how-to of fundraising directors WHO S THE Who is leading the UK s most powerful fundraising machines and what is weighing on their minds? Fundraising takes a snapshot of the directors of fundraising at the top 100 charities by voluntary income. vibeka mair and celina ribeiro outline the key findings Regardless of whether you believe individual giving is down 20 per cent or you think fundraising remains as easy or difficult as it s ever been, the directors of fundraising at the top 100 charities by voluntary income have rather a job to do. But who are they, and what are they worried about? Fundraising s biennial survey of who s leading the fundraising at the top fundraising charities has changed a little in methodology this year, but then, so has fundraising. Some things, however, remain the same: Fundraising found that directors of fundraising are concerned about the economy and competition, view maintaining income as their top challenge and see major donors as the biggest growth area. Top priorities Unsurprisingly, the top two priorities for the fundraising directors were maintaining funding levels and finding new funding sources. In what is a sign of the straitened times, significantly more said that their top priority was to steady the ship in 10 n civilsociety.co.uk terms of maintaining income levels than said that their priority was unlocking new streams (77 per cent compared with 64 per cent). Staff issues occupied the next top spots on the list of directors concerns, with two out of five saying that simply retaining good staff was a top priority, and slightly less (36 per cent) saying that attracting good staff was a major concern for them. One quick glance at fundraising job ads sites should indicate where many directors of fundraising see growth potential, but the Directors of Fundraising Survey confirms the suspicions of the casual fundraising job-hunter: major donor fundraising is the key area that many charities are hoping to invest in. Four out of five directors of fundraising who filled in the survey identified major donor fundraising as one of the biggest areas of opportunity in the coming year. Online fundraising was a distant second, with 44 per cent of directors believing this was one of the biggest growth areas, closely followed in third place by mobile and text technology, which was listed by just shy of two out of every five directors as a growth area. Major donor fundraising might be the holy grail, and like the famed grail it s proving a difficult beast to pin down. Royal Air Forces Association s Michael Bolton expressed a sentiment, shared by other directors of fundraising, when suggesting that some causes had a naturally better lure for major donors than others. Charities able to access high net worth individuals and trusts may fare better, but for charities which have little interest to these donors the outlook is challenging, he says. Change in role Fundraising directors are frequently not just charged with fundraising. We quizzed half of our list of 100 directors on their roles and found 48 per cent have responsibility for communications, 46 per cent for trading and 34 per cent for volunteering. Nearly a third had other responsibilities ranging from public sector tendering and contracting to impact reporting. But while this mix is not necessarily new, many of those asked how their role had changed over the time they have held it said that it had become more focused on organisational and strategic issues. In a free response section of the survey, many directors highlighted the
directors of fundraising how-to difficult economy as well as increased competition from other fundraising charities as major challenges. It is perhaps, then, no wonder that fundraising directors are being expected to take on a more strategic role within their organisations many of which have had to face reduced income from non-voluntary sources as well as difficulties perceived or real in fundraising from voluntary sources. Many fundraising directors also talked of how new technology has impacted on their day-to-day working life. Michele Settle, marketing director at Comic Relief, says changes in media and technology have made a real impact on her charity and job. Consumer expectations are incredibly sophisticated and our campaigns have had