Careers in International Development

Are you interested in a career in international development? Check out our forthcoming seminar at the LSE on the evening of 3rd December 2013 – a great line up of speakers and organisations, networking opportunities and plenty to learn. For more details and to book your place, please visit https://internationaldevelopment.eventbrite.co.uk

The Institute of Fundraising launches Student Fundraising Scheme

The Institute of Fundraising has this week launched a pilot student fundraising scheme, working in collaboration with charities Send a Cow, The Children’s Society, Meningitis UK and recruiters Charity People.

Twenty two student fundraisers will have the opportunity to develop their fundraising skills and get qualified for free at university as part of the scheme.

The scheme will provide students with ongoing support from their charity sponsors, helping them excel as fundraisers in their fundraising activities delivered through their students’ union or university, so that they can become more effective fundraisers.

The students will study for the Institute’s Introductory Certificate in Fundraising and receive 12 month’s associate membership of the IoF (the UK’s largest professional body of fundraisers).

Paul Marvell, Director of Professional Development & Membership said: “We are thrilled to be launching this scheme and we hope that we are able in time to extend this to many other charities and students. After all the student fundraisers of today are the potential professional fundraisers of the future. I think this is an excellent way to encourage students to seriously consider fundraising as a future career option and to gain a professional qualification at the same time.”

The pilot to develop student fundraisers is also being supported by the National Union of Students (NUS).

Raechel Mattey, Vice President Union Development, said: “I’m delighted that we are supporting the scheme with the IoF. Students contribute so much to their local communities and this scheme will help to develop even more fantastic student fundraisers who will be able to give more as a result of the training”.

Karl Gwilliam Events and Community Fundraising Manager, Send a Cow said: “Smaller charities like Send a Cow have just as much to offer students and their RAG's as the larger charities as we hope that this pilot evidences. Ultimately, we want to identify and attract more fundraisers and volunteers but importantly to provide students with potential career opportunities within fundraising.

“Through the Institute’s Diploma, I've had personal experience of the quality of the training provided and it's very exciting to be involved in this pilot which should be a win-win for both the charity and the students involved”.

Gillian Claugher, Director of Regional Fundraising and Development at The Children’s Society, said: “Our volunteer fundraisers are at the very heart of our work to help vulnerable children across the country. So it is fantastic to be able to reward their super human effort, while at the same time helping develop the next generation of professional fundraisers.”

David Lale, Managing Director of Charity People said: “Charity People has an established and proud history of promoting the voluntary sector as the best place to work, so we are honoured to be a part of this innovative project. It’s refreshing and encouraging to see a pathway for supporting really talented young people on their journey into a career in fundraising.”

Applicants can apply to only one charity, which will then review the applications. Students wishing to join the pilot should apply through one of the participating charities’ websites:

• www.childrenssociety.org.uk/what-you-can-do/fundraising-and-appeals/student-fundraising/join-our-iof-student-fundraising-scheme
• www.sendacow.org.uk/students
• www.meningitisuk.org/get-involved/student-fundraising

The pilot was designed by the IoF in collaboration with Send a Cow, The Children’s Society and Meningitis UK, Charity People, NUS and employability staff at Leeds University Union.

Key Dates
2 September – Applications open for the Student fundraising scheme
11 October – Closing date for student applicants
31 October – Successful student applicants notified by charities
4 November – Students receive associate membership application form
22 November – Students receive joining instructions for introductory online certificate
November to July 2014 – Charities provide students with support, advice and guidance
July 2014 - Students complete introductory certificate course and undertake assessment

The IoF is keen to expand the scheme to more students and charities. Any charity wishing to get involved should contact Philip Allen by emailing philip@institute-of-fundraising.org.uk

Meet the CEO with John Bird

On a warm Wednesday evening in July Charity People hosted the fourth ‘Meet the CEO’ event and were delighted to have John Bird, founder of The Big Issue as guest speaker. As expected, John was outspoken, straight-talking and passionate, sharing his personal journey and thoughts on the need to bring increased commerciality to the charity sector.

The event was enjoyed by 25 senior professionals from the charity sector, who described the evening as ‘inspirational’, ‘entertaining’, ‘thought-provoking’ and ‘enjoyable’.

Charity people host Meet the CEO events every two months as an opportunity for senior charity professionals to meet a key industry leader, learn about their career path and ask questions. It also offers an opportunity to network with your peers in a relaxed and informal environment.

Nesta launches crowdfunding directory

Nesta, the charity set up by the Nesta Charitable Trust to provide investments, grants and networking opportunities to not-for-profit organisations has unveiled its directory of UK crowdfunding platforms.

Crowdfunding platforms allow individuals to fund projects, small businesses and causes. According to the Nesta website, $1.5 billion was raised using crowdfunding websites in the US in 2011. Though crowdfunding is still relatively small in the UK, Nesta expect funding to build significantly on the £120 million that was funded in 2011.

Go to http://www.nesta.org.uk/home1/assets/features/crowding_in for more details.

Assess your fundraising skills

Are you interested to know how you can further develop your skills as a major donor fundraiser? Charity People is working with the Institute of Fundraising on a new tool to allow major donor fundraisers to self-assess their strengths and areas for improvement, against competencies which were identified by the Institute through a series of interviews with high performing major donor fundraisers.


This confidential self assessment tool enables major donor fundraisers to reflect on their own view of how well they exhibit the habits, attitudes, beliefs, behaviours and essential knowledge of an effective major donor fundraiser.

We think this tool is a great development which allows fundraisers to identify their strengths (always handy for interviews and application forms) and learn how they can constantly improve upon their success rate and personal skillset. Charity People has seen an increasing demand for major donor expertise for both major gifts roles and senior fundraising roles and will be integrating this tool into our recruitment of major donor and Director of Fundraising roles.

We’d like to invite you to take part and get your own personalised results – it takes 10 minutes to complete your self assessment and results are completely confidential and will not be shared or distributed by the IoF to anyone or any organisation. Charity People won’t be able to see your results – it is just for your own personal use.

The tool can be accessed via this link http://tinyurl.com/ak27mac

What's new in fundraising?

We’ve started 2013 with a new team member – Carla Miller, experienced fundraising director, interim CEO and trustee has joined us to strengthen our fundraising recruitment team. We’ve already picked up a number of high profile fundraising roles for the new year so if you’re thinking of making a move, get in touch. We also have a generous referral scheme – contact Carla on 0207 939 7422 or email Carla at carla@charitypeople.co.uk Meanwhile our sister company, Smart Careers has taken on a number of new Trustee and Chair assignments, for Age UK, Pohwer, and the Neuro Foundation. Want to know more? Email David Lale at dlale@charitypeople.co.uk