, that they treat each subjectively and cater to the individual child and their families. The office in Bermondsey has a dedicated toy room! Case studies of the impact AVUK has had on these children and their families are available online. One parent said this after their son received support of AVUK: ‘I’m excited to see what the future holds for him and know that he can achieve anything he wants to, and that is all thanks to the amazing support we have received for him from the beginning, and AV is a massive part of that and I will be forever grateful.’ To read more about other case studies, please read some incredible accounts from parents here. We both walked away truly grateful for the time Emma gave us and felt completely overwhelmed by the impact of AVUK, what they do, as well as the ambitious plans for the future. I advise everyone to have a read of their website to find out more, because selfless charities driven by their users deserve all the support they can get. To find out more, have a click on here .​

​A week or so ago we sadly bid farewell to Pete, our fantastic Community and Events consultant here at Charity People. Pete, and his abundance of energy, will definitely be missed around the office.In honour of Pete leaving, we hosted a cake bake sale raising money for HOPE not hate, chosen by Pete himself. HOPE not hate is an amazing anti-racism and discrimination charity that focuses on building communities and celebrating shared identities by developing community action and engagement plans. We raised a total of £152 for this wonderful organisation. In Pete’s own words, “Whilst comparatively little when compared with the vast cost of Brexit and the tragic rise in hate crime and assault on liberalism since the referendum, it was beautiful to see everyone so positive and driven to make even the smallest of differences.”We wanted to say a massive thank you for all of the generous donations from our workspace colleagues and all of the effort that our Charity People bakers went to with their fabulous cakes.​

​Where to start? Neil Hogan and I from Charity People traversed up 17 stories, stood with a panoramic view over-looking London with members of the London Air Ambulance. I wore my best Top Gun jacket, felt appropriate on the day. (Neil and Stuart…or Maverick and Goose?) We do not appreciate the level of efficiency and commitment that goes into this inspiring service. Two pilots, doctor, paramedic, fire team, security, call handler – 365 days a year. The London Air Ambulance deal with the most challenging incidents/accidents inside the M25. Ranging from the most severe road traffic collisions, cycling incidents to violent acts. Between 5000 – 6000 calls come in every single day to the London Ambulance service. The dedicated team listens to each call for particular comments, signals that will trigger the London Air Ambulance team to head out. The Air Ambulance team respond to the most severe cases in a day and this can be the difference between saving a life or not. A very profound statement was made on the day from a fantastic firefighter in the team, ‘The very busy days aren’t an issue, it just means we are reaching more people who are having the worst day of their lives’. A quick thank you to Shai, Anna and Lucy from the database team for inviting us to the afternoon.​

​Good job there’s GoodJobsThe process of recruiting fundraisers is about to be tweaked to help expand training of fundraisers, and improve the diversity and inclusion of fundraisers.GoodJobs is a new jobs board for fundraisers. There’s nothing new about jobs boards of course - there are plenty to choose from for fundraisers, and have been for 20 years or so. GoodJobs, say its founders, is designed, of course, “to be different”. This is not in terms of technology, although machine learning and AI is already transforming what can be done in recruitment. Instead, the site takes two approaches that make it stand out from other providers.Saving charities moneyFirst, it avoids the model of paying a set fee per job advertisement. Instead, it offers a set annual fee for an unlimited number of jobs. It does so at a very modest rate, to ensure that it can be used by almost any sized charity. £120 a year for unlimited jobs could make national recruitment a more realistic prospect for small and very small charities, even if they use it just the once. The annual fee rises to £600 for the largest charities, which are of course more likely to recruit more than one fundraiser a year.Investing in fundraisersUndercutting existing recruitment sector providers is hardly a novel or necessarily sustainable business plan. There has to be something else for the service to stand out and appeal. Which is where the GoodJobs bursary fund comes in.GoodJobs has been established as a social enterprise, and is committed to distributing 25% or more of its profits for social good. Specifically, it will donate this sum via a bursary fund to support the training of fundraisers. It’s no good recruiting fundraisers if the charities that recruit them don’t have sufficient training and development budgets.They will distribute the fund regionally to try to reduce geographical bias. It will be distributed based on the income generated via each region.Finding even more fundraisersThe fund will also be directed at projects and services that are working to help find and recruit fundraisers from a much wider section of society. Who is behind it?GoodJobs is a collaborative initiative from some long-standing individuals and organisations in the fundraising and charity sector. These include Howard Lake, publisher of UK Fundraising (fundraising.co.uk), and Charity People, the charity sector recruitment specialists. GoodJobs launches at the end of January 2020. The timing, we think, couldn’t be better. Charities need even more opportunities to plan ahead and predict their expenditure. The sector as a whole needs to reduce unnecessary costs where it can to apply investment to activities that are most successful and impactful. In addition GoodJobs aims to bring benefits to small and large charities by expanding the range and skills of fundraisers that will drive charities’ resilience in generating income over the coming challenging years.Howard LakeUK Fundraising​​​

​Fundraising Futures: Innovation with Flying CarsCharity People is hugely excited to be hosting an exclusive, interactive event with the brilliant innovation collective Flying Cars.Fundraising is changing. As fundraising leaders, decision- makers and change-makers we would be delighted if you would join us for this one-off innovation event. The future is here. Don’t get left behind.When: Thursday 27th February, 2020 5:00pm arrival, 5:30pm workshop starts, 6:30pm onwards drinks and networkWhere: Charity People, 3 Tuns House, 109 Borough High Street, London SE1 1NLFlying Cars Innovation will take you through a fast-paced series of exercises designed to help you innovate at work and develop new solutions to the issues you are wrestling with in your area of fundraising expertise. If you need a new individual giving proposition, a new mass engagement event or an exciting idea to put in your next corporate partnership proposal attending this event will increase the tools at your disposal to develop ideas that work.On the night, we will work through a real issue submitted by you in advance and use a rigorous methodology and process to come up with innovative solutions to your problems. We’ll offer fresh audience insight into the problem area and develop practical solutions to your fundraising problem that you can develop further in the coming months.Before the event:This will be a fully-interactive event, helping you explore innovative ways of problem solving. To have the chance to work through something fundraising-related you are currently struggling with, please share an issue with us by February 14th 2020. ​1.Tell us a little about an issue you are struggling to solve. It might be something like: We need to engage more 30-40-year-olds with regular giving, or how do we grow our grassroots fundraising using our regional presence2.Who is the core audience you need to attract/engage with this problem - please tell us a little bit about them3.What would success look like in tackling this issue?All submissions will be treated entirely in confidence and remain confidential.This is a free event with limited capacity. We ask that if you do confirm, please, you do attend.Please RSVP​​

​Big shout out to Better Bankside for having organised, yet again, such an amazing campaign that has coordinated Christmas gift donations for homeless, vulnerably housed and elderly people throughout Southwark. This is the fifth year that Charity People have been involved.We had a great couple of afternoons mucking in and wrapping some of the donated items! If only there was a day where we could simply choose to stop the marginalisation of so many people in our society...Better Bankside's Together at Christmas is an annual festive gift appeal that supports over 2,000 homeless, vulnerably housed and elderly people in the Bankside area and across Southwark.Every year, Better Bankside's business members host collection boxes so that their staff can donate gift items such as warm clothing, toiletries and edible treats. We collect all of the donated items from businesses in early December, and with the help of teams of volunteers, wrap them to make into gift parcels that we deliver to hostels, sheltered accommodation units and community organisations across Southwark.

Recently, I had the pleasure of volunteering for an incredible charity called Dallaglio Rugbyworks. The charity works with Pupil Referral Units, short stay schools, specialised schools in a mentoring and coaching role. The charity provides a staple in their curriculum's that develops the students in a sporting environment, with specialist coaches working with the group and individuals to grow as people as well as students. There was a touch rugby tournament hosted for a number of schools who lack the opportunities to access sporting provisions, one of which is rugby. It is well documented what Rugby brings to young people with its core values, to name a few: - Camaraderie - Teamwork - Discipline - Hard work - Integrity.The tournament resulted in 12 schools across London coming together in a competitive format that was a complete success. Students from differing backgrounds, problems and struggles simply came together with a common interest. They represented their schools in a fun touch rugby tournament, which exhibited some lightning pace, and skills. The charity builds pathways to careers, apprenticeships and further studying to a very challenged and vulnerable demographic. I want to thank Phil Hannah, and the whole of the #DallaglioRugbyworks team.Find out more.​

​Luke has twenty years' experience of working in both the commercial and charity sectors. He joined Bowel Cancer UK in June 2012 as the Head of Philanthropy and Partnerships and joined the Senior Management Team two years later as Director of Fundraising. Luke specialises in corporate, business development and relationship fundraising.How did you end up in fundraising and what advice would you have for someone looking to enter the sector from the commercial world?I started my working life in media sales and stayed with the same company for eight years. I learnt a huge amount, had a lot of fun and worked with and met some great people. I had a strong manager who both challenged and supported me throughout that time making sure I had every opportunity to grow, succeed and learn from my mistakes.As much as I enjoyed working in the media world, I started to feel like a needed a new challenge and wanted to look at other possible ways I might be able to use the valuable experience I'd gained in sales in a different way. The British Red Cross Society were recruiting for a corporate partnerships role at the time, which I was fortunate enough to get and I haven't looked back.Ultimately, my time in the commercial sector taught me all about the key elements of what it meant to be able to tell a story in a way that would inspire and persuade people to spend money with the titles I was responsible for. I have no doubt this helped with the transition in to fundraising. For me there is very little difference between the disciplines of sales and fundraising. Both are about building relationships, understanding your audience or supporters and making sure they get a full measure of the impact that working with you will bring - whether that's a page in a magazine or a relationship with a charity.Having made the move from commercial to non-profit, I can safely say that I do not regret it in any way. I would absolutely encourage anyone considering the transition to go for it. Working in fundraising is both challenging and tremendously rewarding and I believe the sector will undoubtedly benefit from even more good people that have a range of transferable skills to bring to many fantastic causes across the wonderful world of fundraising. I would add that I think the sector could do more to promote itself to the commercial sector when it comes to career opportunities.If anyone is thinking about making the move in to fundraising, what are the three key pieces of advice you would give?The first thing I would say is to understand there are some clear fundamental differences between the corporate and the charity sectors. Charities operate in a different way - our ultimate goal is to put ourselves out of business which is a fundamental difference that can take a little while to get your head around. Beyond that though there are one or two tips I can offer people going to interview for a new role (and these could definitely be relevant to people also already in fundraising):Research. Get a grasp on what fundraising actually is and what it looks like on a day to day basis. Beyond that make sure you have a really comprehensive understanding of the charity you want to work for - what they do and how they do it, the numbers they use to show impact - there is nothing more disappointing than spending 45mins to an hour with someone who hasn't done their homework.Don't try and be something you're not - I want to see someone who is honest and transparent about why they want this role and why they really want to work for the charity - even if this is because you aren't getting what you need from your current role.Don't be afraid to get creative - unfortunately, it's very tough to come up with new ideas in fundraising these days, but I firmly believe that if an idea is good enough, people will buy in to it. If you can show that you have the ability to think laterally about all the elements and positioning of a product, event or campaign, then that will definitely serve you well if you are looking to move in to fundraising.Who inspires you and why?I have to say I am constantly inspired and blown away by the sheer energy, creativity and determination I see every day in the people working for, advising and supporting Bowel Cancer UK. I have been fortunate enough to work for some incredible charities, but over the last five years I have met and seen so many amazing people channelling absolutely everything into making a difference for others. Whether they currently have bowel cancer or are supporting someone who has or has had bowel cancer, it never fails to move meto see such strength, courage and focus in action as they raise awareness and funds for an often misunderstood and underfunded cause. I can't tell you enough how hugely inspiring the people that I work for and with are! For me there are few things more motivating than thinking of them.As a corporate partnerships specialist what advice would you have for someone looking to broaden their experience and head up a whole fundraising function?I'm not sure 'specialist' is ever a word I could say would be applied to me! But if you're looking to take on a role which is broader than the one you are currently in and has more responsibility than the one you're used to, I would say that the most important thing I've learnt is you need to accept that you won't ever be a specialist again. You will always be closest (it's unlikely you'll lose that knowledge) to your 'specialist' area of fundraising, but you need to accept and be ok with the fact that there are going to be people in your team that will know more about their area of fundraising than you might. It's imperative that you have an understanding of all areas of fundraising, how they work, what they cost, any trends, etc., but if you can offer practical support, encouragement, direction and make the decisions no-one else wants to, then you should be on the right path. Whether you're heading up a team or coming in at a different level, the important thing is to always play to each other's strengths. As a leader I just think you have to figure out how to juggle more balls and spin more plates without dropping them.What key traits or experiences do you tend to look for when interviewing potential new members of the team?Generally, I look for one or two main things: Team-fit is critical for me. And I completely appreciate that this is a very subjective measure based on a short period of time in an interview. But you have to get that right. As an interviewer you have a responsibility to nurture and promote the culture and environment of the team you are leading - and the wider organisation, particularly in a smaller charity. If there's even one individual in a team that starts to create challenges for others, that can quickly become catastrophic to performance and in general to the day to day environment. They need to show they understand what it means to be a team member and show that they can work as part of a team.If there is one thing I ask of every person in the fundraising team at Bowel Cancer UK, it's that they understand that meeting the overall goal or budget takes precedent over the individual lines for which they are responsible. They need to own and understand their targets inside out of course, but if one line is struggling and another is not, the team has a collective responsibility to support one another and keep their 'eye on the prize' - the overall result. As long as everyone is doing their best to get to where we need to be, then that is all I can ask of them. Team first, individual second! Ambition and drive are healthy, but if it's all about big ego's, then they need not apply!Secondly, I always try and think about what that person would be like with one of our supporters. What sort of experience do I think a supporter might have if they called in or met them and talked to them about fundraising for the charity? In this day and age it is more important than ever and whilst it is a bit of an old adage, first impressions really do count for a lot. I need to know that someone can be trusted to make an individual who wants to support Bowel Cancer UK feel really special and give them the experience that helps to ensure they support us long-term; the quality of every interaction and experience is just so important.Leadership: What is the secret to building a loyal, happy and motivated team and what are the biggest challenges you face in doing so?I'm not sure if there are any secrets and if there are, please tell me!For me it's all about being present and leading by example. I don't think it sends a good message to always be in the office or the other way round. There needs to be a balance. I try and join each team member on meetings they may have where I can add some value to the discussion. I think it's important that you are showing an interest and you're invested in the work your team are doing.Good communication is absolutely essential (that includes listening as well as sharing). I find people generally expect the common courtesy of knowing information in a timely and open way - not many people like surprises - especially when it comes to work, so keeping people in the loop on things regularly is really important. Building trust is important. People need to know you are on their side and that you're respected by your peers too - and that is something you really need to be aware of as a member of any seniormanagement team. And lastly I think it's also really important to encourage a bit of humour, I am often at the receiving end of banter in our office and that is fine! You're with these people A LOT and it's important you can actually like being around one another so being able to laugh with and at one another is pretty important.In terms of loyalty, I don't necessarily think that because someone moves on, they're being disloyal. They may have another opportunity that they simply couldn't say no to or feel ready for a different challenge and want to do that with another organisation. My measure is if someone leaves the charity having had a great experience, learnt things they can apply in a future role and felt they have contributed to furthering the cause, then that's great and we should celebrate that.I realise this is obvious, but different people are motivated by lots of different things. Some by the cause, some by the role, some by the culture - ultimately, if you're consistently listening, giving people an opportunity to talk about what motivates them or is concerning them and paying attention to that, then you're going to be doing something right. You're never going to please everyone all of the time and that's ok. You need to be ok with that and that just comes with time and experience. I'm still not there yet!I guess all charities will face all kinds of challenges. I think the biggest challenge for the current team is that bowel cancer is easily one of the toughest 'pitches' I've ever encountered. It's the UK's second biggest cancer killer and whilst our income is growing well, it is nowhere near the scale we want to achieve our mission and aims. However, the sales-person in me knows that this also offers an enormous opportunity to grow and build for the future. Every day more people are getting more aware of bowel cancer, and more importantly, they are talking about the disease. Up until very recently, bowel cancer wasn't really a topic that many people felt comfortable talking about, but this is changing and that will almost certainly start to give us the growth needed to stop bowel cancer!Having previously worked in much larger organisations have you had to change your approach to managing people in a smaller office environment?Not really, to be honest. I find the same rules apply regardless of the size of the team or office. There's more to do in a smaller office because you have fewer people to do everything, so pulling together and stuffing envelopes for a mailing or supporting people at events are often an 'everyone mucks in' approach, but in a lot of ways that's good because everyone has a better understanding of what each other does in the day to day which can help to bring teams closer together.How do you ensure that you continue to grow personally when in an SMT level role?Hmm good question. The range of responsibilities and decisions that need making are so wide and diverse I feel like it's almost impossible to not grow. I think you certainly develop more resilience to different situations. That doesn't mean you care less about what people think, but you have to strike a balance between being in a position where knowing you have a sometimes difficult role to play whilst also making sure people feel heard and supported. There are times when you have to say no to something when you'd really like to say yes, but time or resources won't allow for it. I think it really helps when your fellow SMT members are all people you enjoy spending time and working with. If you can share, debate and discuss everything in an open and transparent way, but ultimately make decisions as a collective, that can help you grow and learn. I am very fortunate to have some great colleagues and that makes being a member of SMT an even more enjoyable and rewarding experience. We support one another and share the load on everything and that counts for a lot in the day to day.As a small-ish charity with limited resources how do you keep abreast of upcoming regulatory changes?First thing I would say is that these changes have definitely added workload!Right from a very early stage, we agreed that everyone has a shared responsibility to be close to the regulatory changes and what that meant for the charity. We have carried out internal training to make sure everyone understands the changes coming and the implications. We have also had some presentations from an external consultant which has been very helpful too. All have been really useful in enabling everyone across the organisation to respond and adapt to the upcoming environment. This small investment to get professional advice has been immeasurably helpful.We set up an internal project group which included representation from each area of the business and was chaired by our Director of Finance & Resources. It was up to us as a group to get our head around these changes and then we have weekly meetings to keep each other updated. We have recently launched a full and comprehensive 'opt-in' campaign ahead of next year's changes to ensure that Bowel Cancer UK is fully GDPR compliant in good time for the deadline. I do believe there is a real advantage to this because we're ensuring that everyone who wants to hear from us can and anyone who doesn't has the chance to tell us that. This is an opportunity to get even closer to the core group of people who really believe in us and what we're doing - and then get them to act as advocates on our behalf. This will help us stop bowel cancer and ensure Bowel Cancer UK can show how people really are having an impact on the disease.

