Boosting F2F self-regulation in all markets through a set of common standards and as an international think tank. This was the objective set by the International Public Fundraising Council (IPFC)’s four founding members – AMRAC (France), the Fundraising Regulator (UK), QUIF (Australia) and QISH (Germany – during their initial meeting at the International Fundraising Conference (IFC) in 2018.

As a result, the IPFC launched as a worldwide network of face-to-face regulatory associations with the collective goal of working together and sharing experience to strengthen F2F fundraising regulation across the globe and raise face-to-face fundraising standards.

It was also at this time that the board of the International F2F Congress was formed to organise what was to become the first professional congress entirely dedicated to F2F fundraising. The respective developments of the IPFC and the F2F Congress were therefore closely linked from the outset, as were their respective boards.

An international standards bearer

The IPFC quickly established itself as the international label for self-regulatory bodies in F2F fundraising, with an approach based on:

• Establishing a common code of conduct/ethics to enhance quality standards,

• Sharing best practices,

• Conducting studies and research to improve the F2F system,

• Supporting the establishment of F2F self-regulatory bodies,

• Establishing key indicators to make F2F sustainable and inclusive,

• Participating in international fundraising organisations,

• Representing the interests of the sector in every market.

But it was in 2020 that the IPFC took on the full scope of its responsibilities during the Covid crisis, monitoring restarting markets around the world and sharing its feedback at the very first international F2F Congress (online).

This collective work revealed our solidarity and capacity for cooperation as well as the full extent of our responsibilities in all markets.

The critical role of F2F fundraising

As F2F fundraising has become more widespread, it has become the leading international fundraising channel for recruiting regular individual donors. It is even central to the regular donation collection strategy of some of the world’s largest charities, as evidenced by the 500,000 new annual donors to UNICEF and the 300,000 to SOS Children’s Villages, with the F2F campaigns of both charities present in more than 40 national markets.

No one knows exactly how much it raises globally for all the charities involved, and this figure is the subject of much speculation and guesswork. But it brings in roughly around 8 to 10 million new regular donors per year – equivalent to the entire population of Switzerland! The issue of its sustainability has therefore become more important than ever, particularly at a time when many causes are seeing their subsidies withdrawn as a result of major international political changes.

Boosting standards

In conjunction with these international changes, and even though F2F fundraising is now present in more than 60 countries, its performance, and above all the qualitative and ethical conditions under which it operates, have come under threat.

In these circumstances, it is up to our community to ensure that the quality of F2F fundraising campaigns is guaranteed, the ethical criteria for its practice are strengthened, its fundraisers are provided with up-to-date training and certification processes, guaranteed decent working conditions and, more generally, a level of professionalism that makes their work high-quality and sustainable.

Expanding the movement

It is with a full understanding of this immense responsibility that the F2F Congress board, three of whose members also sit on the IPFC board decided to continue and expand the movement that had been initiated seven years earlier by scheduling a conference dedicated to the IPFC at the last F2F Congress in Vienna and opening membership not only to national fundraising organisations and F2F self-regulation organisations, but also to recognised experts in our sector.

And the gamble is paying off! The number of members has skyrocketed and new self-regulatory bodies and national fundraising organisations have joined the movement in this shared dynamic, notably with the recent entry of the AEFr, the Spanish Fundraising Association.

Jean-Paul Kogan-Recoing with Ruth Williams and Franz Wissmann

Building a strong future for F2F

Our recent exchanges with self-regulatory bodies in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand point towards closer ties and international collaboration, making the IPFC an international think tank that will have a say in the future of F2F fundraising, ensuring its sustainability and establishing it as a pillar of independence and growth for charities in a growing number of markets. It is up to us to educate people so that this self-regulation is never seen as a set of restrictions, but rather as a set of best practices protecting F2F and giving it a passport to the future.

It was therefore not only an honour and a privilege, but above all a great pleasure to host a session with Ruth Williams and Franz Wissmann at the International F2F Congress in Vienna, entirely dedicated to F2F regulation and its international label, the IPFC. We invited some wonderful guest speakers, Henk Dokter, director of DDDN, the Dutch self-regulatory body, and Alin Dinu, one of the major players in F2F in Romania. The welcome and feedback were extraordinary, and what once germinated in the minds of us founders, based on a shared vision, is now on its way to becoming a central reference organisation working around the world for sustainable, virtuous F2F collection, proud of its international contribution to the development of these great causes that are the foundation of our humanity.

Jean-Paul Kogan-Recoing

About Jean-Paul Kogan-Recoing

Pioneer of F2F fundraising since 1998 initially for Greenpeace, Jean-Paul Kogan-Recoing internationalized his activities as major stakeholder and international fundraising consultant specialized in individual giving strategies and the building of international F2F fundraising campaigns developments. He has been involved in initiating F2F fundraising self-regulation in different markets and cofounded the first international label for F2F fundraising self-regulation organizations, the IPFC, “International Public Fundraising Council”, of which he is Chairman since its foundation in 2021. He is also a member of the Board of the International F2F Fundraising Congress, which brings together the world’s leading F2F fundraising specialists every two years for skillsharing worldwide.

