The chair of umbrella body the Chartered Institute of Fundraising has called for charities to better support fundraisers, and criticised organisations that do not include fundraisers at senior-leadership level, at an event in London.
Addressing an audience of sector professionals at the Perspectives on Leadership Behaviours of a Great Fundraising Organisation event at Bayes Business School yesterday, Harpreet Kondel said that “at many charities that I’ve been in and out of, fundraising does not have a seat at the top table”.
Kondel added: “I’m afraid if you have not got your fundraising director on your SLT [senior leadership team], then you are doomed to failure.
“And I’ve seen that over and over again, because if you don’t look at where the money’s coming in, how on earth are you managing that as an organisation?”
Kondel said leadership was also integral to recognising that fundraising is “central to an organisation’s success”.
“Great fundraising organisations are built on something deeper,” she said. “They succeed not because of what they do, but because of how they lead.”
More celebration of fundraising teams needed
Later in her speech, Kondel said that many fundraisers were suffering from burnout “because they’re having to create workarounds for things that just do not work”, and referenced the range of tasks individual fundraisers may be expected to tackle.
Kondel called for more collaboration between departments, and more understanding from other departments of what fundraisers do, so that fundraising becomes “everyone’s responsibility” and “fundraisers can focus on relationships rather than red tape”.
Her remarks follow recent research from think-tank Rogare, which said many charities are not doing enough to support fundraiser employees experiencing burnout related to factors such as high workloads and emotional strain.
Kondel went on to call for charities to celebrate their fundraisers’ success more, saying: “It’s rare that I see a fundraising team celebrated within charities. They’re sort of seen in that dark and dirty corner over there, raising that money and bringing it in.
“But actually, without those fundraising teams, most charities would not be able to survive, let alone thrive. So it’s really important to create a positive, resilient culture where staff feel valued and motivated.”
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