In November, I had the pleasure of helping a room full of fundraising managers reflect on their personal leadership brand. And yes, I know it sounds like a horrible piece of management jargon, but actually it is something simple and powerful that can really impact your career.You see you already have a leadership brand. It’s what people say about you when you’re not in the room. It’s how your team describe your management style and what the CEO thinks about your potential. It can open up opportunities for you if it’s great and close doors if it’s not. That’s why I encourage every leader to consciously create their leadership brand for themselves.There are a few steps to this…Consider what sort of leader you want to be. Not sure? Think about leaders that you admire and what specifically you admire about them. Then think about what is important to you – your values – such as integrity, enthusiasm or nurturing. Start a mind map or list of the words that come to you.Think about your unique strengths, or superpowers – those things that come naturally to you which you probably take for granted. List those down too.Ask yourself – what kind of leader do my team and organisation need me to be right now? Reflect on your priorities for the year – what kind of leader do you need to be to achieve them? Make a list of those words too.Refine your list down to the 10 words that you feel drawn to. And then refine it further to the three words (or phrases) that sum up the kind of leader you want to be. Not what your think “good leadership” looks like but what feels like you at your best.You’ve now got your Personal Leadership Brand! Your next step is to look at what actions you can take this week to move even closer to really embodying and living that brand. Then take those actions.​Carla is a leadership coach who helps women be brilliant at influencing, make more impact at work and develop unshakeable self-confidence. She’s running a FREE online masterclass on Boosting Your Authority & Credibility as a Leader and you can sign up at http://bit.ly/2svWi9p​​

​When you apply for roles within a charity you will usually have to submit a copy of your CV. It’s the most important document you have to show your experience to date. For this reason, it’s vital that this gives a truly coherent overview of what you have achieved, as well as your main skills and your education. It also needs to be written with your audience in mind. The reader could be someone less familiar with your role, such as someone from within a recruitment team; or it could be the hiring manager who will most likely know more about your role but not necessarily the nuances of your role within your current organisation. Income targets are a great example of this. £100k raised in fundraising income for a £1million charity is very different to £100k raised within a £5million charity for instance. Make this document the best it can be; spend time on it and tweak it as you take on new responsibilities, undertake more training and development, or add in new skills.Here are our top tips on how to write a brilliant CV: Think like a writer – make every single word countA key element to remember when you write a CV is that it shouldn’t be longer than three pages at the maximum. For individuals who are less far through their career, it’s a good idea to stick to two page. There is also an imperative to ensure that the whole document is engaging, and makes an impact, so make every word count! In addition to making every word count you also need to use space wisely.A useful format to stick to is the following:Name, address, email address and telephone numberProfileWork historyEducationTraining and DevelopmentName, address, email address and telephone numberThis sounds so obvious, but double check your contact details. If you’re uploading an application to a portal, which is often the case for charities, this will be the only way for the recruitment team or hiring manager to contact you. Additionally, it makes a much less than good first impression if there are inaccuracies here. Finally, double check that your email address is appropriate for applying for a job. ProfileThis should be concise, the best representation of you, your career aspirations, and your reasons for wanting to work in the charity sector. It’s the first thing that a prospective employer will read about you so it’s important to spend time getting it right. Think like an architect and use space wisely; this section should be a maximum of a two to three-line paragraph in total. On your CV, your achievements, responsibilities etc. in previous roles will largely remain unchanged but your profile should be tailored to each role you apply for. You shouldn’t use the name of the charity you are applying to in the profile section as it’s about you but it should reflect your reasons for wanting the role you’re applying for. Here's an example profile for someone applying to a new business role:“I am charity fundraising professional with eight years’ experience gained within corporate fundraising. My experience includes a mix of new business and account management across COTY, CRM, sponsorship, and strategic partnerships. As I continue my career, I’m keen to specialise in new business fundraising. I feel privileged to have been instrumental in developing and delivering income generating partnerships of six and seven figures which have contributed to the work of charities whose work I am passionate about. I’m very motivated by continuing to develop transformational partnerships in a senior new business role.” The golden rules of your profile are write, read, stop, and repeat. It’s an ever-changing part of your CV.Employment historyKeep this in reverse-chronological order, with your most recent role first. This is the section that will take up most space and is your opportunity to outline how skilled you are for a role through your experiences and your achievements. A solid format to stick to is as follows:Dates including months – if still working for your current employer include “Present”EmployerJob titleShort, one or two-line overview of your role. Key responsibilitiesUsing bullet points outline the main elements of your role  Key achievementsOnce again using bullet points, outline achievements and include specific figures and information. For instance: “led on the successful COTY partnership application with Morgan Stanley worth £1million for the charity over three years. I led on all elements of the process from initial research to pitch and staff vote, which we won with 20% more votes than our competitors.”Some tips to remember are:You should include most detail about your most recent and most relevant rolesDouble check dates and include the month you started and left a roleDon’t include salary information or reasons for leaving each roleUse bullet points and keep the language conciseWhen applying for fundraising roles it’s vital to include your figures, as well as income targets to give context to how much you have generatedLook out for tense usage – often when you update your CV you will add in your most recent role and edit some less relevant information from your previous roles but keep the rest of the document the same. If you do this, make sure to go back through your last roles and change tense from present to pastThink as though you are speaking to HR as they will often be the initial contact for your CV and may be responsible for providing a long list of applicants to a recruiting manager. Remember that they might not be as knowledgeable about the role you’re applying as a potential line manager. So use language that reflects the job description where possible, and outlines your role clearly. EducationFollowing your work history, it’s a good idea to include education. You don’t have to include dates if you’d prefer not to but do include the institution and your qualification including your grade. This can include university education as well as qualifications such as GCSEs or O’Levels and should also be in chronological order. Qualifications and TrainingThis is similar to “Education” but should detail qualifications and training that you have attained whilst working. Do use the date of the course or the award here and list the name of the course and training provider in chronological order.InterestsIt’s up to you whether to include an “Interests” section and it often can depend on space as it’s less relevant information than everything else. It is quite a nice way to round off your CV though and to give some more flavour of who you are and what you enjoy. If you do decide to include this section, then try to steer clear from the generic and ensure that it’s interesting and gives some insight into who you are and what you enjoy doing in your spare time. Final pointsDon’t use a photo on your CV – this is important from an equality and diversity point of view, and also wastes spaceGet yourself an editor! Use a fresh pair of eyes once you’ve finished the document to avoid mistakes. Preferably this will be someone who understands your role as they can then spot any omissions that you might not meant to have made.​

Our guest blog this week comes from Jane Curtis, a former fundraiser who runs her own consultancy."I have moved around a bit during my 20 years as a fundraiser. I have managed big and small teams, had permanent jobs, interim roles and contract positions. And now as a consultant with my own business, I know only too well how important training and looking after your career development is. It is your process and you need to take responsibility for driving your own development but all too often the day job can get in the way. The tools below are all available online in various forms, but it can be difficult to know where to start. As a visual learner these exercises really helped me. Being Brilliant Exercise​This tool can help you understand your Unique Selling Points and help you visualise what you want and need to be happy in your career. Capture your answers on the three headings within the circles. It may be useful to speak to a manager or colleague for their input under the ‘what is valuable to others’ section.Questions to reflect on: What themes are emerging? What are you brilliant at? What will make you happy? What is valuable to others? What are you doing right now that matches these themes and what will make you happier? What could you do more/less of to prepare you for your next career move? ​Career PlottingThis next tool helps draw out conclusions and identify patterns and trends about the highs and lows of your career so far. The idea being you sketch your career lifeline so far with peaks representing the high points and troughs representing the lows or when you felt less good. And next to each peak or trough you write a couple of words which explain why it was a high or low point. It may help you be clear on which environment and situations work well and less well and how you can develop to enable you to perform better in these situations.Questions to reflect on: What are the characteristics of the highs? What do they have in common? And what were the characteristics for the lows? How did you get out of them? What have you learnt from them? What does all this say about you and your career development needs? ​Career ConversationsThese don’t just happen with your line manager – you could speak to another manager, colleague, mentor or coach. The following are some of the questions you might want to cover. Preparation is key and will avoid any awkwardness and will help keep you to time. Once you’ve had this conversation, discuss with your manager your next actions and continue to discuss progress in the coming months. With all these exercises, you should incorporate them into your existing objective setting or personal development plans. Focus on the direction you want to go in your career, what roles match your happiness, what you’re brilliant at, where you can add value. Start collecting job descriptions for roles you aspire to do and read the person specs thoroughly. Seek out opportunities to gain experience in the criteria the role is looking for. There are so many opportunities to develop yourself within the charity sector, from free workshops like the one Charity People run to Institute of Fundraising SIGs, volunteering or finding yourself a mentor within the sector. Remember: YOU need to own the process and take responsibility for your own development." ​About the authorFor a copy of these handouts and more, you can email Jane Curtis or visit her website and add your name to her mailing list. You can also follow Jane on twitter.​​

​How to be a star in competency-based interviewsOver the past couple of weeks, three things have had me thinking more and more about interview preparation.One of my candidates thanked me for sending them the Charity People interview guide. I also had a really enjoyable pre-interview preparation session with another candidate. And finally, I came across a tweet about some brilliant TED talks to get you in the right mood for an interview.Nobody does (or should) interview regularly. It's one of the reasons why interviews can leave you feeling nervous. Even for super-talented fundraisers, interviews can still hold terrors all of their own. Whilst your day job will often involving building rapport and pitching to panels, you will be more used to selling your cause not yourself. Interviewing can be a daunting prospect. Especially when it's a job and cause that means a lot to you. There is some interview specific jargon around, which can be unfamiliar, so this blog is designed to demystify the process.​​Competency-based interviewsCompetency-based interviews, also known as behavioural interviews, feature questions designed to gauge your ability to handle the job and deal with specific situations. This type of interview generally requires you to demonstrate that you have the skills the employer is looking for by providing examples of situations you’ve faced in the past and what you did in those situations. For example, you may be asked to discuss past projects that have succeeded and failed, how you’ve dealt with challenging situations or a time when you took a risk. Answering these questions gives the interviewer an idea of how you will fit into the team and handle the job. Competency-based interviews are designed to test past behaviour and success.  The theory is that it will be a good indicator of future performance. I have heard some candidates say that it is tough to build rapport and to get your personality across when the process is so heavily structured.  If all you do is to try to map your pre-prepared examples to their pre-prepared questions, then the conversation is bound to seem a little stilted.So don't let the structure control your performance. You need to have some fantastic examples ready to show your skills and experience in the very best light. Think of this as building a compelling case for supporting yourself - just as you would when encouraging donors to support your cause. Treat yourself with the same kindness and compassion as you do with your cause.  Be a #proudfundraiser. If you were speaking to potential donors, then you would be concentrating on bringing your charity to life - to show them the value of investing their time and their money. You need to do just the same with your potential employer.This is all about story-telling - the bread and butter of fundraising. What are the brilliant anecdotes that highlight your successes, experience and skills? How can you tell them in a clear and meaningful way?STAR techniqueUse the STAR technique to create some amazing personal cases for support:SituationTaskActionResults You will have multiple strands of stories and will need to weave them all together to make a compelling case on the big day.  However, don’t forget that your stories must be clear and succinct to give them real impact and meaning.  Great storytelling is all about making every detail count and to do this you have to be selective. Can you think of several good-quality examples so that you have plenty to choose from when presented with the interview questions? And you don't have to use them all. A well-stocked arsenal allows you to give a better demonstration of your experience, because your answers will have direct relevance.Start with impressive figures, achievements and wins. Make sure that you have the correct numbers in your head. And then work through the challenges you have faced and how you have managed key projects.Just like any great charity, you will hopefully have tons of cases for support just waiting to be discovered and told in the right way. As with your day job, it takes time to find them, to tease out the detail, and create something compelling. Make sure you give yourself plenty of time and practice telling the stories.What questions can you expect?Use the job description and person specification as your guide. They should highlight competencies that the organisation believes are vital for the job. At very least, you need stories that show you match each of these capabilities.Make sure you don't just have lots and lots of stories that say same things about you. You need to find a good variety that demonstrate the different areas of your experience and skills.Once you have your cases for support ready, think about how you'll deliver them. Once again, there are parallels between your day job and the interviewing process. When you're conveying your charity's amazing stories every day, you hopefully allow your personality to shine through, so that your stories are believable and personal. I expect you will be thoroughly in your comfort zone telling stories in your very own style. Why should it be any different with an interview panel? You can be confident, clear and concise, whilst delivering your case in a persuasive and meaningful way.Finally, take the time to listen carefully to your own stories, whether in your head, or recorded on your phone. Preparing properly for an interview will give you a real confidence boost. Simply hearing yourself describe all the brilliant things that you achieved and the difference you will you have made will you in a winning frame of mind. Take the time to think about your relationships with donors, beneficiaries and fellow fundraisers as well as the money you have raised in support of a terrific cause. You can acknowledge the value in your skills and experience.If that doesn't put a confident smile on your face, then I don't know what will!We are always happy to spend time with our candidates to help you to prepare. It's all part of the service and we're happy to be that challenging sounding board.​           Good Luck!You can find more information about preparing for interviews on the Charity People website (including a blog with some ideas for questions you should be asking!) or feel free to give us a call for a chat.