Examining how nonprofits are responding, the Nonprofit Pulse Report 2024 was conducted by the European Fundraising Association (EFA) and the UK’s Chartered Institute of Fundraising (CIOF) in collaboration with Salesforce. It’s a comprehensive analysis of the evolving landscape for European nonprofits, based on a survey of 670 organisations across Europe, of a variety of sizes and cause areas.

To look deeper into the trends it revealed, a recent webinar brought together Susan Mahon, Salesforce director of product marketing and Charlotte Rydh, EFA president and secretary general of Sweden’s Giva Sverige, with Rob Cope, executive director at the CIOF, and Nick Scott, digital, AI and strategy consultant.

Responding to challenge                                                        

The report highlighted that the biggest challenges for nonprofits last year centred around managing workload, staff recruitment and retention, and fundraising. And, against a backdrop of still rising service demand and costs, these issues look set to continue for some time with Cope noting: “Many charities are having to raise more just to stand still, and some areas and causes will be harder hit than others, such as those that had to draw on reserves during COVID. This all combines to create a perfect storm.”

In response, nonprofits across Europe are trying new approaches, and for a significant proportion, it’s paying off. 30% of respondents improved their ability to plan strategically in 2023 thanks to some of the changes implemented. A similar percentage (31%) reported more flexibility and agility in responding to change.

Greater emphasis on engagement

So, what actions are they taking? Internally, 40% have increased their use of digital channels, a sign, said Mahon of “how the sector as a whole is working as economic challenges remain.”

Supporter engagement has become an even greater area of focus. Three quarters of respondents made changes to fundraising strategy in 2023, with 23% expanding their use of digital channels and 23% diversifying channels. Driven by competition for other sources of income and the need to reach more people, nonprofits are also increasing in-person activity, with face to face (F2F) fundraising growing as the fourth most popular channel for fundraising and engagement after social media, website and email.

“Charities are seeking ways to make donor recruitment more interactive and engaging. It’s about how we connect with people and build relationships – especially as we become more digital,” said Rydh.

They’re also seeking ways of deepening engagement among existing supporters because, as Mahon noted: “It’s so much easier to retain a relationship than acquire a new one.”

Rising importance of ethics and trust

With this comes increased focus on supporter data, and a growing realisation of the need to protect it to gain, and retain, trust. Yet just 29% of survey respondents said they have measures in place to safeguard sensitive data, and only 36% have a data handling policy.

This, panellists observed, is likely down to lack of resources and competence internally – particularly in small organisations where people are often spread across multiple roles – as well as pressure to direct as much money as possible to the cause.

But as advances in tech, including AI, bring both new possibilities and ethical considerations for nonprofits, it’s an area they absolutely must focus on, said Cope, adding: “The issue of trust and being able to handle data responsibly will become very difficult unless we get a handle on it now.”

Nonprofits need to see trust as a key organisational asset, Scott added: “With AI it’s going to be a much bigger challenge, which means ethics and the ethical use of tech has to be central to the business of running an organisation.”

Taking advantage of tech advances

Certainly, the report highlighted a move towards using AI with 43% exploring or interested in how they might leverage it, and 13% already using it.

In fact, the true figure for users of AI is likely to be much higher, said Scott: “AI is a very fast-moving area and adoption is fast-moving too. Most charities are using AI in ways they don’t even realise. If you’re trying to make Facebook’s algorithms work for you so your posts are seen by supporters for example, you’re interacting with AI.”

Grabbing opportunities with AI

AI provides opportunity at every level, from individual to team and organisational, panellists agreed, able to transform productivity, support content creation, and provide invaluable insight. “In being able to use AI as another pair of hands to identify data trends and conduct analysis for extra insight, we can give supporters an even better experience,” Cope commented.

Adding to this, Rydh said, it can help reduce workload pressures: “With charities always short on staff, there’s a real opportunity too to use it to free people up from some of their more manual tasks to spend more time on higher value work.”

At the same time, they cautioned, it brings new challenges – from how to handle transparency, to how to decide what’s right for your donors, and ensure it helps staff wellbeing and workload rather than hinders.

Reaping the benefits of AI and doing so safely, Scott said, will be about ensuring support internally: by providing access to spaces for safe experimentation along with training and guidance to build understanding of where individuals and teams can experiment and where they shouldn’t.

“AI is no different in many ways to the digital change management we’ve all been through,” he added. “You can’t avoid the same conversations around culture, ways of working, and infrastructure. The foundations have to be right for anything new.”

What’s next?

So, looking forward, what can Europe’s nonprofits expect? With economic and political turmoil set to continue, the pressures are unlikely to lift any time soon so they can’t sit back, said Rydh. Pointing to the 22% who collaborated more with other nonprofits in 2023, she added: “I hope the greater collaboration we’re seeing will become a trend. If not, these continuing tough environments will be difficult to deal with.”

But opportunity will also present itself – most notably through digital and AI to expand the market for giving and enable smaller nonprofits to compete with organisations much larger than themselves for a share of the public purse. “I predict an increasing levelling of the field with small and particularly medium-sized charities able to punch above their weight to give more established organisations a run for their money,” said Cope.