to adapt and change, she says. While many of the top directors of fundraising say that optimism is a key trait of a good fundraiser, they also believe they are likely to face a tough next couple of years. In addition to ongoing economic turmoil and competition, donor fatigue and getting buy-in for fundraising from within their own charities are concerns. And with pressure squeezing many corners of charities, Alzheimer s Society s Liz Monks warns that fundraising could be seen by charities that do invest in it as an easy solution. The biggest challenge facing charity fundraisers in the next 12 months will be managing expectations, she says. So many pressures are on charities loss of contracts, pensions deficits, squeezing of funds internally fundraising is seen as the easy (and potentially quick) win which it isn t. The right stuff But what distinguishes a run-ofthe-mill fundraiser from a good one? What are the magic ingredients which separate those that really can, from those who might? Fundraising this year asked the fundraising directors what it was that makes a good fundraiser, and the responses unprompted, mind were remarkable in their repetition. Passion, that s essential, according to a vast number of the directors. But passion, as ever, is not enough. There is an acknowledgement of fundraising as a team sport. A large number of the directors said that the ability to listen and listen well is critical to being a good fundraiser, and a few others added that being a team player, acknowledging the skills and impact of team members, is also important. And tenacity, drive, resilience, thick skin, persistence whatever word you want to ascribe to it, that thing which enables a fundraiser to go after goals, take knocks and come out swinging is what many of the fundraising directors believe is part of the DNA of a good fundraiser. That and, critically, not being afraid to ask. Personality plays a role, as does knowledge and being commerciallydriven, but these answers came up less frequently. Despite the wide variety of charities and backgrounds represented in the answers to the question of what makes a good fundraiser, the answer can be boiled down to three things: passion, listening and tenacity. Vital stats The Directors of Fundraising Survey list of top 100 charities has changed this year compared with when we ran the survey two years ago. Recognising the strategic importance of legacies, and the fact that some charities include legacies in their general voluntary income while some report it separately, this year we have calculated the top 100 based on legacy and voluntary income (in 2011 it was on voluntary income alone). The result has been some changes in the top 100 list. This is not the only change to our list this year; there are fewer women, more directors have arrived at their role from within the voluntary sector and substantially more are promoted from within their organisation or have had previous roles at charities in our list. In 2011, the split between men and women was all but equal (51 per cent men versus 49 per cent women), this year only 42 per cent of directors of fundraising are female. But, while equality may not be as strong as in previous years, female directors are present right across the spectrum of income. Four female directors of fundraising are in the top ten, and nine women are in the top 25 on the list. Our survey has also found discrepancies in pay for male and female directors. From a sample of 40 directors of fundraising in our list we found the average salary Many directors say that optimism is a key trait of a good fundraiser, but they believe the next couple of years will be tough was 85,844. Men on average earn 87,786, while women earn around 5,000 less at 82,647. And within the top 100 charities there is a huge variance in salary for fundraising directors, regardless of gender. The highest paid person in the list earns 130,000 while the lowest earns less than 50,000. From this same sample 96 per cent classed themselves as white. This year s survey shows that many fundraising directors are being recruited from within the charity world. An overwhelming majority of fundraising directors have arrived to their role from within the voluntary sector (81 per cent) compared with 68 per cent two years ago. Some 17 per cent come from the private sector and only 2 per cent from the public sector. Nearly one in four directors were promoted from within their organisation. Over a third (37 per cent) had previous roles at a charity in our list compared with just a quarter two years ago. The average fundraising director, by numbers The average director of fundraising at the largest UK charities by fundraised income is a white, 46-year-old man. He earns 87,786 and has worked in the sector for 16 years. civilsociety.co.uk n 11