​Bringing a fundraiser into your organisation for the first time is a huge step for any charity. It means that you are ready to grow and engage new individuals with your cause and start making (more) fundraising asks. Before you start to write a job description and person specification or to put out a job advert, there are some vital steps to ensure your charity is Fundraiser ready and that you are looking for the right person. Fundraisers come in all shapes and sizes. You need a clear picture of the fundraiser that is right for your organisation. ​1.Fundraising is a professional skill Fundraisers are highly skilled professionals and valuing that skillset and knowledge is the most important first step. As the first professional Fundraiser in your organisation, you want someone with a working knowledge of charity income generation. 2.Engage a professional If you do not have professional fundraising experience within your own organisation, you’ll need to engage a Fundraiser in your planning ASAP. If you do not currently have a fundraising trustee, consider getting one before beginning your Fundraiser recruitment. If it is time sensitive, ask someone to volunteer their time or pay a Fundraiser to consult with you during the process. Seek a sense-check on your decisions with someone who has working fundraising knowledge. 3.Be realistic This is especially important, if you are exploring new income streams. There is a huge amount of foundational work to be done in the first 6-12 months to get your charity ready to ask for money. Predictions are difficult to make as they depend on so many factors, but it is a pretty good rule of thumb that your Fundraiser is unlikely to generate much more than their own salary in year 1 from a standing start. For example, if you do not have a marketing person, your fundraiser will need to spend time raising awareness before (and as well as) raising money. Many charities make the mistake of considering another charity’s fundraising income as a benchmark, but your capacity, resource and profile also need to be considered.  4.The cost of fundraisingFundraising costs money. It is an investment in the future of your charity. Consider what you expect your fundraiser to generate and pay them accordingly. If you are expecting strategic insight as well as operational delivery, you will need someone with enough experience to be able to deliver that for you. Think about your options carefully. If you cannot afford someone full-time, you could consider three or four days first. Once you are generating more money, you can build an additional post into your strategy. This also gives your fundraiser a future development opportunity and will help to keep them with you longer. 5.What is your need?Consider how much you are hoping your Fundraiser will generate once they are up and running (years 3-5) and make sure you are clear about this throughout the process. Again, seek a sense check with your fundraising expert and ensure that this forms part of your interview process so that you can see how candidates respond. It is so important that both you and your Fundraiser are aware of your expectations before they take the job. 6.What type of fundraising suits you? Fundraising is a complex business with many income streams to choose from. Your sole Fundraiser cannot and should not do absolutely everything. You will need them to focus on key income streams that are most relevant and best suited to your cause and current circumstances. You do not necessarily need a definitive strategy in place before the interviews (as this may form part of your fundraiser’s new role), but you will need some guidance on what will/will not work. 7.Are you fundraising ready?There will almost certainly be a large amount of internal communication to do within your organisation before your Fundraiser starts. Why have you decided to employ a Fundraiser? What will your Fundraiser be doing? Your Fundraiser will need engagement (and time) from your staff so you need to prepare them for that in advance. Everyone in your organisation will need to be behind your Fundraiser and for the most successful charities, everyone in your organisation is a Fundraiser too. Share the knowledge you are gaining from the recruitment process with your staff (and volunteers where applicable) to make sure they have positive, realistic expectations.  8.Fundraising expertise on your interview panel It is absolutely essential to have fundraising expertise on your interview panel to help guide you through the process. Coming back to the fact that fundraising is a professional skill, you need fundraising knowledge in the interview room. You would always have an accountant present for your finance interviews and this is no different. 9.Be flexible Flexibility is key to recruiting the best person for your fundraising role. Most charities now have flexible working policies in place and you need to ensure that you are competitive in your offer. For example, many Fundraisers now have some capacity to work from home (even for one day per week) and candidates are often driven by factors other than salary.10.Your marketing materialYour job description, person specification and job advert are all hugely important marketing materials in recruiting your first Fundraiser. Make sure they are concise, realistic and inviting. Ask your fundraising expert for support and spend time making sure you are sending out the right first message to your future Fundraiser. ​​​​

​​The Job description is one of the most important documents in your arsenal when working in a candidate-short, competitive market, in order to engage the right people in your role. It is important that the job description covers: what will be required of the person in detail so that potential applicants are able to understand if the role matches their requirements for their next position; how much of a new challenge the role would represent; if it is a position that offers them the prospect of success. The best job descriptions are an engagement tool, a continuation of the marketing you have done around the role that draws potential applicants in and solidifies their interest. The main sections to include in this guide are outlined below, together with insight into the information to incorporate in each section:IntroductionOverview of the charityKey details of roleJob responsibilitiesPerson specificationBenefitsIntroductionThis is where you want to give a brief overview of the role. A short introductory paragraph should set the scene, introduce the charity and, where possible, include reasons for recruiting. You should explain why now is a great time to join the charity, as well as any other headline selling points of the role such as team size. Here is an example:“Our organisation is at an exciting time in its history – with huge interest in our cause; a new five year strategy and an anniversary year ahead next year. We’re going through an exciting period of growth and are recruiting for a brand new Corporate Fundraising Manager role as part of this. Working within a team of six in Corporate Fundraising and 23 in the wider Fundraising team, the post-holder will be joining an award-winning, collaborative and creative team which has real freedom to build highly strategic, sector leading partnerships.”​Overview of the charityThis is your opportunity to really sell your cause and engage potential candidates with the work you do. Try to keep to a couple of paragraphs and focus on what you feel really makes you amazing! You could start with a brief overview of the organisation’s history. Then go on to talk about the impact of the work you undertake; the organisation’s proudest achievements; key milestones you have reached. You could even include testimonials from beneficiaries if you feel it is appropriate. Potential candidates may well be considering several roles. The key here is to take the opportunity to really sell the cause and the work that you do.Key details of the role This is the information that it is important to include in the job description so that potential candidates are aware of key details such as salary, interview process etc. It is fine to use bullet points as this presents the information in a clear and concise way, which is your main aim in this section. Suggestions of what to include are:Job titleRole type – is it permanent or interim? If interim, it is important to explain why.Salary range LocationFlexible working arrangements – it is a good idea to be clear here about what you can offer – could the role be full or part-time for instance? Would you consider home working? If so, how much?Deadline for applications and application processDates for first and, if anticipated, second interviews Main responsibilities You need to provide as much detail about the role as possible. The aim is to give potential candidates a clear understanding of what the role entails. The most attractive job packs include information on areas such as: income targets; number of people the role will be managing; split of duties in role, so feel free to go into detail! Start by writing a long list of everything you want the person to take on. Then work through your list, making sure each point would make sense to an external reader e.g. is all information relevant and in the right order? Delete any irrelevant details to avoid the inadvertent mis-selling of the role. It is a good idea to split the tasks involved in the role and list them in order of importance for the role. For instance, if the role is a fundraising position and the person’s primary duty will be to generate income, you could use something like:“Meet and, where possible, exceed income targets through the delivery of strong fundraising relationships that bring in five and six figure income for the charity”.If the role is primarily about leading a team, then this should be at the top of the list of duties. If the role is multi-faceted, it is a good idea to consider splitting the responsibilities section into sub sections, listing duties within each in more detail, in order to define exactly what is expected of the person across each main area of their role.Person specificationYou should include everything you are looking for in potential applicants. Lots of charities use a table format to let candidates know which experience is absolutely essential and which is desirable, giving an idea of where there might be some flexibility in terms of experience. A note to bear in mind on this section is to question each point on here as you write it. Think about why the skill, experience, or knowledge is necessary and desirable. Think about whether it is really vital and why it is needed for the role. For instance, Person Specifications often include “Degree is essential” which can exclude potential candidates with no degree but relevant skills, when having a degree might not even be relevant to the position. Doing this exercise and keeping the “Person Specification” section as open as possible will mean that you are able to attract candidates from a more diverse pool, breaking down barriers to application that might simply be outdated or irrelevant.BenefitsIt is a good idea to include your benefits in the job description, particularly if they are unusual. Salary is not necessarily what is the key motivation as people at different life-stages have different priorities. Often people feel uncomfortable asking about benefits relating to holiday allowance, maternity and paternity allowance but these details can be fundamental to their decision to move role. Remember to include this information to further encourage the best candidates to apply.​​

​Conscious that I have an innate tendency to talk at a million miles an hour and with the added pressure of public speaking, I wanted to share some of the ideas and thoughts that came out of Tuesday’s Career Mapping conversation with the Institute of Fundraising in Manchester. It’s probably quite on topic, as public speaking is one of the areas I’m working on personally at the moment.The event was a collaboration between the IoF and Charity People aimed at fundraisers looking for professional development and personal growth. We know that career mapping can be challenging in our sector when salary increases, training budgets and upwards movement aren't always readily available. We had an open and frank discussion about career progression, personal development tools and practical tips on how to develop skills, gain career momentum and forward plan for future ambitions.We covered how to challenge and push internally to achieve your goals for development. Here, I’m going to focus externally and where you can look for learning opportunities (on a budget). Some of these may be specific to Manchester because that’s where I live, but there will be similar local events and activities if you’re willing to do a bit of digging. This is by no means an exhaustive list – just a few ideas to get us started. If you’d like to add to this list, please drop me a message and I’ll update in a few weeks’ time.I’d start with this brilliant TED Talk by Eduardo Briceño, ‘How to get better about the things you care about’. It talks about how people who are really good at something only continue to get better by learning, which is just common sense. But the interesting thing is that the learning doesn’t have to be in that subject or specialist area, but any learning at all. Watch it and see what I mean – Eduardo explains it a lot better that I do. Since watching this, I’ve started learning in lots of different areas and you start to see where your learning is fluid and seeps into other areas of your life – including your job. Please bear in mind that these suggestions are not all charity related – that’s kind of the point. You can pick and choose to your own interests and hobbies, but the idea is to enrich and enhance your existing skillset, knowledge and experience.Reading. Far too many brilliant books and articles to mention, but the one I keep returning to again and again is ‘Why I’m No Longer Talking to White People About Race’ by Reni Eddo-Lodge.Podcasts. A mix of sector-specific and personal interests. Favourites include: How To Fail, The Guilty Feminist, Do More Good, This is NOT the Mandy Johnson Show, Simon Scriver’s Amazingly Ultimate Fundraising Superstar Podcast, Cracking Charity Chat, Inner Driven Leaders, J Brown Yoga Talks, Under the Skin.Find projects that excite and energise you and run with them. They don’t have to be existing projects, but could be ones you’ve imagined and created yourself. I’ve run fundraising events, done expert interview blogs, created video content for our website, started an Equality and Diversity committee… and none of it part of the ‘day job’. I’ve gained loads of skills and experience through these projects – and all CV worthy.The power of social media. Bold statement, but I wasn’t half as clued up on what’s happening in the sector before I joined Twitter. You can cut out the noise and just follow key people who share interesting articles and information all the time. LinkedIn is a great tool too.Events – so much to choose from. Variety is the spice of life, so I try to mix it up. I have been to TED Talks, Funzing events, sales and marketing talks, Institute of Fundraising networking. My top tip is to search on EventBrite and get creative – you won’t believe how many amazing things are happening right on your doorstep.Conferences and industry events. The IoF is a reliable and constant source of brilliant learning opportunities, but there are also other fundraising and charity events that you might be interested in: Pizza For Losers and IWITOT are now both regional events. Keep your ear to the ground and ask other fundraisers for inspiration if you’re stuck. The hottest new event has to be Nikki Bell and Simon Scriver’s new virtual conference, Fundraising Everywhere.Peer-to-peer learning is such a valuable tool. Seek this out internally by linking up with peers in HR, finance or service delivery and share ideas or find other fundraisers in organisations you either know or admire and meet up. Talk, share and learn together.Offer your services. Could you mentor or support someone in your organisation or externally (and this could be work related or not)? I recently mentored a young person for a local youth charity and it was one of the steepest learning curves I’ve been ever on. I learned so much about myself and how to really listen.Coaching. Circumstances recently changed in my organisation and I knew I would need additional support to manage those changes, so I researched and put a business case together detailing costs and the value to the organisation. Now I have an incredible coach and I’m finding it absolutely invaluable. There are lots of options out there both virtually and locally and some really affordable options. I’d highly recommend Julia Worthington’s coaching groups in Manchester. I think we could have the start of a great list of personal development top tips and practical tools here, so please do get in touch to share your suggestions and ideas and we can add to our list and support one another.You can reach me on amelia@charitypeople.co.uk