With AI, Scott also believes the hype bubble will start to burst, enabling more valuable conversations about where and how to use it, in which the sector must ensure its involvement. “Nonprofits need a very active, knowledgeable and powerful voice in this to make sure that the real, productive AI that comes next is human led,” he said.

Nonprofits are already responding to a whole range of challenge and opportunity, through their greater focus on supporter engagement, to improving their internal processes, and their interest in AI. Looking ahead, what’s certain, concluded Mahon, is this: “Change is the only constant, so improving agility is going to become increasingly important for nonprofits to navigate or circumnavigate those changes.”

Key takeaways

• Ensuring relationships remain at the heart of fundraising is a key focus for nonprofits seeking to attract new donors and keep existing supporters engaged and giving.
• Fundraising, engagement, and trust are all reliant on having data that’s well-structured and protected, and this requires responsible data custodianship.
• Having internal support to embrace learning and experimentation in a safe setting will be essential for nonprofits to benefit from AI.
• Digital and AI will lead to an increasing levelling of the field, enabling smaller nonprofits to punch above their weight in competing for a share of the public purse.
• As challenges continue, flexibility, agility, and the ability to make the most of technology’s opportunities will be the markers of successful nonprofits.

Main picture by Anthony B Beck on Pexels

Major donation fundraising is becoming increasingly important to nonprofits both internationally and in Austria. To date, however, there has been neither a uniform definition of the amount over which an (above-average) donation is considered a major donation, nor empirical data on how widespread such donations are within the Austrian fundraising sector.

This is the task of Fundraising Verband Austria’s recent study. 83 organizations active in major donation fundraising were invited to participate in an online survey. 26 of them took part and disclosed detailed figures on their major donation structure. In addition, in-depth qualitative interviews were conducted with 20 representatives of organizations from a wide range of nonprofit sectors with experience in this area.

The fundamental research interest behind this study was to clarify the widespread hypothesis that, compared to leading philanthropy nations, the Austrian donation system is disproportionately supported by lower- and middle-income groups, while major donations are underrepresented. Closely related to this were two more questions: where is major gift fundraising in Austria underdeveloped and capable of expansion in an international comparison, and what factors have contributed to the current situation?

The foundation landscape in Austria

While Austria had a flourishing foundation landscape at the beginning of the 20^th century with around 5,700 organisations, this was heavily impacted by the global economic crisis and the Nazi regime. Attempts to boost Austria’s charitable foundation sector post Second World War failed due to a welfare state mentality that dominated for decades and a lack of tax incentives. Only a nonprofit package introduced in 2015 brought significant improvements, followed by the establishment of foundations and, in recent years, a growing number of large donations. The Charities Reform Act, which came into force in 2024, has since established internationally comparable conditions for philanthropic engagement in Austria. Experts assume that this will further boost large donations from companies, wealthy private individuals and foundations in the future.

Research findings

Defining a major donation

But how do organizations define a major donation? We found that for 32% of the NPOs surveyed as part of this study, a large donation is between 500 and 5,000 euros. 27% answered the question with a value of exactly 5,000 euros. 18% stated a range between 5,000 and less than 50,000 euros, and 23% defined the threshold for a major donation as 50,000 euros or more.

Insights into major giving

In line with their own definition, 22 responding organizations declared their income from major donations in 2022 at EUR 46.4 million. This equates to an increase of 60% in just three years. The general donation income of the entire Austrian third sector grew by 36% in the same period (from 810 million euros to 1.1 billion euros). An analysis of the sources of donations revealed that 60% of major donations are made by companies, 38% by private individuals and only 2% by foundations.

This trend is even clearer for donations of 50,000 euros or more. Since 2020, 86% of the 22 organizations responding to this question have received at least one donation above this threshold. Of these, an even higher proportion (78%) came from companies, 16% from private individuals and 6% from foundations. In total, donations over 50,000 euros in the 26 NPOs led to a volume of 22.7 million euros in 2022 ­– an increase of 112% compared to 2020, when the total value was still 10.7 million euros.

Factors for success

The accompanying interviews with the representatives of 20 nonprofit organizations focused on the questions of what constitutes major donation fundraising and which factors play a role. In principle, the interviews confirmed that a personal relationship is of outstanding importance, with seamless interaction between major donor, fundraiser and organization identified as a key success criterion.

Based on this, key influencing factors could be identified at all levels: On the organizational and fundraising side, for example, a flawless image of the NPO, close involvement of management and board members, and a high degree of patience, consistency and flexibility on the part of fundraisers. At the donor level, it should be noted that they tend to want large, renowned organizations with strong brands as partners and are more likely to invest in “tangible” projects such as construction projects, specific equipment or endowed professorships.