how-to directors of fundraising charity name name of director formal job title age gender 1 Cancer Research UK Richard Taylor Executive director fundraising and marketing 53 M 2 RNLI James Vaughan Fundraising and communications director 47 M 3 Macmillan Cancer Care Lynda Thomas Director of fundraising 47 F 4 British Red Cross Mark Astarita Director of fundraising M 5 NSPCC Claire Hoyle Acting head of fundraising operations F 6 Oxfam Paul Clarke Fundraising and support marketing director M 7 Charity Projects Michele Settle Marketing director 50 F 8 RSPCA Julian Holmes-Taylor Head of fundraising M 9 Salvation Army Charles Burns Head of marketing and fundraising M 10 British Heart Foundation Louise Parkes Director of fundraising 41 F 11 Royal British Legion Charles Byrne Director of fundraising and marketing 12 Save the Children Tanya Steele Director of fundraising 43 F 13 Marie Curie Cancer Care Fabian French Director of fundraising 52 M 14 RNIB Wanda Hamilton Group director, fundraising 50 F 15 Christian Aid David Pain Director, supporter and community partnerships M 16 PDSA Brenda Smith Community fundraising manager F 17 National Trust Gill Raikes Fundraising director F 18 Dogs Trust Adrian Burder Marketing director 48 M 19 Unicef UK Catherine Cottrell Deputy executive director, fundraising 41 F 20 ActionAid Peter Reynolds Interim director of fundraising M 21 Great Ormond Street Hospital Children s Charity Tim Johnson Chief executive 47 M 22 Guide Dogs for the Blind Association Jayne George Director of fundraising and income generation 52 F 23 Islamic Relief Worldwide Heshmat Khalifa Fundraising division director M 24 Cambridge Foundation Position to be filled 25 Disasters Emergency Committee Helen Calder Interim fundraising manager F 26 WWF UK Tobin Aldrich Fundraising director 46 M 27 World Vision UK Mathew Neville Public engagement director 36 M 28 Barnardo s Diana Tickell Head of fundraising F 29 Age UK Paul Farthing Fundraising director 46 M 30 Help for Heroes Shaun Pickford Head of events and challenges M 31 Cafod Ian Farthing Head of fundraising M 32 BBC Children in Need Sarah Monteith Director of fundraising and marketing F 33 Plan UK Alison Ive Interim director of fundraising 43 F 34 RSPB Michael Krause Head of funding development M 35 Cats Protection Lewis Coghlin Director of fundraising 44 M 36 Jewish Care Daniel Carmel-Brown Director, fundraising and marketing 37 M 37 WaterAid Marcus Missen Head of fundraising M 38 Alzheimer s Society Liz Monks Director of fundraising 42 F 39 Sightsavers Susan Adams Director of funding and marketing F 40 Shelter Tracy Griffin Director of Fundraising F 41 The Donkey Sanctuary Marianne Steele Director of fundraising and marketing 40 F 42 Clic Sargent Lucy Caldicott Director of fundraising 44 F 43 Médecins Sans Frontières UK James Kliffen Head of fundraising M 44 Children s Society Simon Burne Director of fundraising and marketing M 45 The Blue Cross Mike Crossley Director of fundraising 51 M 46 Diabetes UK Paul Amadi Director of fundraising 46 M 47 MS Society Nicola Tallett Director of fundraising and marketing 44 F 48 Tate Gallery Rebecca Williams Director of development F 49 Arthritis Research UK Louise Holland Fundraising and communications director 45 F 50 Parkinson s UK Paul Jackson-Clark Director of fundraising 42 M 12 n civilsociety.co.uk