​The best questions to ask at the end of an Interview. The questions you ask in an interview are very telling. Here are some top tips from our consultant, Ben Garner…In order to make an informed decision about whether this is the right move for you there are a range of questions you can ask. You will have your own expectations on what you're looking for; be it career progression, a better work/life balance or a strong interest in the charity so always tailor your questions to your own aspirations. Here are some suggestions:Can you tell me how the role relates to the overall structure of the organisation?This questions shows you're thinking beyond simply your role which is an attractive approach. Through gaining an understanding into the size and structure of the organisation and team you can identify who you'll be working alongside and learn how the team works. You'll get a better sense of where you would fit in and how your contribution would affect the rest of the charity.How would you describe the working culture here?We all want to work in a positive environment where we can operate at optimum level. Identify whether the work will be collaborative or whether you'll be working on your own and how that fits with your personal preference.What are the greatest challenges that the charity is facing? It's not just the job you're interested in, but the structural and business challenges that the organisation faces. You've done your research into the organisation so this is your chance to hear their side of the story. What would you expect the successful candidate to achieve in the first 30 days/ 3 months/ 6 months?One of the best questions a candidate can ask. It sets the scene for allowing your interviewer to talk about what you'll be doing Monday to Friday. If they mention a specific duty which you hadn't covered in your earlier answer you can flip it back and say, "ah yes, I've managed those types of campaigns before at CHARITY X"What will be the first project I'll be working on?An interviewer will have a specific list of duties required (usually written in the job description) but it is a great idea to investigate a live project so that you can talk them through how you would approach it.Is there a chance for career development in the future? What is your commitment to training your staff? We are all looking to move forward in our careers and by asking this question you will gain a sense of the importance they place on helping staff with their career progression and whether they recruit from within, and they will understand your determination to make long-term progress. How has this vacancy come about?This is a great way to find out a little more on the charity and its culture. It also allows you to gather some background information.How would you describe your management style? This is so important as conflicting management styles often cause issues and it will also show you how self-aware your prospective line manager is. Is there anything you would like to improve in your department and how could I help?You're showing an interest in being part of the team and you're looking at contributing to the goals of the department. Employers love this display of interest.Do you think I am well suited to this position? This question takes courage. You're trying to suggest from the outset that you're open to constructive criticism and willing to learn from experience and feedback. It also gives you a chance to defend yourself from any misconceptions your interviewers may have gained and restate why you think you're the right person for the job.I am very keen on the role and would love to progress. When will you be looking to make a decision?This is a great question to end an interview on. It states your position that you feel you've shown how you'd do the job and you would love to move forward in the process.​

​Cover Letters - Prescriptive or not? - Top Evaluation TipsClients often tell us they struggle to evaluate and appraise Cover Letters effectively but nonetheless they are a common tool used in selecting new recruits. Tips on how to get the most out of this stage of recruitment.Evaluating a Covering LetterPeople write their CVs in all sorts of weird and wonderful formats, lend different weight to different aspects of their role and omit experience as irrelevant that might actually be extremely pertinent to the current situation in your team.Covering letters can be a great tool for getting people to highlight specific experience that is relevant to the specific role you are recruiting for, allowing you to more fairly compare candidates. But as an arbitrarily applied tool covering letters can be extremely damaging to the recruitment process and may mean that you could miss out on someone with the potential to raise you above your competitors. What if your competitors don't make the same mistake?There is one central point to remember with covering letters, they are supposed to be a tool applied with a positive bias; you are looking for candidates that would have gone in the no pile on the basis of their CV to give you a reason to put them in the yes pile, not the other way around. During my years in recruitment I have learnt to give people a chance, because people who haven't had a great CV and / or covering letter have walked into my office, blown me away and gone on to be some of the best hires my clients have ever made.These are my three tips for making sure you give your next great hire every opportunity to WOW you;Tip 1: You're not looking to hire a professional "Covering Letter Writer"Candidates have no idea what you're looking for, what format you want it in or what you're expecting to see. Unless you're recruiting for a role where being psychic is an essential quality, be really clear about what you want and give candidates a fair chance of delivering the right information. If you want them to use each point in the person specification as a heading and then explain, using real world examples, how their experience matches this, then tell them that. If you want them to weave their experience and how it matches the person specification into an easy to follow narrative, then let them know. Applying for jobs is a skill in and of itself and the easier you make it, the more likely you are to see the best people shine through.Tip 2: Don't be too clinicalThink about how you want to score or assess your Covering Letters. Often clients choose to check off every item of a Person Specification against a Covering letter. Although if the competition is very tough this can in the end be a good way of whittling down potential interviewees it can often eliminate candidates who in fact would be very able in the role. The way I advise clients to approach this initially is to work out the three most important over-arching skills or experience areas that are absolutely essential to the delivery of this role. If a candidate meets them I would put them on the 'yes' pile and then if it is necessary to reduce that number further look through that list again alongside the more detailed Person Specification. As annoying as it is, candidates often fail to include examples against every single area of a Person Spec in a Covering Letter and will often focus on those they feel are most important. If someone has all the three important things you need and seems a little weaker on some of the lesser items, get them in and meet them, perhaps they're an absolute superstar with one or two development points.Tip 3: So important, I'm going to repeat myselfI really want to reiterate a point I touched on at the beginning, because I genuinely believe and have actually seen some of my clients miss out on people that were the best person for the role because they used covering letters too prescriptively.I always try to keep in mind that covering letters are a rudimentary screening tool that makes sure that you don't waste time interviewing people who will be totally irrelevant, but it shouldn't be used as part of the interview process where only those who tick every box shall pass. Some of the best hires I have seen are people that have the core skills necessary for the role, but come from a slightly different background and bring a new perspective and a new way of doing particular things into the team. By all means use the covering letter to make sure that you don't invite any more 'eccentric' candidates into your office, but don't be too heavy handed and risk screening out the best hire you might never make.

Writing a cover letter can be a chore, especially when applying for a number of roles. As consultants, we know they can be difficult and often go back to candidates to help them amend ones they’ve submitted.Knowing what to include and what to leave out can drive one to distraction. So here are a few things you need to know to make sure that your cover letter stands out:Your CV is more important - Yes, unfortunately it's true. However a cover letter is still helpful in determining a candidate's values, past achievements, culture fit, as well as demonstrating their written style: all of which will help to secure that important interview.Do the basics right - by making sure the cover letter looks tailored to the job you are applying for. Address it to the hiring manager or recruiter, insert the job title and organisation name in your opening lines. Addressing a cover letter "Dear Sir/Madam" when you have their name is a little lazy!Include your current job duties and key achievements - when highlighting your current duties make sure you include examples of your work and your key achievements. Don't assume that someone from your sector would know what your key responsibilities are - you could be selling yourself short. If, for example, you are responsible for raising funds or managing budgets, make sure you highlight your financial achievements clearly.Be specific and refer to the job description - The hiring manager wants to know if you can do the job they are advertising. So be specific by addressing the role requirements and demonstrate how you can effectively carry out those duties, based on your experience.Show your variety - your extra curricular experience, such as volunteering, can provide the hiring manager with crucial information on you as a person. This can give you the edge by showing the hiring manager/recruiter that you have a genuine passion for your line of work which could be what separates you from your competitors.And finally...remember, cover letters should be kept simple and should be around 1-2 pages in length. That doesn't mean skimp on addressing the job description: it means stick to the formula above. Hit those marks and you will almost certainly find yourself getting more calls from hiring manager and recruiters.

​Employment testing is not unique to the charity sector. However, there are several reasons why it makes sense to use these tools when looking for new recruits in this sector.Psychometric testing has been around since 1905. Today’s evidence shows this type of testing is increasing among employers. One body of research indicated an 18% rise over a two-year period. Yet employment testing costs money, so this must be a wise investment for charities to continue using it. If there was no return on the investment, it would be money wasted. This is not something charities can afford.​What kinds of tests are used?Employment tests typically fall into one of two areas:Skill testsPsychometric tests or personality profiling​Skills tests are also known as ability tests. They cover many areas that are crucial when selecting the right candidates to work in charity-based roles. They can test for:Numerical reasoning skillsVerbal reasoning skillsLogical reasoning skills​Skill tests may also be provided to test an individual’s ability to handle the tasks they would be required to do if they were given the job. Specific tests tailored towards the role to be filled are common, such as those designed for admin roles or finance roles. While skills tests focus on practical ability, psychometric tests or personality profiling focus on the individual. While applicants can provide incorrect answers for the skills tests, this is not the case with psychometric or personality tests. Rather, they aim to provide a good indication of the individual’s character, strengths and weaknesses. Most recruiters across all industries use a mix of the two to get the best outcome from the process.Finding the best employees is important for all recruiters. However, the financial aspect of recruiting the best people for charity roles is arguably more important than ever. There are limited funds to devote to recruitment. Is it worth sinking some of those funds into testing processes that could be seen by some as optional?Is testing a wise investment?​Charities are accountable to those who donate money to them. Donors want to be sure the charities they give money to use those funds as best they can. So, are recruitment tests worth the money?​It would seem prudent to avoid the tests and stick to the usual interviewing techniques honed over decades of use. Funds that would have been spent on the testing process could be allocated elsewhere within the charity. This decision may result in hiring the best person for the job, but there are also many areas where things could go wrong. This is the risk to be faced when deciding not to use such testing.​For example, some people are better at being interviewed than others. It’s certainly something everyone can improve on. Research has shown 40% of interviewers would fail someone if they didn’t smile. Around two-thirds of recruiters also rejected people who didn’t make eye contact.​These elements can be learned by anyone prior to going for an interview. When reading statistics like these, it is easy to see how a charity could recruit the wrong person. It’s possible to study to pass an interview, or at least to increase the odds of doing so. It is far harder to cheat employment tests they are asked to sit as part of the consideration process.​How much would it cost the charity to hire the wrong person?​Research indicates a bad hire costs a business an average of £8,200. Another source found 19.5% of recruiters lost a minimum of £15,000 on a bad hire. Some said their losses amounted to over twice that. ​If we apply these losses to the charity sector, we can see how employment testing is in fact an investment rather than a cost. Yes, it costs money to access the tests. However, that money helps the charity find the best person for each vacancy. The quality of each employee has a direct impact on the charity’s success. ​Some businesses may find it easier than others to cover their errors if they hire the wrong person. This isn’t true when you think of charities. Not only will a bad hire cost money, it could lead to a drop in the amount of donations received if news of the situation gets out. This could lead to greater losses over time than would be experienced by other businesses.​Employment testing allows for a more rounded view of each candidate​Anyone who knows the tricks to succeeding in interviews stands a far better chance of passing them. Even if they are inappropriate for the role, they could end up being taken on, only for the charity to later find the decision was a costly mistake.​Some of those in senior positions within a charity may view employment testing as an unnecessary cost. However, as we have seen, it helps identify skills and traits within each candidate that cannot otherwise be uncovered. Surely it is better to find the best people than to find those that know how to ace an interview even if they are unsuited to the role they are applying for?​Test for success​Some charities recognise the power of identifying key traits in their applicants. That’s why charities are benefiting from their use of employment testing to get the best results from their recruitment efforts. Those results don’t merely attract better recruits, they also impress those who fund them—their donors.​This is a guest blog, by Denise Allen of SkillsArena. It contains links to external sites. Please Note: Charity People does not take any responsibility and makes no warranties, representations or undertakings about the content of any website accessed by hypertext link. Links should not be taken as an endorsement of any kind. Charity People has no control over the availability of the linked pages.​

​Kemar Walford has over 10 years of experience in Fundraising and the wider Third Sector, which includes working with mainstream charities such as London Youth, Caritas Anchor House, Ladies Who Learn and the Bromley by Bow Centre. He worked for the Big Lottery Fund for the bulk of his career in grant assessment, management and more recently supporting groups in the West Midlands and East and West London. He has a wealth of experience working as a fundraising consultant, mainly for small to medium size charities across London. Kemar is also the Chair of a special interest group of the Institute of Fundraising.What is your mission?My mission is a simple one and that is to champion the accomplishments of BAME individuals and charities working in the sector, who make the world a better place with little steps or giant leaps. We are all struggling to make a difference and we all need a little helping hand from time to time. These helping hands are easier to find for certain communities and occur more often. So, I'm just one of many that are trying to level the playing field.Why is diversity important?Diversity is not only important but necessary, because it truly brings innovation, creativity and a greater understanding of the communities that we serve. It allows people to bring their cultural identity into the workforce, which brings spice and flavour to the way we deliver things and how engaged these communities truly are with the projects, programmes and activities we develop. Diversity in the private sector has for several years been evidencing the financial and internal environmental benefits it brings. Both in terms of the bottom line and expansion into new areas of work for the respective organisations. According to "Delivering through Diversity - Jan 2018", the top preforming companies have a more diverse group at executive management level resulting in a 33% increased likelihood of industry-leading profitability. So why is it so difficult for the charity sector to understand the importance and need for developing a truly diverse workforce at all levels? It sometimes seems as though, those in the sector don't fully grasp that making their workforce more diverse helps to inspire more people into that sector. This in turn increases the available pool of talent. Let's use the Black Panther film as an example and the buzz surrounding that film in the wider society. We can see the thousands of people from across the world were inspired to believe they could become actors, directors and many more positions in that industry. The film industry will ultimately benefit from that for many years to come. I believe the phrase is "Seeing is believing", understanding this creates opportunities and options for individuals that they never thought were possible. Charities are usually at the forefront of doing good, so why are we letting commercial companies show us the way forward.What are the barriers to creating more diversity in organisations?I believe that there are a few barriers to creating more diversity in organisations. Some of the barriers are structural/cultural, some are motivational, and others are financial, but let's not forget the political. So, let's look at structural/cultural, there are so many organisations that see their structure or culture as the norm and therefore don't understand the need for change. They consciously or unconsciously seek to employ people that look, sound and behave like they do. These organisations have managed for years to attract generous income from many clients or donors, as they have targeted those that look and sound like they do. However, the mix of society is changing quickly and if you don't adopt you die. Then you have organisations that have little or no motivation to make change happen. Motivation for change needs to come from the top down, as people at the bottom may want change, but don't have the power to affect change. Now these organisations have individuals that have been at the organisation for so long that they are part of the furniture. These individuals believe everything works well enough as it is and therefore nothing should be changed as they either fear or don't understand the need to make changes. Remember change can be scary and can feel destabilising, so many people try to avoid it. These organisations are usually well-established institutions with a long heritage and are typically proud of that heritage. I believe, we all know a few of these organisations in every sector. They may even say the right things externally, but internally they don't or won't make changes necessary to make diversity a reality.For those with financial constraints it can be hard to make change happen, even if they want it. In the charity sector, this is typically down to the fact that they are heavily dependent on grants and donations. This makes it difficult to recruit in new ways and take different approaches without a serious financial commitment. These organisations need to make diversity an integral part of their future planning strategy and that requires resources. Typically, many of the people in the charity sector started their careers as volunteers and then after a year or so moved into employment. This is typically a difficult transition period for individuals, but easier if you have other financial means. Many BAME individuals can't afford to work or volunteer for free, as there is a need to support their families or other constraints that prohibit this from happening. So, to attract these individuals your organisation needs to make it an attractive proposition for these individuals both financially as well as socially with flexible working and other benefits. However, all of this has a price tag, which is not always achievable or feasible. This is not all bad news, as there now seems to be a few funders that are offering grants to charities to help pay for the employment of paid interns, which opens the internship option for individuals from BAME backgrounds. More funders should be following suit and helping the sector to more representative of the communities they serve.Last but not least political, we have for the last few years been witness to the onslaught of race hate caused by Brexit. Much of the communications and messaging that surrounded Brexit focused on immigrants and migrants, despite many, if not all European countries having predominately white populations. This sent out a message of hate and disconnection between communities already settled here, which for the most part have lived harmoniously. This resulted in an increase in hate crime against all races and open season for racist approaches and behaviours. Now, I know this a strong statement, but there will also be an undertone of hate that sinks into the minds of certain individuals in the sector or wider society that creates unnecessary blockages.What practical steps could we all adopt right now?Change starts at the topCEO's and leaders need to take their organisations on a journey, through creating a vision and a clear direction of travel for their staff, volunteers and beneficiaries/clients. This must be compelling for the whole organisation and tangible in terms of being able to see the actions and those that are going to be accountable. This cannot just be lip service as those in middle management will not truly buy into it and work towards its achievement. You truly need all members of your team to be committed to the vision and direction of travel.Linking diversity to organisational performanceThis will create a step change in the approach used by those in your organisation. As a sector, we are continuously seeking to increase income and meet targets to survive, so why not link your diversity targets to this for your organisation. This will allow you to show the positive impact that your increased diversity is having on your organisations bottom line. Sometimes seeing is believing! Invest resourcesThere are very few things in this world that can be achieved without resources, whether that be people or finances. It is therefore crucial that you invest resources into developing your approach to diversity. Put your money, where your mouth is!Making sure you tailor for greater impactNow there is no point setting targets that are not relevant for the local geographic context. This is particularly for the larger organisations that operate across the country and internationally. You need to ensure that any policies or approaches are appropriate for the communities you serve. Having a one size fits all approach doesn't work for diversity, as there are so many different fascists to culture/ethnicity that you will end up turning said communities you are trying to represent, away.Remember this is no short-term initiativeCreating a diverse workforce is no picnic, whether your starting from scratch or have a small number of BAME individuals in your workforce. It will take time and effort on your part but remember once you start you can no longer continue with the status quo and real change doesn't happen overnight.You need to create a welcoming environment beforehandSeek to find out the experiences of the BAME staff in your organisation and be open to constructive criticism. This will help you to understand their career journey within your organisation and their perceived barriers. Knowing this will help you to understand what you can do to support making changes to bring a more positive working experience for your staff. Following this learn and develop an understanding of racial bias and its impact on decision making. This will help you create a better environment to recruiting BAME individuals and help them to flourish. Ensure your policies and procedures are the same in practice as in writing. Create policies that are flexible and accommodating for your staff. Ultimately, ensuring your organisation not only showcases your commitment to the approach, but represents it in all its internal and external actions.Recruit for potentialIn todays market, it's harder than it sounds. We know the pressures that exists in meeting targets and achieving outcomes. This often means that we automatically seek to recruit individuals that fit the exact criteria or are highly experienced in a field that we consider transferable. If we keep seeking the finished article we will miss out on hidden gems and those that will become the leaders of tomorrow, if given the chance. We need to ensure that people get opportunities in the variety of fields available or risk losing out on great future talent. Now, there seems to be a trend in the sector that expects people to have degrees or significant qualifications, but this automatically creates a barrier for some individuals who just need that chance. So, for every great position that comes up we should make room to take a chance on Potential. Even if that means negotiating a smaller salary with the opportunity to increase after they prove themselves. Have you ever had a coach or a mentor?Although I have never had a coach or mentor, I've had individuals that have played that role in my life. They have inspired, motivated and challenged me to operate and think differently about my approaches and actions. They have been my sounding board and my filter, as there are always moments where we let anger or disappointment guide our thoughts. This is despite considering myself a well-rounded and thoughtful individual in many of the activities I undertake. Although, recently I've been looking for a mentor or coach, as I truly feel that everyone should have one. It offers you all that I've mentioned, but it can also develop into a wonderful relationship that pushes your career forward. I love organisations that have a mentoring approach built into the way the work, as I think they are ahead of the game. This creates an environment that helps the development of your staff both in terms of career and their emotional stability, which often ends in a better outcome for the company. ​