The final conclusion is both sobering and encouraging:

• Austria’s major donations culture, as it currently exists, has room for improvement, but is by no means underdeveloped. A considerable number of private individuals and institutions make above-average donations and are thus committed to charitable causes.
• Especially in the areas of science & research and art & culture, there is a well-developed and established culture of large donations, strongly based on traditional patronage.
• There are still inhibiting factors for philanthropic engagement & major donations in Austria including, for example, the prevailing mentality of providing for the poor, public debates about envy surrounding the topic of wealth, but also the charitable foundation landscape, which is still less developed than in our neighbouring countries.
• Large donations make up a considerable proportion of total donations in Austria. Estimates are still difficult, however.
• The share of large donations in total donation income per organization ranges between 3% and 100%. The relevance of this form of fundraising therefore varies greatly for individual organizations.
• The data situation is also difficult due to many differences and grey areas in the definitions.
• Major donation fundraising has become more professional in Austria, but there is still room for improvement.
• Overall, there is a positive trend and therefore potential for the future. However, this is only reflected to a limited extent due to the level of willingness from organizations to invest in major donation fundraising.

For more information on this study, please email FVA at  fva@fundraising.at.

Main picture by Ibrahim Boran on Unsplash

For many nonprofits, recruiting fundraisers is not easy, but depending on where you are in Europe, the reasons can differ. Salaries that can’t compete with the commercial sector is one common reason, but what else is going on? Here are some insights into the challenges in five countries and how nonprofits are addressing them.

What’s in a name? Quite a lot as it turns out in Ireland, where a charity professional explains that candidates with the right skills are often put off by the term ‘fundraiser’, which they see as someone collecting donations in the street. As a result, some charities advertise for a ‘communications’ post instead, but they must be very clear on what’s required or risk failing to bring in the income ­­– rather a conundrum in such a crucial charity role.

There’s no such baggage attached to the term in Lithuania, but perhaps because it’s rarely used, with Gražvydas Bareišis, regional development director for the Central European Jesuit Province, noting that only 21% of NGOs in the country have a dedicated fundraiser.

Charities usually recruit ‘project managers’ or a ‘director of communication’ who will also manage campaigns, write grants, and coordinate projects at the same time. Individual giving and corporate fundraising are a low priority meaning that charities simply do not hire staff such as gift officers or database managers, and the profession of ‘fundraiser’, she says, is not a well-established niche in the Lithuanian job market.

To address this, some networks of NGOs and Christian charities are coming together to discuss fundraising skills, competencies and capacities, while it’s also a good sign that some colleges and universities have organised informal fundraising courses in recent years, for charity leaders and managers.

Stéphanie Gonand, director of development for the Jesuits in France, knows how effective this can be, having seen a landscape devoid of fundraising training in the early 2000s transformed by the French Association of Fundraisers (AFF) into something far more supportive, where experience is shared.

In recent years as public funding has decreased, more and more private and public organisations are recruiting fundraisers. Currently, the easiest way to recruit a fundraiser in France is through informal networks.

Thanks to the AFF training courses, there are increasing numbers of entry level candidates who have the basics of fundraising even if they don’t have fundraising experience. The fact that fundraising is currently ‘fashionable’ in France is also helping to boost the number of applicants, although as salaries are not very high, retention is an issue.

Meanwhile the problem with recruiting experienced fundraisers in Germany, according to Birgit Bidell, head of fundraising at the Friends of the Society of Jesus, is simply that there aren’t enough of them in the market.

Birgit advertises on LinkedIn and many well-known online recruitment platforms, as well as reaching out to her personal fundraising network, an approach that has brought her three new colleagues recently, albeit for administration rather than fundraising positions.

However, she’s also facing a new challenge from a different quarter: a rise in applications from migrants to the country who are often well-educated and well-qualified, but lack the necessary competence in the German language which is so vital for fundraising roles.

A shortage of numbers in the sector is the big challenge for the UK too, although more for a lack of entry-level openings than interest. Organisations invariably want candidates who are already trained in fundraising, but very few are prepared to invest in that training themselves, making it very difficult for anyone to get a foothold in the sector.

What’s more, training requirements have only increased since the Covid-19 pandemic, with many younger people having known little but working from home, meaning they not only need to learn about fundraising, but also many of the basics of working in an office, as a team, and within an organisation.

And while flexible or remote working is now expected as a matter of course, this can make it challenging for younger fundraisers in particular to get to know the organisation and integrate with their team, so it’s become more necessary than ever to make the office as attractive as possible with perks, motivation and a bit of fun.

To help the recruitment process, here are some steps we recommend:

• Join fundraising networks and start making contacts well before you need to recruit.
• Discuss salaries with your board before you need to recruit, so there’s no delay when you do.
• Take candidates through the interview process quickly and make an offer before they’re snapped up elsewhere.
• Regularly compare your job descriptions against competitors to keep them up to date and as attractive as possible.
• Detail your induction plan in your recruitment pack and stick to it, making space and time to support new fundraisers.
• Support new starters with training: they’ll appreciate it for their CV but it will also upskill your team and attract new talent.

About John Green & Faye Marshall

John Green

John Green has worked in the voluntary sector for over 20 years. After 17 years at seafarers’ charity Stella Maris as their director of development, he is now fundraising manager at the Jesuits and has a Masters in Voluntary Administration. He founded the networking forum ‘Catholics in Fundraising’ and has been a trustee at Field Lane and Aberdeen Seafarers’ Centre and has served on the grant making body of the Plater Trust.