directors of fundraising how-to post sector previous position fundraised income legacy voluntry 6 14 Director operations, Early Learning Centre 351.0 482.5 148.2 202.8 1.5 15 Corporate services director, RNLI 142.1 163.5 90.6 51.5 1 17 Director of external affairs, Macmillan Cancer Support 127.4 134.9 48.1 79.3 9 20 Deputy chief executive, National Deaf Children s Society 119.9 204.0 22.1 97.8 116.9 147.8 20.1 96.9 <1 <1 Interim global marketing, strategy and planning director, Skype 114.6 353.3 14.1 100.5 15 15 Head of marketing, Jazz FM Group 101.6 121.5 0.0 101.6 1 National events manager, British Red Cross 100.4 114.4 59.2 41.2 <1 95.9 350.9 38.8 57.1 1.5 17 Director of fundraising, Shelter 94.2 233.4 54.9 39.3 <1 Head of high level giving, Macmillan Cancer Support 89.0 136.2 11.1 77.9 8 8 Marketing director, Lucent Technologies/Avaya 79.4 256.3 14.7 64.6 3 3 Managing director of an investment bank 74.0 130.2 20.5 53.5 2.5 20 Chief executive, AMD Alliance International 66.9 121.3 35.8 31.1 <1 Marketing and supporter care, Christian Aid 62.2 95.8 10.0 52.2 61.8 92.7 39.3 22.5 12 28 Fundraising manager for the regions, National Trust 59.6 412.0 46.2 13.4 19 24 Head of fundraising, BUAV 57.0 61.7 18.5 38.5 <1 10 Group head of fundraising, RSPCA 56.7 80.8 4.3 52.4 <1 Chief executive, Ovarian Cancer Action 53.5 65.7 1.8 51.7 4.5 Director of major gift fundraising, GOSH Children s Charity 53.4 63.9 10.8 42.5 5 17 Head of regional fundraising, Guide Dogs for the Blind Association 52.8 58.4 28.1 24.6 50.1 64.3 0.0 50.1 49.9 49.9 3.4 46.5 48.6 49.5 0.0 48.6 4 18 Communications and fundraising director, NDCS 46.9 57.3 9.6 37.3 3 5 Head of supporter development, World Vision UK 44.5 63.6 0.9 43.6 43.5 243.7 18.1 25.4 2 22 High value relationships director, Cancer Research UK 40.0 156.1 21.6 18.5 2 2 Defence aviation industry 38.0 46.2 2.1 35.9 2 15 Marketing manager, Tearfund 37.5 55.9 6.3 31.2 1 1 Sky brand executive 37.5 40.8 2.0 35.5 <1 21 Partner, Treehouse Consultancy 35.9 56.4 0.0 35.9 34.7 127.2 27.5 7.2 1 18 Director of fundraising, Action Medical Reseach 33.7 35.1 19.1 14.6 2 17 Assistant director, Jewish Care 33.2 66.8 6.9 26.3 32.5 47.9 1.9 30.5 1 16 Director of supporter relations and fundraising, Alzheimer s Society 32.1 61.8 10.4 21.7 28.7 32.8 7.3 21.4 25.4 53.0 2.9 22.5 2.5 18 Head of fundraising, Marine Conservation Society 24.3 26.6 18.5 5.8 5 12 Head of fundraising, VSO 23.7 26.5 3.0 20.7 23.5 26.6 2.7 20.8 <1 Senior consultant, Think Consulting Solutions 23.5 44.5 7.3 16.1 2 7 Director of marketing, PDSA 22.7 26.9 15.1 7.6 1 20 Director of fundraising, NSPCC 22.5 29.3 10.8 11.7 3 23 Assistant director, Action for Children 22.2 29.0 8.7 13.5 6 Director of development, King s College 21.5 118.3 0.0 21.5 2 24 Local supporter fundraising director, Cancer Research UK 21.5 36.3 17.2 4.3 3.5 20 Head of fundraising analysis, Marie Curie Cancer Care 19.8 20.9 11.2 8.6 civilsociety.co.uk n 13
how-to directors of fundraising charity name name of director formal job title age gender 51 The Prince s Trust Julian Barrell Director of fundraising 38 M 52 Royal Opera House Covent Garden Amanda Saunders Director of development 48 F 53 United Synagogue Marc Green Consultant fundraising manager 45 M 54 The Stroke Association James Swindells Director of fundraising 58 M 55 Leukaemia and Lymphoma Research Position to be filled 56 Association for International Cancer Research Geraldine Long Donor development manager F 57 National Deaf Children s Society Mike Wade Director of fundraising and communications 47 M 58 Action for Children Andrew Harris Director of fundraising and appeals 36 M 59 St. John Ambulance Scott Jacobson Director of marketing, communications and fundraising 51 M 60 Sue Ryder Care Jason Suckley Director of fundraising and marketing 44 M 61 Scope Alan Gosschalk Fundraising director 47 M 62 Woodland Trust Karl Mitchell Director of fundraising 46 M 63 United Jewish Israel Appeal David Goldberg Director of fundraising 51 M 64 Leonard Cheshire Hugo Middlemas Director of fundraising M 65 Action on Hearing Loss Martin Bishop Director of fundraising 42 M 66 British Museum Caroline Usher Director of development F 67 Royal Air Force Benevolent Fund Dean Benton Director of marketing and communications M 68 Care International Sarah Taylor Peace Director of marketing and communications 42 F 69 National Trust for Scotland Andrew Davies Head of development 43 M 70 Motor Neurone Disease Association Douglas Graham Director of fundraising 46 M 71 Sense Claire Wood Hill Director of fundraising 42 F 72 Breakthrough Breast Cancer Kath Abrahams Director of fundraising 48 F 73 Norwood Adele Breslauer Head of fundraising F 74 Muslim Aid Sultan Ahmed Acting fundraising manager M 75 Children with Cancer