"Fear of failure was stopping my personal development." Read how Ellen took the plunge.​Fear of failure. I can safely say I have that in abundance; a definite born worrier. I've always been quite risk averse, but until it came to writing this blog I hadn't fully identified that it might actually be bordering on self-sabotage.I have always been pretty steadfast in my professional life since leaving University in 2005 (yikes that is a while ago!). Up until 2017 I had only ever worked for two businesses. I always did well, I was often picked for promotion and there never seemed any real reason to look at other things. It was safe and secure, but I was attributing my success to those businesses rather than myself. Over the years I had been approached by other companies who were really interested in me, but that risk-averse voice would be whispering: "don't be daft, you can't move, what if you can't do it, what if you fail, what if everyone thinks I'm a bit average really". I kept on listening to that voice for many years. Fear of failure was stopping my personal development.Returning to work after having my daughter, Isabella , I finally yielded and had one of those conversations. Maybe having a break from 'head-down' work gave me some perspective. It was a transformational point in my life! I finally muted the doubting voice, did some background research on the company and jumped! I have never looked back. I work with a new team of people who are super brilliant at what they do. They challenge themselves and therefore lead me to do the same everyday.What having Isabella taught me was that sometimes when you choose to go down another path it can be, quite frankly, terrifying! But, you can only be your best self by accepting some challenges and proving to yourself that you are enough and you will be fine. I also found that failure really is a relative and temporary thing. Success and the confidence you gain from coming out of the other side lasts much longer and takes you places you might never have gone otherwise. It's this journey that shapes and enriches your life.

As part of the lead up to Pizza for Losers, Stuart tells how he used a bitter disappointment to drive him forward.I have played Rugby all of my life. I have had my share of highs and lows along the way. In my latter years of school and club level rugby I played with a great team. Our successes meant that we made the finals of a national tournament. It was to be played at Twickenham - the shrine of rugby. It was my dream to play there and I had been an ever-present member of the team.The week before the big day, I had to miss a local tournament due to illness. Another player, who had not featured at all through the year, played in my place. He had a good tournament. The squad for the National Finals was announced and I wasn’t in it. The player who replaced me for the tournament the week before was heading to Twickenham instead of me.Of course, they won and had the magical experience of lifting a trophy in front of the Royal Box. It was a bitter pill to swallow. Seeing the team and squad come back and be treated like superstars was equally hard to watch.My dad saw how much it had hurt me. He advised me to channel my feelings into making sure that never again had to miss out.So I trained. I trained hard and I got myself stupidly fit. I remember cycling in Brittany in the pouring rain a long these long hilly roads, nearly getting blown off the roads and I remember pushing harder and harder on the pedals, keeping in mind why I was doing this. I would not experience missing out again if I could do something about it. I wanted there to be no doubt that I would never miss out like that again.After spending 18 months training and playing representative rugby, there was an opportunity to go to New Zealand to play rugby on a scholarship. It came a little bit out of the blue and I went forward for it. To secure it, part of the process was a fitness and a rugby task. I got the scholarship and I went to the other side of the world for three months and experienced and played rugby where few have had the opportunity. From the previous failure and with the support of my dad, I was able to experience something that I likely would not have – if I had not experienced the failure that led to me missing out on being in Twickenham and playing rugby with my friends.

Our amazing and successful consultant, Anna Ludeman, is everything that you could hope for in a team member. Here she sounds the call for greater flexibility in charities.On my mission to find more opportunities for part time workers, there is a phrase that I hear time and time again -'We will only consider someone part time if they are an exceptional candidate'.I have nodded along and agreed with this statement for as long as I can remember, never giving it too much thought, until now.Firstly, shouldn't all of our candidates that we are representing be exceptional in their own way?Secondly, is this implying that they need to be better than someone looking for full time work to counter-act their need to work part time?What a lot of pressure to put on someone's shoulders! To be considered for a role, does a part-time candidate needs to be better qualified than their full time counterparts? Do they need to prove that they will work harder and smarter in order to secure that new role?I'm worried that this statement, however innocently spoken, can easily create discrimination against part-time employees and create unfair expectations. Excluding those candidates who are wonderful, dedicated, hard-working and talented but might not necessarily be head and shoulders above other candidates in the market or be able to work the same hours seems a little short-sighted. I have berated myself for nodding along to this for so many years and I am trying my best to push back on the high expectations that clients are putting on the shoulders of those who work part time.Having such a lot of expectation and pressure on the shoulders of part-time workers is neither healthy nor productive. It leads to many individuals pushing themselves further, trying to prove their worth by working longer hours, taking on more projects and striving to achieve an un-realistic target to prove to their manager that they were worth the hire.Instead, shouldn't we be open to all types of individuals who have the right experience for the role and support them to reach their full potential? Giving them the support they need to complete their duties, focusing on outcome instead of hours?I appreciate that there are jobs out there that do require someone full time and making the role part-time just would not be feasible. However, I believe that there are always ways to create flexibility and in this instance, a job share might be the perfect solution. Similarly, an employer might reason that offering one person flexible working will open the floodgates to all which is unsustainable to a business. Allowing just one person flexible working might well cause issues which is why I believe flexibility for all is the key. There are so many incredible individuals out there, working hard to make a living and managing a million other things outside of work hours. If we opened ourselves up to considering candidates on a part time basis, we'll have more of a diverse, interesting, fun and energetic team of people, all of whom are exceptional in their own way. Not to mention, the endless benefits of opening up a vacancy to a wider pool of candidates, increasing candidate engagement in your role and brand.I am pleased to say that I have also experienced really flexible employers who are incredibly open to part time candidates. They believe that it is essential to find the right person who will add value to their organisation, someone who will drive change, bring fresh energy to the team and create initiative and inspiration. We've seen how well this can work with candidates juggling work and education, parenthood and even setting up their own businesses part time, all the while contributing invaluable experience to their organisation.I work part-time myself and I was offered flexible working, not because I am an exceptional individual but because I am a normal person, able to prioritise well and do a good job in the time I have. I am hard-working, committed and passionate about the work I do but I don't believe that I'm a stand-out unique marvel in the recruitment sector. I feel valued as a person, not just a number.I am lucky to work for a truly flexible employer who values a person's contribution above and beyond set targets. We have a mix of part and full-time employees who we're thrilled to have on board. We have exceptional relationship builders, 'blue sky thinking' influencers, support staff that are second to none and the most amazing social committee. Every person brings something special to the team which is endlessly appreciated.By giving everyone the freedom and flexibility to be exceptional, we can see how far a team and organisation can really go.

"Everyone feels out of their depth sometimes" - find out how Alice learnt from failure. Part of the lead up to #PizzaForLosersAnyone who knows me well knows that I am someone who is prone to worry. I think that that I would also be described as naturally conscientious, organised, and capable. Which I know isn't entirely true, at least not the "naturally" part.Most of the biggest failures in my life have been caused by anxiety and the way I react to it - which is through a tendency towards ignoring problems, and hiding from issues, so that they grow and grow - potentially becoming much worse.A great example of this comes from university where I studied English. To begin with, I had a lovely time - I was reading books I loved, learning lots, being challenged just the right amount - all was brilliant. Until one morning, in a critical theory module, we started to study something I just did not understand. At all. I still can't wrap my head around it if I'm honest (it was Roland Barthes and semiotics if you're interested). It was the first real hurdle I had encountered since leaving home and being wholly responsible for myself, and it totally threw me.If you'd have been privy to what was going on inside my head you'd have heard "how come everyone else around me seems so comfortable with this stuff?"; "they must be so much more clever than I am"; "I shouldn't be here" and so on. I didn't know where to start with figuring it out - so I just didn't. And I never wrote the essay; and I ignored the calls from the Department Secretary; and eventually I got a zero because I didn't hand it in. Being at the start of my second year, this had a lasting impact on my grades. I had literally got into bed and pulled the covers over my head, and had hidden from the problem.Then I finally told someone - my dad. We talked, and he helped, and we put plans in place to manage this if I felt lost in future - and I got the confidence to ask for help if I needed it. He also gave me the advice I carry round to this day which was - "don't let problems get to the stage where they are unmanageable; you have the power to shape outcomes". It was a revelation to understand that everyone feels out of their depth sometimes - but this had become so much worse by my failure to try to address the problem head on.It taught me about how I respond to stress and anxiety, and how to manage so that this feeling doesn't create much larger, potentially insurmountable problems in the future. I still worry, question and feel apprehensive but I do so much less because I tackle things head on, and understand that I am capable of navigating life's problems, because of what I learned from previous failures.

​Nick leads our team of fundraising recruitment experts, as well as taking on senior executive search projects. Inspired by Pizza for Losers, this is how Nick learnt from a past failure.Like many colleagues past and present, I had entered the recruitment world straight out of university, in truth not knowing what I wanted to do, but driven to somehow start making some of my own money rather than spending someone else's. I'd figured I would do this for a couple of years and then find my true calling and real career. In October 2013 I'd been recruiting Fundraisers for four years, over that time I had been promoted a couple of times and been asked to manage a team. Things were going well but I couldn't shake the idea that at some point I really needed to get a real job. I'd learnt to love Fundraising, I guess by osmosis, and I had always thought I could do that! After countless chats with (what was then) my relatively new wife, I thought sod it, time for my real career to start.I joined the Corporate Partnerships team at Cancer Research UK ready to change the world. Six months later I was back in the recruitment company I had left at the end of 2013, through no fault of anyone at, what I still see as the brilliant employer, CRUK.I tried and I failed. But I've always been ok with that. Fundraising is really hard, and ultimately I wasn't very good at it. I was (I think/hope) better at recruitment, and I realised if I stopped worrying about what I should be doing, I actually really enjoyed changing people's lives via recruitment. I learnt a lot of things whilst failing at CRUK, things that would ultimately make me a better recruiter, but most importantly I had resolved the unease in my mind about my career path and what a "real career" looked like.

