Fundraisers need to identify their charity's best work and use that to recruit major donors, a roundtable on philanthropy heard yesterday.
Fundraisers approaching prospective philanthropists too often offer the chance to fund a wide but mediocre collection of programmes, Russell Prior (pictured), the head of philanthropy at HSBC Private Bank, said yesterday at a roundtable for The Philanthropy Programme in London.
Prior told the gathered fundraisers they need to “give their best pitch” as the majority he comes across in his role are not focused enough.
“I’m sorry to say this, but it’s not fabulous," he said. "There’s an awful lot more that can be done, I think, to hone down what it is you're offering. There’s always this temptation for fundraisers and NGOs to come along with a big basket of opportunities and actually I think you undersell yourselves.
“I think you should come with your best shot, your best pitch, the best work that you do. Because that’s what will inspire me and my clients. That’s what will make me remember whatever it is you or your organisation approach me about”.
Prior, who was the executive director at CAF before joining HSBC, also said that “philanthropy was very much a way of life” for his clients.
“The clients who come to HSBC absolutely expect that philanthropy will be part of the deal,” he said. “Thirty per cent of clients expect philanthropy to be bought up in the first meeting, while just over 70 per cent expect it to be bought up at some point between the first and third meetings”.
Prior said this showed that there were major donors out there for UK charities, they just needed to be approached differently.
This point was supported by Bill Conner, development director at Wolfson College, Oxford.
Conner said that in his experience, many donors felt that charities didn’t “think big enough” to warrant giving major donations to. He also said that many organisations simply can’t articulate how a prospective donation will actually be used.
“You would be surprised how many times I’ve had fundraisers approach me or a client of mine and say: ‘we need all this money and we need it now’. So, we turn around and ask them what it’s for and they can’t explain”.
“There are so many charities out there, many of whom operate in similar fields and areas. If you can’t explain what it is that you do, how are you supposed to convince someone to part with their money? There’s not enough articulation about the difference that your charity can make”.
