Empowering and advocating for Australian fundraisers

Katherine Raskop Chief Executive Officer of the Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA). FIA’s mission is to build a vibrant community of best-practice fundraisers and a culture of professional fundraising through education and training, support and advocacy, and the promotion and protection of the fundraising sector.

Katherine’s professional background includes two decades in marketing and communications in commercial, government and not for profit organisations in the United States and Australia. She has headed up the marketing functions for a diverse range of companies including ADMA, SBS and Talent International.

A keen volunteer, Katherine has served as a board director for several organisations over the past 15 years. She currently sits on the board and is Vice Chair of PayPal Giving Fund (Australia), the public ancillary fund of PayPal Inc, helping people support their favourite charities online through PayPal and other technology platforms. She also volunteers for a variety of other community organisations throughout the year.

A dual US/Australian citizen, she grew up in Minnesota, USA, where she completed her undergraduate degree in English and a Master’s degree in International Business Management. Katherine is also a member and graduate of the Australian Institute of Company Directors.

Describe your career trajectory and how you got to your current position.

I have a background in marketing and communications, predominately in media and publishing. One of my all-time favourite roles was head of marketing for Special Broadcasting Service where I spent almost eight years, managing the marketing for a remarkable brand and programs across television, radio and online. Prior to my current role as CEO of Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA), I held a senior role at another professional body, the Association of Data Driven Marketing and Advertising (ADMA); I found membership organisations fascinating and really enjoyed both member engagement and the marketing of ADMA’s products and services. After three years there, I knew running a membership organisation was the right role for me; I was lucky enough to be appointed CEO of FIA in 2018 and I continue to really enjoy running the peak professional body for fundraising. Along the way of my career, I have also valued furthering my education and attainment of skills, and so completed a Master’s degree in international business management and the AICD’s Company Directors certification, amongst other professional education.

Take us through a typical day of work for you.

I am a very early starter so I’m at work by 7am with a big cup of coffee! I have a read of the news headlines as well as LinkedIn and also a quick read of the news sites related to fundraising and charities both in Australia and overseas.

I have seven direct reports at FIA so I spend a lot of time in regular meetings with them in support of the work they do at FIA; these meetings take a big chunk of my day. These are related to all our financial matters where we review and reforecast budgets, our education, conference and events planning, our policy and Code matters and membership campaigns including renewal. 

I help out the membership team with queries from members and sometimes these can take more than an hour for complex queries about fundraising or where I need to provide research, data or other information to assist members in their professional fundraising.

I’m the Company Secretary for the FIA Board and so I will often spend several hours preparing for board meetings, reviewing and revising policies, and writing business cases and other papers for investment or for board consideration. I also sit on several committees of the FIA Board so there is quite a bit to do in preparation for these as well. In addition to all the prep, each of these meetings takes many hours of my week to attend and then follow up on any action points. 

I try to respond to emails in batches throughout the day rather than be a slave to every email that pops in, as I find it more efficient that way. Having said that, especially in terms of member queries, I try to answer all of them within 24 hours and usually by the end of each day. 

Every few weeks, I attend webinars or other sessions related to my role as CEO; for example, on leadership, on HR matters, on creative problem solving or other.  I find taking the time for this kind of ongoing professional development provides new and different perspectives which makes me a better leader and CEO.

What is the biggest challenge you’ve encountered in your career, and how did you overcome it?

Despite having advanced qualifications and tons of experience, the biggest challenge I encountered was when I moved to Australia and had to convince Australian companies that my skills and experience were relevant to Australia, even without having local knowledge. Many years ago, when I migrated, Australia seemed much more parochial and only wanted to hire candidates with Australian experience. It took me several months to convince my first Australian employer otherwise and I think it was because they were a large multi-national. It was a very stressful time for me, however, and a challenge that I had to just keep working at – using convincing arguments and evidence of my skills and experience to overcome.

If you could go back in time, what piece of advice would you give yourself as you first embarked on your career?

It’s totally okay to not know exactly what you want to do or what kind of role you want; it’s better to consider how you can apply all the skills you have that you love to use, and not worry about exact role or title. Perhaps it’s a matter of thinking more laterally?!

How do you unwind after work?

I really like hitting the gym and lifting weights along with a bit of cardio to unwind or doing Pilates; something where I can focus on my body, rather than my mind!