Amanda Bringans joined the British Heart Foundation in December 2015. She has a strong background in fundraising, strategic development and implementation, strategic brand management and communications. Amanda has held interim fundraising director posts at Leonard Cheshire Disability and Battersea Dogs and Cats Home. Before that she was Director of Global Fundraising and Communications at VSO for three years, and spent 16 years at Macmillan where she was latterly Director of Fundraising.​What tips do you have for an aspiring Fundraising Director?Put your hand up! Whilst I was a more junior fundraiser, I always put my hand up for projects that would take me out my immediate responsibilities. I am not sure when I developed the sense to do this as I wasn’t always inclined to do so – certainly not at school where I was always in trouble! When I started in fundraising I felt such a strong fit, and I feel that when people feel like they fit, and they are being listened to and heard, then that feeds a desire to contribute more. So I think it’s about finding an environment that you want to contribute more to which then feeds a desire to contribute even more.So when I got into Fundraising I started looking for things to take me out my comfort zone. This really happened to me at Macmillan and there are a couple of examples that spring to mind: the first was being on the team to successfully pitch for the Tesco partnership. And then being a part ofthe team to project manage the development of the then new brand for Macmillan that you see today.Taking on these projects increases who you are interacting with. And then the more people you meet, the more you learn. And actually that is the key to it isn’t it? A desire to learn. I love learning from clever people! And that is a really relevant point too; work for “super clever people” – or have “super clever people” working for you; I would always encourage people to never be scared of recruiting people who are more intelligent than you- see it as an opportunity and don’t be afraid, as they will bring so much depth to your team that you may not have personally.What does someone coming to an interview with you, need to do to impress you?I think we can all be slightly guilty of having a strong opinion of someone within 30 seconds of meeting them. So without being overly clichéd I always look for someone to come in confidently, shake my hand, make eye contact and give me a big grin rather than shuffling in looking a bit terrified.Being well prepared is vital too, as is having a laugh. And be yourself; as soon as I sense somebody is not themselves or trying to be something they arenot I lose interest. Tell me genuinely about your skills and their talents and their achievements – because I want to listen and hear that.The best thing you can do is to be articulate and clear about what your achievements to date are and what you have learnt. A good interview is really enjoyable – I want to come out of it thinking that was great – I learnt something from that person! So it should be fun – if a tiny bit terrifying…Do you think the sector does enough to attract new talent to Fundraising? What more can we all do?I am fully aware that there is a bit of a merry-go round of fundraising staff in the sector. Some people move from charity to charity – and sometimes this can be a really good thing but sometimes it is good to bring in new blood. I very much value bringing in fundraisers from other charities, but if all you are going to do is move from charity to charity at the same level in the same discipline then that isn’t going to energise our profession. Here at BHF we have just recruited our new Fundraising Director of Innovation and Performance from outside the sector.And working with the IOF we are very eager to push fundraising as a professional career – continuing to promote and drive commitment to the academy and the journey to chartered fundraiser. The Institute has a key role to continue to professionalise it and to raise the profile of it as a respected profession.What was the last thing that made you angry (within a Fundraising context)?Badly written thank you letters make me very angry! In my opinion there is no excuse for this. They have to be prompt, beautifully written and come from the heart with absolutely no spelling or grammatical mistakes.You have taken on the role as Chair of the IOF at a testing time for the sector – congratulations, how did it come about?I have been working with the Institute for a long time; having previously sat on the London committee many years ago and have always really enjoyed my interaction with them. When the vacancy came up a couple of people suggested I go for it, which was hugely flattering. So I did and I still can’t quite believe I got it, when I found out I was just so astounded, delighted, and very proud and I have to say I am absolutely loving it. There is certainly a lot happening. Perhaps rather naively I thought the happenings of 2015 were quite a while ago and Richard, my predecessor will have dealt with that and that we have come out of the other side but then you get into it and actually there is of course so much to do! But as I say I am genuinely loving it.With this, plus the day job and the trusteeship at Regents University you must be busy! Do you have any life changing time management tips?Certainly the Chair-ship has increased my working hours! Over the years I have developed a time management tool which seems to work for me; I see each week as a pattern. On the weekend I look at my week ahead and grade meetings accordingly – what is each one going to require from me - intellectually and energy wise? When do I need to put a suit on? When can I wear my jeans? And subsequently I manage my time and structure accordingly. I definitely need spaces in my diary where I can just sit down and think and I think that is very important – otherwise I will get to the end of the week and be shot. But it is a pattern, it’s a shape and that is how I view it.You have spoken about the need to support smaller organisations in the face of regulatory changes – how are you hoping to do that?One of the strategic priorities for the IOF is to support smaller charities and we are conscious we want to do more of this and do it better. A good example is having easily accessible, affordable resources – which I know these organisations need more of. An example would be the recent UK wide GDPR courses that we ran for around £75 for small charities. The feedback from these has been great and we know we need to do more of things like this. On a personal basis I am planning to visit all of the different regional committees to hear more about what they need so we can plan that into our wider strategy and I recognise the importance of that.BHF were fined by the ICO – has that impacted on the department on a day to day basis?Initially yes, we definitely felt the impact – though I had literally just joined when it happened. Something like that is always genuinely upsetting for fundraising teams - fundraisers here certainly felt that very strongly. So there was a period of “what are we going to change to do better?” And as a result of that we have had to significantly invest in our compliance. So it has certainly led to a desire to get things right, investment in compliance and an ongoing desire to audit and monitor and compliance in a very rigorous way. So we have had Deloitte in to do an audit all of fundraising compliance activities to ensure we are adhering with best possible practice. Has this led to us being more risk adverse? No absolutely not, it has led to a desire to be even more innovative and creative based on the fact that we know we have to be absolutely compliant but also to ensure we are doing things that our donors want and need. So conversely no we are not more risk adverse – instead we are trying to be more adventurous - but within a compliant framework.Ultimately whilst GDPR has increased our workload, if you think about what it is trying to achieve its true aim is fundamentally a good one. People will feel more protected; as fundraisers we can translate that aim into a true desire to delight our donors. But it can only be a good thing if donors are getting what they genuinely want. So we can’t see it as a constraint or a barrier but we have to see it as an opportunity to communicate more closely with what your donors want. Easy to say, hard to do!How do you ensure the whole BHF fundraising team is motivated and 100% behind the cause?I think it is absolutely vital to have fun at your job. I once got reprimanded by a CEO in an interview for a very senior fundraising role for using the word fun three times in the interview. I could not disagree more strongly with that person than I do! You have to work hard, be intellectually challenged, drive high performance and held to account but you absolutely must have fun at work.I also think that strong leadership that is aligned to your organisations values is vital. Our CEO here is very focused on ensuring our values are front of mind. And I think as fundraisers that is a great help. And lastly you have to keep the cause at front of mind. So one of the things we do here is to run events that the team can go and hear from the researchers to listen to the work that they are actually helping to fund, and that is important.Who is the best boss you have worked for and why?Obviously I have to say Simon Gillespie the CEO at BHF – who would kill me if I didn’t say him! Notwithstanding that he is a top bloke with a shed load of integrity, and great to work for so he really is genuinely up there. The other one I would say is Judy Beard – my director of Fundraising at Macmillan from 1999 to 2007. She was just an amazing Director of Fundraising: willing to trust, willing to teach, willing to have a laugh and hugely empowering andself deprecating about her own extraordinary abilities. Along with being just lovely.I wish I’d have thought of that – any campaigns or appeals you think have been particularly ground-breaking.I admire lots of things other charities do. I came across UNICEF’s latest legacy campaign this morning – which was around personalising a timeline from the historic events that have happened during your life, leading to a really well constructed legacy ask. It was beautifully put together and really well executed so I really enjoyed that. I also really enjoyed the campaign Battersea Dogs and Cats Home ran around sentences being too light – with lots of comedians - that was brilliant.When was the last time you cried? I have just finished this book (A Heavy Reckoning) by Dr Emily Mayhew who has written this about the long term health issues caused by blast injuries – principally focussed on victims of the Afghanistan war, for example people who are triple amputees and the massive toll that blast and IED injuries have on people for the rest of their lives. It is an absolutely amazing book. And every morning over the last week, on the train I have shed a tear. I thoroughly recommend it, it is written so beautifully and is such a powerful mix of science and human emotion.

​What does leadership mean to you?Motivating and inspiring a team is about providing direction and clarity of purpose. In terms of my own approach and leadership style, I try to be really collaborative. But I also don’t think anyone wants a leader who dithers and can’t make decisions on their own; there are times when you need to give clear direction.Wherever I can, I try to collaborate and listen to people. Listening is definitely one of the key skills of a leader. I don’t pretend community fundraising hasn’t changed since I started as a Community Fundraiser with Marie Curie 13 years ago; it’s very different now. But I do think having been a Community Fundraiser gives me a real insight and understanding of the role.I guess the other thing about leadership is adaptability. When I first started in my current role, the team had gone through a lot of upheaval – morale was low – and there was a feeling of instability. You go into a new job and, of course, you want to change things; but it was evident that it wasn’t the direction I needed to go in. It was about trying to calm things down and build a really positive culture. My mantra in those days was all about getting the North back on top. My management team and I spent a lot of time motivating people and I tried to be a really positive influence to get us all on the same page.Now we have built up a team full of energy and positivity, it is all about enabling and empowering people to make the right decisions. I might have to change again in a year because leadership style depends on the people and the environment. You definitely have to reflect on who has been leading the team before, as well as adapting and changing the way you do things. If your style is different it will take people time to adjust and you might need to rethink what the team needs – maybe you need to change rather than the team.What’s the best tip you can offer on building a loyal, happy and highly motivated team?We were talking before about the importance of culture and personal development, so my top tip would be to make sure you give yourself enough time and space to do the people-centred things. That might involve taking enough time to plan team meetings – don’t wing it! Ensure you make time for the personal development of your team. If you have any kind of feedback (e.g. the staff questionnaire Marie Curie do every year) make sure you do something with it. You need headspace to think about these things and plan whatto do next. Never think of personal development planning or team time as a luxury. If you spend time doing those things, you will reap the rewards when it comes to your team and how they feel about working for you and the organisation. It will also impact how long they stay with you.What are the biggest challenges in regards to leading successful regional fundraising teams?One is definitely staff retention, especially when you are in the business of building relationships. When you lose someone, you lose some of the traction you have built up with those relationships. It’s obvious to think about the challenges of managing your team but another big challenge can be managing upwards and outwards. That might be around expectations if those people have a key role to play in budget setting and the growth you can deliver. Not hitting target is one of the most demotivating things a team will go through, so targets need to be achievable in the first place. Also, in terms of your team expecting you to deliver changes or improvements for them when it sometimes won’t be within your power to do so.You need to build a solid relationship with your own line manager. You may need to work hard at that and find a way towards a common ground; sometimes, you’ll have to bide your time. When you first start a role you aren’t immediately the go-to person, but in time you prove what you can do and start to make suggestions. It can help to adapt the information you put in front of people and present things in a way that you know will get their buy in. Marie Curie is quite a hierarchical organisation and I have to respect that hierarchy, being careful about the way I phrase things and choosing the right situation for challenge. It might not always be the right time or place and you have to be mindful of the pressures that your manager is under too. Pick your battles and don’t go after every single thing!How do you have to adapt your leadership style to foster a sense of team when your staff works either remotely or in different regional offices?It all comes down to providing clear direction. If you are all singing from the same hymn sheet, it doesn’t matter if you don’t get chance to get together all that often. Saying that, I do believe working hard to be visible is important. It might not make sense to be travelling around all the time, but when you are there make the effort to talk to everyone and find out what’s going on. If you are genuinely interested in your team it will come across and help them to feel valued, but be careful as they will pick up on it if you are not genuine. Coming from a community fundraising background, I am genuinely interested in people.Be clear about the team’s objectives. Be really honest and tackle things as a team – how are we all going to approach this together? Ask your team for feedback – do they feel like a team? What is working and isn’t working?Definitely accept that remote working is different – you’re not going to have the same sense of team that you would if you all sat around the same bank of desks in an office. Don’t punish yourself for that – it will be different. From a practical sense bring people together, but do it appropriately. And again, ask for feedback. Are we doing this enough? Are we doing it too much? Make the most of that time too, so that people go away feeling like it was a brilliant day.Use technology and conference calls. If you don’t have those tools in your organisation, ask someone to look at the cost because you will save on travel if you invest in those technologies. For the Daffodil Appeal when everyone is out doing their own thing, our Fundraising Manager in the North West set up a WhatsApp group and everyone was sharing photographs and news from their collections. There was a real sense of team and achievement from that; simple things can work really well.Put people together on projects who don’t usually work in the same office. At regional meetings, split people up so that you combat the tendency to sit only with the people you work with – mix it up! Protect your time together because it isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity. Make some of that time for celebrations and some for social things. We always get together at Christmas and do very little business and that’s absolutely fine – we spend time together as a team and enjoy ourselves!What would you recommend to an organisation that doesn’t have an official employee retention strategy but would like to work hard to actively keep hold of their best talent?I can’t imagine any manager doesn’t have some sort of retention plan, although they might not call it that. You have good people in your team and you want to keep them. If you don’t have an official strategy within your organisation there are two really important things you can do. Accept what is in your control and accept what is out of your control. Salaries, job descriptions, terms and conditions may be things you can’t control, but there are lots of things that you can. Think about personal development. If you manage anybody, a key part of your time should be spent thinking about their personal development. It shouldn’t be an add-on. Appraisals aren’t a box-ticking exercise and you should take them really seriously and give the people you manage your time. Empowering people is also really important. It isn’t your responsibility to develop someone’s career, but it is your role to support that person to make it happen – encourage personal accountability.Really simple things like being imaginative and creative with awards can make a huge difference. A small recognition can make a real difference to people feeling valued; you don’t join the charity sector because you expect huge bonuses, but a thank you from someone in a senior position can go a long way. Be genuinely interested in your people and sing about what they are doing.At Marie Curie, some of my Fundraising Managers manage really big teams of 8-10 people and, for me, that is too many people to directly line manage. So some of our more senior Community Fundraisers take line management responsibility for one other member of the team. I think that definitely helps us to retain people because it gives them that first experience of line management. You might not be in an organisation that can do that, but definitely consider it if you can. If you can’t, think about what you can do to enable people to develop the skills to help them move into the next step in their career e.g. buddying, shadowing, mentoring, secondments, deputising, etc.In terms of retention, I always take quite a pragmatic approach if someone leaves. Sometimes a fundraiser leaves because there has been a clash and it hasn’t been the right role for them – it can then be the best thing for them to move on. Also, I absolutely love it when someone joins and we really support their personal development and they then move onto a much bigger role; we should really celebrate that and not see it as a negative. You’ve definitely done your job there and helped the sector! I came back to Marie Curie after being away for four years, so you never know – they might come back!Accept what you can control and consider challenging what you can’t. Pick your battles but don’t be afraid to ask the awkward questions. There often isn’t a great deal of money to play around with when it comes to pay awards, but in my team I often underspend on my salary budget from people leaving and waiting to re-recruit. So I recently asked the question: ‘could I use the savings to reward people?’ One of my peers commented that wouldn’t be allowed, but I pushed for the question to be asked at a more senior level. Itwas, and the response was quite positive. It hasn’t happened yet, but it might and that makes asking the question worthwhile. If you can’t ask a question as a fundraiser, then obviously you’re in trouble!How do you celebrate success within your fundraising team?The most important thing about celebrating success and failure is that you have to live and breathe it; you can’t wait around for moments like staff awards to happen. Celebrate small successes as they happen and you can help to create that positive culture everyday.We have awards in the team and give a £50 voucher every quarter – not a lot of money, but it can mean an awful lot to the individual who wins it. It used to be a management decision, but a member of my team challenged that and now we do a staff nomination instead. Being nominated by your peers means so much more. I went to the effort of putting the nominations and award announcements in gold envelopes and had a red carpet backdrop on my PowerPoint to make it feel like something a bit special. We also have a team of the quarter across the UK and I always try and nominate a team from the North region when appropriate… and we have won three out of the last five!Where appropriate we ask our Chief Exec and Director to send ‘Thank You’s’ to people individually for exceptional work and that works really well. I do the same with personal congratulations for people who have gone above and beyond. Again, as a management team, we look back at what we have achieved and take time to reflect and embed that. I have a big team across a big geographical area, so I do broadcast emails to tell everyone when people do things well. We mix things up with the format, e.g. sometimes, we use video to try and keep it fresh. In quarterly regional meetings we do a review of the previous quarter, which is an opportunity to recognise the team’s achievements; then at the end of the year a big annual review. We all work so hard and it’s getting more challenging, so it’s vital we commit that time to recognise the efforts of our team.

