The Campaign for Great Fundraising Leadership launches
On behalf of our clients, members and fundraisers everywhere, we are thrilled to announce The Campaign for Great Fundraising Leadership, which will run for twelve months from April 2025.
The Campaign is a joint endeavor brought to you by:
- Andrew Olsen representing DickersonBakker
- Alan Clayton from Revolutionise International
- Howard Lake from Fundraising World
To really get this going, we have a request of you to share your experiences of Laughable Fundraising Leadership. More of that later … just keep reading!
First, the ethos, logos and pathos of the Campaign for Great Fundraising Leadership:
Ethos: We are bringing together nearly 40 years of research into fundraising leadership from DickersonBakker with the ten-year Great Fundraising program from Revolutionise International. Both leadership projects utilize academic research, action research, real-life piloting and proving and in-depth case studies. Both programs reach the same conclusion: leading growth in a fundraising organization requires a different skill set and attitude than leading any other type of organization. The differences are measurable, trainable and actionable. We will bring you the evidence, the knowledge and a precise path to action.
Many of the research papers and other resources are available from:
The Campaign is supplemented and supported by the publication of Alan Clayton’s book, Great Fundraising Organizations, available for pre-order from www.revolutionise.com . It is to be published by Wiley on 29th January and features the outcomes of the research and detailed case studies of successful organizations worldwide.
Logos: We can and will map an entire pyramid of behaviors which drive fundraising growth. These are vital for any career fundraiser. The starting point, though, is not fundraising leadership, but the leadership of the entire non-profit. When the CEO, leadership team and the board know how to lead fundraising growth, the fundraising team are focused, free and they fly. Every time. How would a law firm fare if its board were constituted entirely of engineers? How could an art gallery thrive with board populated entirely by brewers? How can a fundraising team thrive with a board entirely untrained in investment and fundraising?
We will prove that a growing fundraising team is a ‘business within a non-profit’ requiring its own unique leadership – and provide a guide in how to achieve it.
Pathos: It is heartbreaking to see talented and motivated fundraisers stifled by ineffective leadership. It is wonderful to experience the surge in revenue and self-belief when Great Fundraising Leadership sets the talent and motivation free to achieve. We will bring you the in-depth stories of leaders who successfully created and drove transformational growth, and how they achieved it. We will also tell the stories of the fundraisers who proved just what an impact Great Fundraising can have.
The first thing any fundraiser needs to do is to demonstrate the need – the problem we are trying to solve.
Will you join us in doing so?
Between now and the end of March 2025, we will be running a teaser campaign called
Laughable Fundraising Leadership
- You tell us the stories of how laughable leadership stifled, banjaxed or broke a fundraising program or even a fundraiser. You will be ensured of anonymity.
- Our copy editors ensure your story cannot be traced, and that it will be presented in the constructive but satirical style which will demonstrate the problem in a way which can be solved.
- You check you are happy with it.
- We publish it through our various digital channels.
- Your story provides everybody with the wake-up call to what needs to be done differently across the sector.
You can submit your story at www.laughableleadership.com
The organizations that have grasped this nettle and grown their Great Fundraising Leadership have raised billions of dollars more in sustainable revenue. They are global and the leadership behaviors are the same everywhere.
Please join us to ensure every non-profit can thrive financially in pursuit of their mission.