Ben Twyman Head of events 33 M 76 ABF The Soldiers Charity Sean Bonnington Director of fundraising M 77 St. Christopher s Hospice Paul Fennelly Senior fundraising manager 49 M 78 Bible Society Matt Parks Director of fundraising M 79 Royal National Theatre John Rodgers Director of development 59 M 80 Mencap Ellie Gray Director of fundraising and development F 81 Practical Action Margaret Gardner Marketing and communications director 51 F 82 Cystic Fibrosis Trust Tamsyn Clark Marketing director 38 F 83 Asthma UK Rachel Franklin Director of fundraising F 84 SSAFA Forces Help Steve Hudd (interim Director of fundraising M covering maternity leave) 85 The Royal Star and Garter Homes Gordon Craig Director of fundraising and marketing 43 M 86 Charity for Civil Servants Andy James Director of fundraising and communications M 87 Scottish SPCA Michelle Grubb Head of marketing and communications 33 F 88 Royal Air Forces Association Michael Bolton Director of fundraising and marketing 50 M 89 Victoria and Albert Museum Jane Lawson Director of development F 90 National Museum of Science and Industry Sue Fisher Director of fundraising F 91 Mind Kathleen Miles Director of fundraising 44 F 92 Centrepoint Soho John Raynham Head of fundraising M 93 Methodist Homes Les Sudron Head of fundraising 62 M 94 Anthony Nolan Trust Catherine Miles Director of fundraising F 95 Samaritans Chris Jarrett Head of fundraising 35 M 96 Variety, the Children s Charity Helen Bournat Head of fundraising 58 F 97 Royal Society Stuart Taylor Commercial director M 98 Camphill Village Trust Position to be filled 99 St Ann s Hospice Alison Gilbody Director of income generation and communications F 100 Merlin Imogen Ward Director of marketing and communcations 41 F 14 n civilsociety.co.uk
directors of fundraising how-to post sector previous position fundraised income legacy voluntry 5 15 Head of private sector development, The Prince s Trust 18.4 38.2 0.3 18.1 7 25 Head of individual giving, British Museum 18.4 112.1 0.0 18.4 1 15 Campaign director, JNF UK 18.2 30.2 0.0 18.2 3 23 Director of fundraising, Peace Hospice 17.5 32.1 7.7 9.9 17.4 19.9 6.5 10.8 17.2 17.7 1.6 15.6 4 25 Head of central fundraising, WaterAid 17.0 18.4 1.1 15.9 3 13 Head of regional fundraising, Sue Ryder 15.4 198.2 4.7 10.7 4 4 Director of corporate communications, Orange UK 15.0 87.5 3.3 11.7 1 7 Director of fundraising, Scope 14.5 78.9 7.0 7.5 1 23 Fundraising consultant 14.1 103.8 4.4 9.7 11 18 Head of corporate partnerships, Woodland Trust 14.1 29.0 8.6 5.5 6 6 Director, UJIA Israel Experience 13.7 14.6 0.3 13.4 13.3 155.8 5.9 7.3 2.5 18 Corporate accounts director, NSPCC 13.1 41.0 9.1 4.0 8 Assistant director of marketing and communications, NCH (now Action for Children) 12.0 95.1 0.0 12.0 12.0 17.2 7.1 4.9 2 18 Director of social marketing, Rethink Mental Illness 11.7 51.2 0.4 11.3 2 15 Development manager, Culture and Sport Glasgow 11.5 51.5 8.1 3.4 5 14 Head of supporter retention, British Heart Foundation 10.8 13.0 3.3 7.5 2.5 20 Head of regional fundraising, Marie Curie Cancer Care 10.7 82.2 2.6 8.2 2 15 Development director, NSPCC 10.7 18.1 0.3 10.4 10 17 10.5 34.4 1.5 9.0 10.5 18.4 0.0 10.5 2 12 Running events manager, Children with Cancer 10.3 11.2 0.6 9.7 10.3 16.0 3.3 7.0 5 8 Sales director 10.0 19.1 6.3 3.7 9.9 14.9 2.7 7.3 8 13 VP, international brand director, Allied Domecq 9.6 79.4 0.0 9.6 4 17 Executive director of fundraising, RNID 9.3 193.5 5.6 3.7 12 20 Marketing direct, Traidcraft 8.7 27.4 1.9 6.9 1 13 Director, Global Charities 8.4 8.8 0.9 7.5 7.9 8.5 2.9 5.0 7.9 55.5 2.1 5.9 2 14 Deputy director of fundraising, Enterprise UK 7.5 13.1 5.7 1.8 1 Fundraising and communications director, Diabetes UK 7.4 8.8 0.3 7.1 5 11 7.4 13.9 6.8 0.5 1 8 Fundraising and marketing manager, Tank Museum 7.3 10.4 3.7 3.6 7.1 70.8 0.0 7.1 6.6 63.4 0.0 6.6 5 21 Head of partnerships, Mind 6.5 26.7 1.9 4.6 6.4 18.2 0.0 6.4 7 6 Head of regional and appeals fundraising, Leonard Cheshire 6.3 107.4 3.3 3.0 5.8 31.7 0.4 5.4 2 10 Head of corporate, community and trust fundraising, Samaritans 5.7 9.2 1.8 3.9 2 16 Head of corporate, community and trusts, RLSB 5.6 8.8 0.2 5.4 5.6 72.9 0.0 5.6 5.6 27.1 2.2 3.3 5.4 11.1 2.6 2.8 10 17 Managing director, Environmental Investigation Agency 5.3 58.9 0.0 5.3 civilsociety.co.uk n 15