Jane Ide joined NAVCA as Head of Member Engagement in September 2016, and in 2017 took on the role of Chief Executive for this national charity and membership organisation. She is able to draw on a substantial career leading engagement and communication at the most senior level, across the NHS, the Civil Service, and the public and private sectors.How do you ensure you continue to personally grow and develop in a senior leadership role?It helps if you have the sort of personality that gets bored easily because you are always looking for new input, new understanding. I always assume I can learn something from somebody else. Mandy Johnson (CEO of Small Charities Coalition) has given me two digital tools this week that I am now using. Hopefully I can share things with other people as well. It's important to be interested in what's happening next and not get stuck in what you used to do.In the context of the sort of work I'm doing and the organisation I work for, there really isn't space or time or budget for formal professional development. I don't have thousands of pounds at my disposal to do an MBA. You have to be creative! It's something I am talking to my Chair about at the moment. What are the gaps I need to fill and how can creatively do that? By the same token, I am having that same conversation with my staff. What do they feel they need and how do we make that work? It's a work in progress and it should always be.I'm very lucky that my first experience of being led in an organisation was by a really good leader. It was all about open communication and taking a genuine interest in what other people think. He used to say it was his job to think and he needed time to do that. He would carve time out of his diary and protect it at all costs and that's one thing that I haven't quite got the hang of yet. As a leader, if you don't take time out to think and reflect on what's working, you're not going to do your job as well as you could.There is definitely something to be said about honest and open leadership. I did a blog recently for Third Sector about mental health and gave my account and experience of panic attacks. In my early twenties I barely left the house for three years. I did think twice about sharing that because I didn't want it to have a negative impact on NAVCA, but I think it is important to be honest and have those discussions. Mandy Johnson did a brilliant blog about imposter syndrome, which we all have!There's a different model of leadership that isn't just about following 'me', although you do need some of that too. It's about striking the right balance.You have to be able to give your team and the people around you confidence, a sense of security and the understanding that you have everything under control. You don't want your team to waste time and energy worrying about things when they don't need to. Equally, especially in collaborative teams, if I'm not able to be open and honest I can't get the support I need (if I'm having sleepless nights about an event I want to be able to share that!). It puts the team in a position of not being able to tell you things if you aren't sharing with them. Getting that emotional intelligence right is really hard, but something you need to always be aware of. Protecting yourself and getting the work-life balance right is a hugely important part of being a good leader too.Much of your team aren't based from the same geographical location and flexible/homeworking is becoming more and more common. What is the secret to building a loyal, happy team of remote workers?I made a really clear, strategic decision the day I found out I had got the job at NAVCA that I would be recruiting a team that was mobile, flexible and not office-based. We are a national body and we need to be able to get around easily. I also knew that would create a different dynamic. If you going to have one member of the team working remotely, it is much easier to have everyone doing the same thing. It really opened up the opportunity to make sure we got the best possible candidates because we weren't restricted by location and that really paid off.If you have the luxury of starting virtually from scratch as I did, you are recruiting people from the start who know they will be working this way when they apply for the job. They therefore have a desire and willingness to work this way. You have to literally equip them with the right tools for the job, which may mean making an investment. You also have to equip them with the right knowledge and understanding.It is important to spend time early on talking and listening with a thorough induction because they will not be in the office to ask questions further down the line. You have to be really clear about what you are asking them to achieve. Regular one-to-ones and appraisals are crucial too to make sure people know they are heading in the right direction. I have yet never worked with anyone who wasn't interested in coming to work to do a good job. People will always want to do a good job given the right opportunity.Giving people a sense of the shared goals and vision is important. What is your individual role and where does that fit into the wider team? Going back to the honest piece, I need to be clear about my role too. Something I am just starting to work through is getting the team to a point where I am not the hub of the team with everyone linking into me. I am working quite actively on the team becoming truly collaborative and inter-dependent so that they are having relationships with one another, as well as with me. The thinking being that the whole is greater than the sum of its parts. I'm not always going to be around and it isn't an effective use of our time for me to lead on everything.​

​"Getting to know someone during the interview process helps us find the right people." - read how Maggie's recruit their team.Carys Winship joined Maggie's 11 years ago as a community fundraiser. Carys is now staff and resources manager for Maggie's, overseeing all 140 staff across the UK from her base in Glasgow.We have heard some glowing reports about the culture at Maggie's. How have you developed such a great place to work?We're a fairly small organisation (even though we're growing pretty fast) but that means we really know all the people who work here well and keep them involved with where Maggie's is going.Communication is really important. It lies at the heart of Maggie's as we are there to listen to our centre visitors and I think that means we are good at listening to each other. Everyone wants to work together to support people with cancer in the best possible way.How do you on-board your newbies?In your very first week at Maggie's you spend a week in one of our centres away from where you will be working. This is so important as you get totally immersed in the work of the centre. If you're a Finance Assistant based in our office in London or Glasgow, you might not visit another centre for a year or so. The centre you go to for your induction always becomes really close to your heart and it's such an important reminder of why we do what we do.In that first week, you'll see everything we offer in our centres. You'll get involved in our drop-in service and see how difficult it can be for someone to walk through the door for the first time, versus how comfortable and relaxed it can feel to be a repeat visitor. You'll learn about our benefits advice service, relaxation sessions and nutrition services.There isn't a big, chunky document to read. Instead, you're given postcards which include the top 10 things you need to know about Maggie's. Our on-boarding doesn't stop at induction week. Six months later, we run a 'Getting Started' session. It's based in our London office and allows all of our new starters to reflect on their induction and also share how the first 6 months at Maggie's has been for them. They meet our leadership team from Fundraising, Operations, Communications and Finance which can sometimes be overwhelming on your very first week at a new job, and I'll also do a session on HR and the useful things people might not know unless someone tells them.This is also a brilliant opportunity for our Chief Executive Laura to personally meet each and every new staff member. This session makes the leadership team approachable and allows us to all work together as an organisation.Maggie's has a really low staff turnover. Why is that?As we grow as an organisation, there are more opportunities for people to grow with us. Our growth means people continue to work for us through progression, and we're taking full advantage of that.What are the important things you look for in Maggie's people?Someone who really wants to work for us and be part of the Maggie's network, rather than it just being a job or a step on the career ladder. Having that sense of community is so important to us, and what someone can bring to the organisation in terms of personality is as important as the technical skills they have. We wouldn't hire someone if we didn't think it was the right for them, as well as us.Getting to know someone during the interview process helps us find the right people. We look to see how they describe Maggie's, how they communicate and often ask for a presentation which allows us to see their creative ideas and initiatives.What is the long-term vision for Maggie's?Our aim is to increase staffing by 49%, which is in line with our 5-year growth plan. We want to do this by developing our internal infrastructure, bringing new people in when we build new centres and continuing to offer more opportunity for progression for our current staff.

​Many people may not have heard of SeeAbility. Tell us a little bit about its mission and the current key areas of focus for the charity.Registered as The Royal School for the Blind, SeeAbility is actually one of the oldest disability charities in the UK and has pioneered specialist support for people with complex disabilities for nearly 220 years. Our support has evolved over time and I feel really privileged to work for an organisation whose starting point is not underestimating people. At work, I have colleagues from different specialisms from behaviour analysts to speech and language therapists, physiotherapists, optometrists and vision rehabilitation workers who all share the same goal; to encourage the people we support to challenge what they expect from life, from themselves and from wider society.SeeAbility has always had a brave and pioneering spirit about it and most recently, we see this through our work to champion better eye care for people with learning disabilities and autism, many of whom have sight loss.Not many people know that a child with learning disabilities is 28 x more likely to have a serious sight problem and yet least likely to receive the eye care they need. One of the things we’re passionate about at SeeAbiltiy is ensuring that everyone has an equal right to sight and we’ve just completed a 4 year research study that shows an estimated 40,000 children in special schools will have never received any eye care. As a parent of a young child, I think this is truly shocking! It means thousands of children who desperately need glasses are going without and as a result, this impacts on their ability to learn, play and socialise. We’re committed to working with policy makers to end this major health inequality.What is the key to developing successful corporate partnerships? Which do you think have been the best?There really are many ways to approach corporate partnerships but at the heart of most successful ones is a shared and equally-valued desire to tackle difficult social issues. In my experience, when this is truly the case, partnerships tend to fall into place because both sides are motivated to do what it takes to make the goal a reality.I’ve spent over a decade working at charities supporting people with disabilities and it’s been amazing to see the change in attitudes over that time. When we first started talking about partnerships that might create meaningful employment opportunities for people with disabilities, there was a huge awareness piece that went alongside these conversations. Even finding the right person to talk to at companies was a mission. But then you find partners who are truly committed to creating diverse and inclusive workplaces and this sits at the heart of their Corporate Social Responsibility, follows through into their People policies and is echoed at the most senior levels of leadership. And this makes all the difference.I really enjoy working on these type of strategic partnerships. Being on the charity side means you have to do your research and understand as much as you can about your prospective partners and what is important to them and their stakeholders. As part of this, it’s important to network widely and have lots of conversations to share ideas, plans and strategies. And never be afraid to share your big idea or present the big picture of what life will be like as a result of your partnership. It’s a crowded market place so its important to demonstrate how your partnership will be game-changing for everyone involved!This is your first Director of Fundraising and Marketing role - how different is it having total responsibility for a whole fundraising programme? How does that feel?I feel honoured, a little scared but mostly excited to take on my first role as Director. At SeeAbility, we have a cause I feel passionately about, a senior leadership team that is diverse and ambitious for our beneficiaries, colleagues that I enjoy working with and an environment where I can be my authentic self. These were all really important factors that made me want to take the next step in my career.As a Director, you need to be looking across your team and out across the whole organisation at all times. This feels different as you need to leave the comfort of familiar territory and relationships and make the effort to understand all aspects of your Charity. You will be expected to contribute to conversations about all parts of the organisation and the more you can learn about how it all works, the better you will be placed for these.Within fundraising, you will also find your time is stretched, so you’ll need to make decisions about how best to use it. It’s important to trust the experts around you and work with them to pre-empt challenges/risks, as much as you can before they occur. It can be full-on but hugely rewarding to see the bigger picture.A point on diversity: our sector sometimes feels pretty good compared to others on the issue of diversity but I feel we need more representation, especially at the top of fundraising. I know the barriers are complex, but if you’re thinking about stepping up and worried about the time commitment or your breath of experience, just do it. Be honest about your shortcomings, reflect on them and discuss them up front and then think of all the ways you can work on these in your role. We need diverse voices to have diverse conversations to come up with new ideas and solutions. If you’re in a leadership role, it could be YOU who does just that!Given your background in predominantly corporate fundraising, what have you learned from how other teams work?Actually, along the way I’ve had responsibility for delivering a growing range of income streams across my career. I started as a corporate fundraiser and then managed a Trusts and Foundations team. I then found myself responsible for those teams and Challenge and Special Events. Recently I took a year to learn about Major Gifts which remains invaluable experience. And now I have the opportunity to work with my really experienced colleagues to understand our individual giving stream and the drivers for this.In some ways, what I’ve seen across fundraising are the commonalities more than the differences. Of course corporate partnerships decision-making can be different from that of trusts and foundations and this will be different again for individuals making their personal giving choices – but in the end, it all comes down to articulating the purpose of your charity and offering lots of ways for people to connect and offer their support.This feels particularly important if you work at a less well known charity and so it’s really important to get right. No matter which part of fundraising you work in, spending the time getting to know the people who support you and valuing their support, whether it’s in the form of advice, financial support or their voice, is what really what counts.What makes a great leader?The people I consider good leaders are really diverse have inspired me at different points in my life. Working at different charities across my career I’ve had the privilege of meeting many young people who have grown up in really challenging circumstances and who have used their experiences to challenge the status quo and rise up as leaders and role models for the next generation. It’s brilliant to be around their fantastic energy and as a fundraiser it really fuels my work!The quality I most value in good leaders is their ability to envisage a better future and to support the people around them to get there. They often make it look effortless but I admire so many wonderful leaders who I have met and worked with, who do this through a lot of hard work, an openness to explore new ideas and careful consideration for how to get a job done. It’s a powerful mix when you see that all in one person!What next for SeeAbility and your team?It’s a hugely exciting time to be part of our charity! With the leadership of our Chief Executive, Lisa Hopkins and our Council, we recently co-produced and launched SeeAbility’s new strategic vision together with people supported by SeeAbility, their families, our colleagues, commissioners, donors, and volunteers. We’re really excited about the opportunity this creates for long-term partnerships with companies, trusts and foundations - and with individuals who share our goal of building inclusive communities where everyonecan participate as equal citizens.While we’re ambitious for change, we are a relatively small and hugely passionate team. So right now, we’re prioritising our areas of focus. We’re developing our messages and offerings so that many more people understand our unique work and investing the time it takes to build strong relationships with our supporters and influencers. In this way, I hope that everyone in the team can feel the impact of their work and ultimately, this brings us closer to a society where people with learning disabilities, autism and sight loss are valued and included in all walks of life.