Faye Marshall

Faye Marshall is the deputy CEO of charity recruitment specialists Harris Hill and a certified member of the Recruitment and Employment Federation (REC). Having joined Harris Hill in 2005 she has exceptional experience in recruitment for charities and not-for-profit organisations of all kinds throughout the sector, including successful campaigns for charities such as The Prince’s Trust, English-Speaking Union, London Youth, Cruse Bereavement Support, Place2Be, FareShare and Prostate Cancer UK.

Main picture by Resume Genius on Pexels

It has come to my attention that I appear to be getting on a bit.

The signs are there.

Sure, there’s the obvious ones, like the gradually increasing clusters of grey hair and the fact that I now have children who are taller than me.

But it’s when I look around a meeting and everyone appears to be half my age that it really hits home. Or having to explain my pop culture references when I’m doing presentations because most of the audience weren’t even born when Stock Aitken and Waterman were in their pomp.

And like it or not, I’m not alone in this. Lots of you are in the same boat. Or the one just behind – but we’re heading in the same direction.

So I thought I’d share some thoughts about becoming a… “more experienced fundraiser” – let’s use that phrase, why don’t we?

1. You know stuff now

The obvious advantage of having been around for a bit, is that you’ve been around for a bit. You’ve been there, seen that and done that. You’ve seen what’s worked and what hasn’t, and hopefully developed an understanding as to why.

At this stage I’ve fundraised through recessions, cost of living crises, wars, natural disasters and a global pandemic. I’ve run countless campaigns for tons of different charities across multiple channels.

I have a good sense of what will work, and what won’t. I know the tricks. I’ve done the tests. I’ve read the books and the case studies.

This knowledge is important, and in a sector where many practitioners have little or no formal fundraising training or qualifications, it’s especially so.

We have a responsibility to pass our knowledge on, to build up the skills, understanding and wisdom of the sector as a whole.

2. But you don’t know everything

The downside of experience is that it can close you off from new discoveries. It can be all too easy for those of us who’ve been around forever to be dismissive of new ideas and the people who champion them.

It’s important that we guard against our experience hardening into an unthinking mantra of This Is What Works or That Will Never Work.

I’m old enough to have tested lots of things in fundraising. I’m also old enough to have seen test results change, or indeed flip, over time.

Past results are no guarantee of future performance, as they say.

Times change. Technology changes, people change, context changes. We need to be open to change too, no matter how grey and old and experienced we are.

As John Maynard Keynes reportedly said, “when the facts change, I change my mind – what do you do sir?”

3. It’s not enough to know what works, you need to know why it works.

I think the dogmatic belief in The Right Way To Do Things stems from a misguided focus on what works, when we should be focused on why it works.

Let’s take an example from direct mail. Everyone knows that all things being equal, long letters (generally) work better than short letters. This has been tested to death across decades of direct marketing in many different sectors and countries.

Hopefully I’m stating the obvious here, but long letters don’t work better because they’re long letters. God knows I’ve read some awful long fundraising letters in my time.

Long letters work better because they address specific donor needs, and perform specific functions.

For instance:

• They allow you to address and deal with any concerns or questions that may occur to the donor while reading it.
• They give you enough room to include important persuasive content such as recognising previous support, expressing gratitude, highlighting elements of donor identity, repeating and reinforcing need, and demonstrating the difference the donor can make.
• They make it possible to use larger typefaces so older donors can more easily read it.
• And they convey a sense of importance and weight to the donor.

It is these things, rather than the fact that it’s simply ‘long’ that make it successful.

Keeping the why in mind, as technology, costs, customs and context change, allows us to adapt our wisdom to the challenges at hand.

4. Retain your old wisdom, while being open to new ideas

It’s so important that we don’t allow our thinking to calcify. There is huge potential in bringing together the wisdom and learning from decades of successful professional fundraising with the energy, drive, radicalism and new ideas of those who haven’t been burdened by our trials, tribulations and failures.

Take an example from outside fundraising – Ireland’s Repeal referendum of 2018. Together for Yes brought together experienced campaigners who had learned often painful lessons from decades of hard work, along with fired up new activists filled with passion, drive, new ideas and approaches. The result, as we know, was a huge success.

We need to do the same in our work.

Which is why the theme for The Fundraising Summer School in 2024 is:

How do we bring together fresh ideas for the future and old wisdom from the past to meet the fundraising challenges of today and tomorrow.

Over two days in Dublin from the 14 -15 of May we’ll be discussing and debating this, and hopefully inspiring hundreds of fundraisers with the ideas, examples, learnings and wisdom to raise more money for the amazing causes they represent. Hopefully I’ll see you there. Book your ticket here.

Damian O’Broin, Ask Direct

About Damian O’Broin

Damian O’Broin is the founder and managing director of fundraising and direct marketing agency Ask Direct in Ireland. He has some 30 years’ experience helping nonprofits and charities to tell their stories, recruit supporters and raise money, and is a regular speaker at conferences.

