Think Impact

Think Fundraising: Think Impact˜

Kevin Robbie
The world of fundraising is undergoing a seismic shift, but is anyone noticing or are they too busy˜ dealing with the fires? What does the future hold for the fundraising industry?˜ This article has been brewing for nearly six months but eventually emerged prompted by two other˜ great articles written by leaders in the sector. I acknowledge that I?m standing on the shoulder of˜ giants.˜ These were Brayden Howie writing on the future of philanthropy,˜ and˜Jen Riley writing on the lack of outcomes focus in grant applications. The heart of both these articles points to a seismic shift in the way that fundraisers will have to˜ operate going forward, yet my understanding from talking to key people in the fundraising sector is˜ that this shift is going unnoticed. The reason for this is because there is a frantic fundraising˜ scramble going on likely driven by a few key factors:˜
  • The well-publicised cost of living crisis that is engulfing Australia is beginning to effect˜ individual philanthropy. There is the sense in the sector that as people are ?tightening their˜ belts? they are reviewing their philanthropic giving. It would be good to see research into˜ whether this is the case, or it may be the case of the research happening after the horse has˜ bolted.˜
  • Within the not-for-profit (NFP) sector, or as I prefer to call it, the for purpose sector, there˜ is the continual birthing of new organisations offering new and innovative solutions to˜ tackling problems. This should and needs to be applauded, however, they are usually˜ chasing the philanthropic dollar. In the context where there is no ?death rate? of other for-purpose organisations, this simply leads to the philanthropic dollar being stretched too far.˜ Logic would say it is completely unsustainable!˜
  • Some of the traditional ways of fundraising including street fundraising, corporate˜ volunteering, fundraising balls and sponsorship were dramatically disrupted by COVID-19.˜ Many organisations have not returned to pre-2020 levels of fundraising and there is˜ commentary that some never will. With the traditional legs of the fundraising stool˜ removed, what are the new options? There has been a growth of new, innovative and often˜ localised approaches morphing out of crowdfunding models, but this requires not only new˜ technology but a technological savviness on the part of the fundraisers and the donor.˜˜
Faced with these significant foreground challenges, are fundraisers noticing the more, (and some˜ might argue the most), significant change on the horizon?˜ Increasingly funders (whether individuals or foundations) are shifting to ?outcomes-based? funding˜ decisions. They expect clarity of communication of intended impact to be central to any funding˜request and are shaping their processes to demand this from applicants. This behaviour is driving a˜ shift from who you know to what you know about what changes as a result of what you do.˜ What does this mean for the fundraising profession? They will need to increasingly ?Think Impact?. There are a few things that fundraisers can do to get the foundations for the new paradigm in place:˜
  • Impact measurement training ? improving impact literacy will become increasingly crucial˜ for people in the fundraising industry. They will need to see themselves as ?impact˜ communication professionals? rather than fundraisers.˜
  • Interaction with frontline services ? there will need to be a shift from the centralised (and˜ sometimes detached) fundraising team and their interaction with frontline delivery staff. A˜ blurring of lines will occur as fundraisers increasingly get involved in engagement with˜ beneficiary stakeholders so that they can understand the change their organisation is˜ creating through the voice of lived experience, and more importantly communicate this˜ change to potential funders.˜
  • Developing an impact prospectus ? this is a new tool being used by pioneering˜ organisations to revamp their communication to funders or investors. Modelled off work in˜ the responsible investment market, an impact prospectus focuses on what is changing and˜ why you (the funder) should invest. It is the door opener to a different type of conversation˜ with funders with outcomes at the core.˜
Whilst this new paradigm may be presenting a new language for many fundraisers, it is a language˜ they are going to have to learn to communicate in very quickly. Because while many fundraisers are˜ fighting fires, the fundraising world is changing dramatically in the foreground and with waves of˜ change on the horizon.˜ Kevin Robbie is the Managing Director at Think Impact with over 25 years˜ experience working in the for-purpose sector. Kevin leads Think Impact?s work in impact-led design, assisting government, philanthropy and for-purpose organisations to design better services or approaches. He has extensive experience˜ in strategic philanthropy with over a decade working with philanthropic˜ foundations in Australia.˜˜ Think Impact works with partners across business, government, philanthropy and the for-purpose sector to inspire, enable and support them to manage for better impact. They provide˜ strategic advice, consultancy and training services to support organisations from all sectors to improve their˜ impact. For more information see www.thinkimpact.com.au

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