​What is the best route to CEO in the charity world? Our associate Director, Nick Billingham, offers his advice.One of the things I love about my role is the opportunity to meet informally with Directors from different specialities in the sector and discuss their career plans. When I'm not interviewing potential candidates for specific roles, I will always meet professionals for a career-focused chat. Typically this will cover work history, motivations for a potential job move and undoubtedly gossip on what's going on in our sector. One question that often comes up is "what is your opinion on the best route to CEO". I would estimate that over 50% of the people I meet are ultimately seeking to become a CEO in the future and it is widely accepted as a common aspiration.However, it's becoming more and more common for not for profit organisations to appoint a CEO from the public or private sectors, as they already have many of the skills required, plus an understanding of how Government works or how to generate income from commercial routes. As a consequence, it's becoming harder to move up from within the sector, despite charity professionals already having a grasp of the culture, an understanding of funding issues and a proven ability to get the most from limited resources. So how can you maximise your chances of making it to CEO?The first suggestion I always make is to understand what type of cause they are motivated to work for and ultimately run. Different types of organisation require different skills from their Chief Executive. A somewhat obvious comment perhaps, however it is something that is worth individuals clearly establishing early on. A campaigning organisation can require a vastly different skill-set from their CEO compared with that of a medical research charity.Having spent most of my time within the sector in and around Fundraising, I am fairly biased when I say I think undertaking an income generation role before broadening out to cover wider external relations responsibilities can be a great route. However, it's often vital that you also gain experience in programmes/service delivery. And you undoubtedly need outstanding financial acumen and the capacity to manage complex budgets with ease. And let's not forget the requirement to have an excellent understanding of the role of HR within a successful operation. In essence you need to have exposed yourself to every area of the business!So where does that leave you as you plot out your carefully constructed career plan? Naturally it will be very difficult to experience running each of the functions mentioned above; however there are some key actions to consider:Start out by writing your career plan, literally writing it out. Start with the ultimate goal and work backwards. Where do I need to be in 10 years, 5 years, and 3 years?Ensure you weigh up what any new career opportunity can offer you; what experience will this give me that will aid my long term ambition? Where will this experience leave me in five years' time?Secure an official mentor; seek out an existing CEO and ask to meet with them. They will of course have some great experiences you will be able to learn from. Once you have done this, do it again. Keep meeting people; network with professionals from a variety of different organisations.And of course one of the best ways to gain exposure to the challenges of running a charity is to volunteer as a Trustee and all at the Charity People Group would strongly recommend this.The Charity People group is made up of a group of companies that work closely with organisations with a strong social purpose to improve their impact and effectiveness. My focus is on sourcing the best talent in the Not for Profit world. To get in touch to discuss how we could work with you on this, you can contact me through nickb@charitypeople.co.uk or 0207 9397422.

​After five years at Cats Protection, Emily Casson is Digital Marketing Manager.There aren't many digital specialists in the regions. How did you get into digital fundraising?I started out straight from university joining the charity sector and into a policy and campaigns role. I started doing a lot of social media around campaigning and that then led into social media training for various charities. I set up my own 'Introduction to Social Media' training courses for charities training hundreds of people. Back in 2010, Facebook and Twitter were very much up and coming, so it was the absolute basics. When I first started doing these courses, some senior people knew nothing and were really scared of it. They saw social media as a young person's game and didn't see the benefits to their charity. Much of the course was about the benefits of how they could use social media, but also breaking down those barriers. The courses were primarily attended by Trustees, CEO's and Directors, who wanted to know the opportunities and risks of social media when their staff came to themabout new channels.One of the issues is often that people don't understand what we even mean by digital. Digital is any sort of online communication including mobile, website, social media and email. I would also include innovative products like touch screens and contactless collection tins, but my role is very much about getting the basics right. I think people sometimes see my job title and think I'm off doing all these amazing virtual reality things, but a lot of my role is still websites and email. Digital is just another way to communicate with our supporters. An easy way to understand digital and breakdown the barriers is to realise that this is something every charity is already doing - you're already talking to your donors! It's just another platform to be able to do that.There are so many benefits to using digital and making it work for your organisation. For example, you can organise an event and find all your volunteers online. It is really cost effective and the scalability means that you can test things so easily on digital channels. You don't have to have a yearlong plan - you can test things week-to-week and make changes accordingly. It is so much more flexible and adaptable than any other fundraising stream.When I moved into fundraising, I was in a Regional Fundraising role for Cats Protection covering all the different local fundraising streams. I was always championing digital, doing a lot of Just Giving appeals and promoting text giving. Digital was my baby and something that I looked after as a side project. I feel very lucky that Cats Protection allow all their regional fundraisers to dedicate 20% of their time to a particular specialism e.g. volunteering, events, or digital. I started looking at digital more seriously through that and it just went from strength to strength. The figures started to show that we were getting more income from my work in digital than the community fundraising. My Director saw the potential in that and created a digital fundraising role. This way of working with specialisms creates real knowledge, talent and energy within the team and means that everyone in the organisation knows who to approach for advice and support in each specialist area. This has created home-grown talent for Cats Protection in a number of areas including digital and events, as well as helping with staff retention.A couple of digital roles later, I am now Digital Marketing Manager and in 2018/19 my team has grown from just me to five of us, so the phenomenal growth is still continuing. We now have a formal digital strategy that sets out our key channels in priority order and key fundraising areas that will gain the most from impact from digital. This is channel-specific due to the different audiences, for example my fundraising priorities for email are different to my priorities for social media and website. It really helps having that structure in place.When I look back at our strategy from 2016, it has changed so dramatically. It is completely, off-the-scale different! We thought back then that by 2018 we would be recruiting around 2,500 new regular givers from digital and in actual fact we recruited nearly 25,000 in 2018! This is a complete step change and the growth in the digital income stream has been phenomenal. We had 1,746% growth last year in some digital channels so it is on a completely different planet now! For example we started Facebook Advertising around two from scratch and that is now a multi-million pound income stream forus. I'm lucky to have had great backing from my manager, Director and the Trustees in terms of investment and budget because we wouldn't have had that growth otherwise. We have been able to demonstrate the benefits to support investment with impressive ROIs - some of our campaigns break even by month three.Is investment important for digital? Do you need investment, where and how much?You don't need huge investment to set up the basics. In terms of Facebook Advertising, we did some for the IoF conference using an image for £50 so not that much at all. You don't need a big budget. The beauty of it is that it's all about testing and learning and then scaling it up and anybody can do that.It's about knowing your core audience and testing that. I know that certain audiences will respond well to certain copy and therefore I can target them with the right messaging. For example, with our lottery campaigns I know from testing and learning which audiences will respond best to need-led or prize-led messaging. Need-led would be an emotive cat image that would have a direct request message like 'Please support me'. A prize led would be 'win £10,000'. Need-led tends to work much better for us at Cats Protection. I am lucky to work with a cause that resonates well with audiences, but at the same time we are working in a saturated market. There are so many images and videos of cats out there and that makes it difficult to stand out. How do we motivate people to convert? We can track and test how people are responding to our content, for example, we had more than 170 million impressions on our Facebook campaigns last year, but what we actually want ispeople to click and convert. That is what we optimise towards, rather than likes and comments.There is a difference between engagement and conversion. There are certain campaigns that we do online that are amazing in terms of engagement, but there are others that work better in terms of raising money and compelling people to give. I work in fundraising so I'm looking for more than just likes and clicks - I'm looking for people to take action!What makes a good digital fundraiser?You have to be able to work in a very fast paced environment and be able to adapt. We set our annual plans as ever charity does, but I know within 3 months things might have completely changed. There will be a new opportunity that we want to jump on or something that isn't working as well that we need to review. I think the key thing is to have the confidence and ability to change things and make decisions.Being able to translate digital language for the everyday person is also important. There are very few digital fundraisers, particularly in the regions, so you have to be the bridge between the technology and the rest of the team. Don't talk a load of digital jargon that baffles and confuses people. I wouldn't say 'SEO'; I'd say 'we're going to tweak some words on the website so we appear higher up in search rankings'. It's about simplifying and making it easy to understand so that we can all work together to get the best results. Meeting another digital fundraiser and being able to throw out all the acronyms is fun! On the flip side, you also need to be fairly technical in speaking to web developers and know enough about coding to have a proper conversation with them.Digital fundraisers definitely need to be highly motivated and passionate to be able to drive all these new things through. You will often find yourself as the sole digital person in your organisation so you are constantly championing and pushing to do more. As the digital champion within your organisation your mantra needs to be 'we should be doing more digital!' It is about making a strong case and really driving it through. Learning to push back is also a really important part of being a digital fundraiser - you need to have confidence in your decisions and clarity on why you are making them. You will often get people asking about innovative products they have seen other charities using and questioned on why you aren't moving forward with it. You have to explain that there is often limited capacity and that budget and time is invested in core channels. There are always lots of new, shiny toys, but there is a fine line between being willing to take measured risks and being too risk averse. There are always plenty of decisions to be made in digital!Things happen so quickly in digital fundraising that you have to be able to make quick decisions. You can't go back once you have missed an opportunity, so you need to be to analyse things quickly and effectively and then make a decision on how to move forward. Digital is seen as a high- risk area because it is often the unknown and there is potential for things to go wrong. On the other hand, it is low-risk because it is so flexible and scalable. In certain parts of fundraising, invest and you might expect to see a return in the next five years. I get daily and weekly reports and I know exactly when someone is tapping on one of my contactless boxes. I can see things in real time. I know what's working and what's not, which means I have a lot more control.How has digital fundraising developed in the past few years?There has been a complete step change in terms of income growth, but that's digital generally (not just in fundraising). If you look at online shopping and buying online, people are so used to spending money in this way. It would have been unimaginable a few years ago to think people would feel secure enough to type their details into a computer without the safety of a pin number.Everyone is second-screening and looking at things on their mobiles. Digital fundraising has been shaped by that, but is also shaping that behaviour. 80% of my emails are now read on a mobile device, which is massively different to the stats I would have given you five years ago. We now need to be thinking about whether creative content is mobile optimised; using a different mindset and thinking in different ways.People want more of a two-way relationship, particularly with social media. People might email after a big campaign, but will continue that conversation on Facebook. Charities have a lot of catching up to do in terms of whether their database is even able to deal with that. We get hundreds of comments every day on Facebook because that's how people want to interact and they expect a response. In the early days of digital fundraising, it used to be much more one-way conversation: 'we are emailing you' and 'we are talking at you'. Now, it is very much a two-way conversation and donors have that expectation. Charities need to quickly come round to that idea and see the huge benefits. You can build up great relationships and build a better picture ofall of your supporters - they are coming to you. They want to talk to you and you can see what they're talking about on social media. You can follow hashtags on Twitter and piggy-back on things like that to engage with your supporters in a meaningful way.The other side is to make donating as easy as possible. I've worked with charities that make it far too difficult for donors to give. If you put a Facebook post up asking someone to send a cheque, it just isn't going to work. Text to donate is such an easy call to action. Social media is great at inspiring people. You can really drive donations through emotion with easy ways to tell your charity's story - you need to use an easy way for them to give.The challenge for all charities is to ensure that digital multi-channels are synchronised. Does it all match up and make sense to people? A supporter wants to be able to opt in and out of their preferred channels. They want and need complete choice over what messaging they receive. The beauty of social media is that people are actively coming and opting in to you. They are liking your Facebook page and following you on Twitter, which means they want to receive your updates. But, how do we work with that? There are challenges from an infrastructure and database angle around capturing people's data from things like text giving to identify where they have come from, but that's the nature of such a new, fast-paced environment. It makes it a very exciting area to be working in with opportunities to learn and develop all the time.What are the key trends we can expect from digital in the next year or so?Growth, growth and more growth! (Although, I do keep putting a caveat on this at work and explaining that we're not always going to see a thousand per cent growth! It will eventually plateau and we will see the usual ten and twenty per cent increases.) Because it is so new, many charities starting from scratch can expect to see phenomenal growth. Having said that, the competition has increased too. When we started using Facebook advertising campaigns a couple of years ago, we were one of only a handful of charities doing it. Now, practically every local hospice charity is using Facebook to advertise their lottery, so it is also about making your cause stand out. You need a clear call to action and to be completely transparent about where the money is going. How do you inspire people?Innovation and new ideas can often be found through agencies - I get approached almost every day with lots of new shiny toys that will completely revolutionise your life! One agency claimed they could give me a billion pounds of income! We have a trial at the moment with contactless collection boxes and have been testing it. We've had the usual challenges with training volunteers up and how to use them, but we are definitely going to movetowards these more digital ways of giving. That will be the norm in a few years' time. However, there will always be people who want to put their penniesin collection boxes - how can we make that more exciting? We are going to have collection boxes that 'meow!'Talking to other digital fundraisers is a great way to share and grow new ideas collaboratively. For those other charities lucky enough to have innovation teams, we want to know what's on the horizon and what they're thinking about. Some of our agencies are pretty good at letting us know about what's coming up. I attend conferences and networking events and there is loads of information to pick up online. There are loads of digital Twitter, Facebookand WhatsApp groups where fundraisers are sharing information about virtual reality and digital headsets and all sorts of brand new ideas. Clipboards are now a thing of the past and everyone is signing up face to face recruits on iPads. Some charities are already using virtual reality to engage people in the cause and show supporters where their money is going.However, I would suggest spending 80-90% of your time on your core channels and making sure you are getting the basics right. Innovation will always be part of a digital fundraiser's job description, but you need to invest your time wisely as well as your budget. Big charities are able to take more risks and that's why they are able to invest in specific innovation teams. For me, the focus for most charities should be on doing the basics better. We need more data analysis and creating more of a bespoke instead of a generic donor journey. We're already doing that well with email welcome journeys in terms of responding to individual preferences. We can find out so much about the donor based on their behaviour through analysis, but are we taking that a step further and changing the way we communicate with them? We know what subject lines they react well to - could we look at making that bespoke?There is a lot of fascinating work to be done around human behaviour and psychology and the impact that small, subtle nudges can have. We can anticipate behaviour and act according. When are people likely to cancel their direct debits and can we send targeted communication the week before to show the difference their money is making? There are so many nuances to the way you manage your website - a change of colour can have a huge impact! All the little things you can tweak, monitor and build on those learnings to make a big difference to income. Do people prefer being contacted by their first name or surname and is there a demographic divide in age? Do we make a generalisation that those under 30 want to be addressed by their first name? Test it! I have got to the point where it is so granular that I know which colour cats will perform best!How can a small, regional charity make a big digital impact without a big budget?My first question is always why do you want to use digital? The key benefit of digital with a small charity is that you can just do it and have a go. There are so many barriers with other types of fundraising where you definitely do need a budget, whereas you don't with digital. Changing mindsets is hugely important. It's not just about setting up a channel or a Facebook page. You need a strategy, a plan and to know what you want to get out of it. There are a lot of charities that set up Facebook and Twitter pages, post a couple of things and then give up thinking that social media doesn't work forthem.What are the top three things you want to achieve? Do you want to recruit new volunteers or sign-ups for a challenge event or advertise an appeal? If you think about it from this mindset and have really clear goals, you don't need a budget to make it work. Basic versions of email and MailChimp software are free so you can email your database and set up Facebook effectively. A half hour brainstorm with the team will get your three goals - you just need to make sure they are SMART and establish how you're going to measure them!One of the biggest barriers for most charities is time and they see it as an extra task to do on top of everything else, but done properly it could actually save you time in comparison to more labour-intensive channels. It's the perfect thing to get skilled volunteers in to do. There are also so many digital marketing companies that will be happy to get involved on a pro-bono basis. A lot of small, regional charities don't try because it seems like a mammoth task. My advice would be to start with one channel and go from there. Choose one and start there. You don't have to set up on every single channel - focus on one and master that first. The other biggest barrier for lots of small charities is actually confidence. I used to be a trustee for a small charity and I knew Twitter was working when a volunteer hundreds of miles away did an event for us. The results will speak for themselves! I have recruited so many volunteers on Twitter for challenge events. The beauty of social media is that you can reach brand new audiences. In a small team, you can get sign off quickly, move fast with a new campaign and gain traction really quickly - you just need to give it a go! You have the benefit of knowing your supporters really well already. You don't need to look at a huge spreadsheet of behaviours - just talk to them and find out what they want!