Picture by Tirachard Kumtanom on Pexels

The fight against money laundering and financing of terrorism remains an important priority at international, EU and national level for both policymakers and civil society organisations. Despite this, international and EU legislation have produced a number of unintended consequences on the work of legitimate public benefit organisations, including public benefit foundations, limiting their ability to provide humanitarian assistance, social support, aid in the education and culture fields, and to contribute to the fight against climate change, but also to hold governments accountable and fight corruption.

For this reason, on 6 June 2023 Philea and Civil Society Europe hosted a webinar to discuss the impact of EU anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing policy on civil society with high-level policymakers and national representatives from the sector. The discussion came at a timely moment, as the final negotiations (trilogues between the European Commission, Parliament, and Council) on the new EU anti-money laundering and counter-terrorism financing policy legislative package (EU AML/CFT Package)[1] are unfolding, with the final legislation to be adopted in the coming months and to enter into force in 2027.

Legislation objective

As explained at the beginning of the webinar by Raluca Pruna, Head of Unit for Financial Crime at the Commission, the main objective of the new legislation is to achieve a harmonisation of the rules at EU level through a “single EU Rulebook” comprising a Regulation[2] – the first of its kind in this field – and a Directive, which will replace the previous one from 2018. Importantly, Raluca Pruna stressed the fact that harmonisation does not mean a one-size-fits-all approach, and that a risk-based approach should remain a guiding principle when applying the new policy.

To better understand the unintended consequences of EU AML/CFT policy, the discussion highlighted some concrete examples of unintended consequences happening at Member State level, mostly in the form of overregulation and bank de-risking.

Interpretations of the law by national governments

Thanks to insightful interventions by civil society and foundation representatives and nonprofit law experts, it was interesting to learn how certain national governments have adopted even stricter rules than what is currently required by EU legislation. This is the case, for example, in Spain, where associations and foundations are considered partial obliged entities, and in Bulgaria, where all civil society organisations are classified as obliged entities, meaning that they must keep records of all donors and beneficiaries – which can number in the thousands – and identify who is the beneficial owner, a difficult task, given that non-profit structures are set up to serve the general public and not private interests.

Unintended implications

Furthermore, some Member States require public benefit foundations to list as their “beneficial owners” – not only board members but also founders (who in most cases have no say in the running of the organisation or may have passed away), and in some countries such as Austria listing of all grant recipients (beneficiaries) as “beneficial owners” is required. Reporting on all grant recipients is not in line with the rationale of identifying the individuals who own or direct the organisation and implies significant administrative burdens for foundations, and also raises important privacy issues.

Other examples presented in the webinar concerned Belgium, where associations must report the same details on ownership structures in four different registers, and Finland, which has adopted a very strict act on fundraising. Participants also reported on banks delaying processes and even not providing services to the public benefit sector, often without giving an explanation: this issue of so-called bank de-risking is also considered as an unintended consequence of the AML/CFT policy.

These cases of unintended consequences or overregulation have a chilling effect on legitimate PBOs’ work.

All civil society representatives stressed the importance of dialogue with their respective governments, with examples of constructive, or very constructive engagement, reported in Spain, Belgium, the Netherlands and Finland.

Limiting the impact 

How can the new EU legislation potentially limit some of these unintended consequences as trilogue negotiations unfold? What good practices can be identified in the adoption and implementation of the legislation at Member State level? The panel discussion focused on these questions.

Lia van Broekhoven, executive director at Human Security Collective, presented the main asks of a civil society coalition around the EU AML/CFT package. To avoid unintended consequences that ultimately divert civil society from its role, it is necessary to clarify that public-benefit organisations associations or foundations are not obliged entities and that the beneficial owner for these entities is the one directing the organisation, and not also the beneficiaries or grant recipients. She then stressed the importance of allowing cross-references to company/foundation registers where the Beneficial Ownership information is stored, to avoid multiple reporting obligations. Lia also highlighted the need for civil society to apply political pressure and to engage in meaningful multi-stakeholder sector dialogues. This has been the case in the Netherlands, where risk-based standards have recently been developed as a result of this dialogue.

The importance of dialogue with civil society organisations was echoed by the policymakers who participated in the panel. Elina Rantakokko, ministerial advisor on these issues at the Finnish Ministry of Finance, shared some good practices put in place in the Finnish context, including a thorough analysis of the sector to determine the diverse areas of risk. Gwendoline Delbos-Corfield, from the Greens at the European Parliament and member of LIBE, one of the committees in charge of the EU AML/CFT Package, stressed the importance of monitoring the impact on fundamental rights and in particular civic space. She also reminded us of the need to remove obstacles for activities of associations as well as cross-border philanthropy across the internal market. Raluca Pruna from the European Commission also stressed the need to continue this dialogue once the legislation is adopted, to limit as much as possible erroneous application by Member States, as- she stated – was the case for beneficiaries considered as beneficial owners.

Carlotta Besozzi of Civil Society Europe and Hanna Surmatz representing Philea concluded the event by stressing that it is hoped that the momentum of the trilogue negotiations will still be used, in particular to clarify some definitions around Beneficial Ownership to ensure that in the case of public-benefit foundations and associations, the Beneficial Owner is the one directing the organisation. For the future, both considered that multi-stakeholder engagements and dialogues among banks, policymakers and the public-benefit sector should be deepened at national, EU and international levels to ensure a risk-based, proportionate and fit for purpose AML/CFT policy that does not unduly restrict the millions of legitimate associations, foundations and their beneficiaries.

