Think Fundraising: Think Impact 

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