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The business of fundraising

Fundraising | Sir David Varney | 14 Aug 2012

Fundraising is a realm all-too-oft avoided in a charity's boardroom, and left to buoy itself. But Sir David Varney intends to use his extensive business experience to help boost corporate donations at the Stroke Association, where he is chairman designate.

Stroke is the UK’s leading the cause of severe adult disability and the country’s third biggest killer. I know because I lost my father to stroke. So I am now very pleased and looking forward to joining such a high achieving charity.

Whilst here I plan to build on the already vital role Stroke Association has played in dramatically changing awareness of stroke, the priority it is given in the NHS and, most importantly, providing the services and support for people affected by stroke.

We have seen a significant fall in the number of deaths from stroke, and everyday Stroke Association is helping more and more people to make better recoveries from this devastating condition.

But much more work is still needed. And this can not be done without funds.

I’m taking on the role of chairman of Stroke Association at a time of great uncertainty and pressure. We all know that the UK economy is in deep recession, that big cuts are being made in public spending and that the NHS in England is undergoing an unprecedented change. All charities have been affected by this, and consequently there are some key challenges and opportunities ahead.

We must face these head-on.

No one knows how long this recession will last, but we expect the next few years to be very difficult. We know that people are finding it harder and harder to be as generous in their support for charities as they used to be. As a result, as for many other charities, Stroke Association fundraising has been adversely affected.

Regulating our income and having a network of supporters is crucial if Stroke Association is going to continue to make the world a better place for stroke survivors and their families. Stroke Association is already doing the right thing – being stringent about budgets and spending while going all out to up their game in raising voluntary and service income. I’m hoping that bringing my years of experience and business acumen from leading large national corporations and working with national government will help support these efforts.

As a former chairman of Business in the Community, I believe strongly in the mutual benefits which are derived from a responsible business policy for major companies. I anticipate adding value to the charity’s approaches to the corporate sector and I know an important part of the chairman’s role is to help attract more high-level support.

I'm hoping that this will help support other recent efforts by the charity to build on our supporter base. Stroke Association recently launched a new, dynamic brand which is designed to reach out and appeal to more people and we’ll use it as a platform to transform the way people think and talk about stroke. We’ll also use the recently introduced Action on Stroke Month to raise awareness of the fact that stroke can affect anyone. This will help provide a focus for fundraising activities and campaigning, and I’ll be playing a big part.

I’m here because of my personal connection to stroke. There are over a million people living with the effects of stroke and we need look at how we can get more of them to not only engage with us, but also how we can make that personal connection to build up our supporter base. From our brand development, we will look in more detail at our audience analysis and identify where we need to have greater connection with our supporters and potential supporters.

On a personal level, my family and I have been involved in fundraising for different causes over the years, from undertaking sponsored walks to becoming regular donors, so I know the value and impact that volunteers and supporters have on fundraising. I think that this filters through the government's localism agenda, which we’re taking very seriously, and ensuring that staff, volunteers and supporters across the UK are equipped to engage with local decision-makers for the benefit of stroke survivors and their families.

We’re determined to continue our funding for pioneering research into stroke because we know what an amazing difference it can make. Many of the advances in stroke treatment, care and rehabilitation have resulted from research that Stroke Association funded in the past. We cannot let the economic downturn halt that progress.

The recent successes of Stroke Association provides solid ground for doing even more and I am really looking forward to playing my part in making a real difference to the 150,000 people who have a stroke every year. I hope you will join me.

Directory: The Stroke Association
Who's Who: Sir David Varney