[1] The Package comprises 4 Proposals: New Regulation on AML/CFT, 6th Directive on AML/CFT (AMLD 6) Regulation establishing EU AML Authority (AMLA), Revision of the 2015 Regulation on Transfers of Funds

[2] Type of EU Act which becomes immediately enforceable as law in all member states simultaneously when it enters into force

Picture by Alex Fotos on Pixabay

What is philanthropic psychology? To understand it, it’s helpful to start with some definitions:

The root of philanthropy is from the Greek ‘love of humankind.’

Psychology is the study or research of the psyche or the soul.

When you put the two words together, you get a discipline that is effectively about how people love humankind. So philanthropic psychology is the study of how people love others. Well, almost. When we study the love of humankind, we study both how we love others but also how we can better love ourselves – deepening our sense of personal wellbeing.

In the context of fundraising, love is expressed through the act of giving. Many psychologists and fundraisers believe that love is in some sense self-sacrificial and the more self-sacrificial (or selfless) the gift, the better it somehow is. There are two issues here.

The first is that ‘altruism’ and self-sacrificial giving is a very 20th century take on philanthropy. Giving is most powerful when the donor extends their sense of who they are around an organisation or cause. So, I might see myself as a Greenpeace supporter and it is core to my sense of self. Then when I donate, I am not giving money away or sacrificing a part of me. Rather I am moving resources around to another part of who I am and celebrating the self, not sacrificing it.

The second problem with this perspective is that we usually don’t adequately consider who the ‘self’ is that is being sacrificed. So even if we view giving as a sacrifice, we can deprive ourselves of the opportunity to feel good about having made the sacrifice, because we’re not sure what has been given up or lost.

Philanthropic psychology counterbalances this by supporting fundraisers and donors to articulate their sense of self in the most precise way, so if we then say we self-sacrificially give, that phrase enriches rather than diminishes our meaning in life.

At the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy, we believe that giving can (and should) be a pleasurable, mutually beneficial experience which cultivates and nurtures the human capacity for love. Articulating that love through a gift can create a simple exchange of pleasure. Put simply, I help a beneficiary and I feel good as a consequence of offering my love. But philanthropic psychology can deepen that experience because it studies different forms of love and how these different types can help us grow meaning in life.

But more on that later. For now, it’s important to move beyond the terminology to understand what it means in practice. Philanthropic psychology is a powerful blend of the study of identity, wellbeing, and love. Through our experiments with real-world fundraising, we have consistently doubled giving by using this framework of understanding.

Identity

In brief, the science of identity is the study of who we are. In the fundraising community, research abounds on why people give and what the drivers are that prompt their generosity. Even when identities are studied, they are often explored as tools to grow giving.

Philanthropic psychology is different. It does not see peoples’ identities as something that we target and then consume. Instead, it sees people’s identities as something that we collect, cherish, and nurture. It does not see giving as the consequence of fulfilling identities, it sees giving as the route to living fulfilling identities.

Wellbeing

There are three vital contributions that philanthropy can make to wellbeing: connection, competence, and autonomy. These are all higher order human needs that every human has. We will outline what they mean alongside some self-reflection questions to get you started on your journey with philanthropic psychology:

Connection – We need to feel connected to others that we love and care about. When connections between people and others they care about are strengthened, wellbeing increases – and with it, donations can increase.

• Who do your supporters crave a connection with? (the beneficiary group, a specific community, your brand, your organisation itself?)
• How are you building that connection?

Competence – We feel good as human beings when we feel we are good at doing certain things. The more competent we feel, the more wellbeing we experience. And in the context of philanthropy that means feeling competent in articulating our love for others.

• Do your donors feel like they can truly make a difference to the cause?
• Do they feel competent in giving their love to the ones they care about the most, or is the organisation getting in the middle of that?

Autonomy – We also experience wellbeing when we feel we have a say in something or a hand in making something good happen. The more autonomy we experience, the greater the consequent wellbeing. So giving donors a voice and agency in the impact they have is crucial.

The final point must not be mistaken with control, because the essence of a sustainable philanthropic relationship is trust. The whole point of trust is not to control what the other one does, or achieves, but to cede our own control to someone we have learnt to trust.

• Are you making the donor feel that they have a voice, and their voice matters?
• Do they feel they have a choice in how to express their love for those they care about?

Love

‘Love’ is not a monolith, and the love expressed in different contexts and among different people looks, sounds, and feels very different. Understanding the role of love in philanthropic psychology is understanding who nonprofits are and who their supporters are – and crafting the right kind of relationship for the right kind of love to grow.

All three concepts of love, identity, and wellbeing have the capacity to develop the meaning that supporters can experience in their philanthropy. They also have the ability to double giving precisely because it feels good to donors when they offer that support. In that way, philanthropic psychology delivers the sector a dual bottom line – impacting positively on both supporters and the causes they love.

About Harriet Jones-Day

Harriet Jones-Day

Harriet Jones-Day is a Lecturer in Fundraising at the Institute for Sustainable Philanthropy, which offers the Certificate in Philanthropic Psychology. She holds a law degree from the University of Exeter and is a graduate of the Institute of Fundraising’s Certificate in Fundraising qualification programme. Harriet also oversees and is a tutor for the Fundraising Standard, which runs classes for US fundraising professionals. Harriet is passionate and committed to her work and has published several research reports in the domain of philanthropy and fundraising. She is currently aiding in the development of courses and certificates to help improve the learning landscape for fundraisers around the world.

Picture: by Khadeeja Yasser on Unsplash

I strongly believe in GivingTuesday as a global generosity movement. I believe that when likeminded individuals from all over the world come together to inspire and share what generosity looks like in their part of the globe, magic happens.

GivingTuesday came to Norway in 2017 and has since developed – slowly, but always with innovation in mind. Norwegian NGOs, companies and individuals have caught on to the idea and transformed it to suit their own matters of the heart, their own challenges to solve, and their ideas for how to make this world a more just and generous one.

Those who have already joined the movement are eager to develop their project and always keen to have more people on board. They are also eager to share best practices, tools, and contacts to help YOU join the movement. This is an open community, where the common saying ‘sharing is caring’ is for real. A film or quote or activity copied means more acts of generosity carried out to the benefit of more people and animals and different local needs. In this way each one of us is acting on a local level, yet through our worldwide network having a global impact.

In Norway, we have many GivingTuesday advocates among charities and NGOs, in several companies and also among individuals, all of which believe in the idea and help to spread the word. These are some examples:

• GivingTuesday is a natural part of the annual campaign wheel of several charities. NMS/Norwegian Mission Society use GivingTuesday to reach their young followers and has, since its beginning in Norway, collaborated with top Norwegian influencers. The Norwegian Society for Sea Rescue Norway use GivingTuesday as a First Aid Day.
• Engineers Without Borders Norway collaborated with their corporate sponsors on a Missing Maps Project in Congo on GivingTuesday.
• The telemarketing company Dialog Norge has initiated a corporate challenge on LinkedIn to engage companies for GivingTuesday. Some of our partners share their acts of generosity on GivingTuesday and challenge their contacts and networks to do the same. Acts of generosity can be to give their time, their competence or money.

This year we are planning a Gaming for Good event. GivingTuesday Norway will be an umbrella for us to experiment in this fairly new fundraising channel in Norway. Together we learn!

Participating in Giving Tuesday is very rewarding but it can also be challenging. Many GivingTuesday initiatives are fulfilled by grassroots leaders with sparse resources. They are dependent on volunteering and also some funding.

Because GivingTuesday is quite different from any other project. Its model is not a top-down leadership one, but a process of empowering your connections to take action where they are. These ‘concentric circles’ lead you towards a way of working where you must not be afraid to lose control. You need to be available to strive to understand the initiatives, and encourage your network.

I suggest you reach out to your network and gather together those who embrace the idea. And remember – if you have a question or need a chat, the network of GivingTuesday is at hand and easy to reach.

Resources are available through the international website and you can also check the Giving Tuesday map to see if there is a movement in your region.

So, what do you say?

Would you like to join a team that constantly work together for a more just and generous world? How can you not say yes to that?

Get in touch – I’m waiting for your call. Or you can reach out to your own national GivingTuesday team.

About Charlotte Arnø Storebakken

Charlotte Arnø Storebakken is manager of the Institute for Fundraising with Fundraising Norway. Fundraising Norway deals in policy, advocacy and knowledge on behalf of the fundraising sector in Norway. Its goal is to make sure Norwegian NGOs have a high standing in the eyes of the public, and that the regulatory framework for fundraising in the country is not impeding on the ability to raise funds. Charlotte is also a big fan of the GivingTuesday idea, and the contact of Giving Tuesday in Norway.

Main picture: by GivingTuesday on Pexels

How many times, perhaps working on a fundraising campaign or preparing a training session or a conference, have we needed supporting scientific evidence?

And how many times, perhaps by chance, did we discover that such evidence existed, we just hadn’t known about it? We have probably also thought from time to time that a permanent bridge of exchange between fundraising researchers and fundraising practitioners would help to strengthen their respective fields of action, making life easier for both.

In this era characterised by many changes and challenges, such a link seems more necessary than ever.

We are therefore pleased to announce that EFA is partnering with ERNOP to develop a brand-new initiative, “ERNOP Research Notes”, aimed at building a bridge between academia and practitioners as a crucial way to advance philanthropy and civil sector globally.

It is a project we profoundly believe will help to develop more effective ways of cooperation between these two sides of the same coin.

It also provides an opportunity for fundraising practitioners across Europe to get involved – help us to build this bridge by volunteering your time, and further your own learning through the access you will receive to these academic sources of knowledge.

Read our Q&A for further details about the project and how to get on board!

Project: ERNOP Research Notes

Aim: To set up a group of volunteer Expert Practitioners across Europe.

What is it?

The European Research Network On Philanthropy (ERNOP) – an academic network of philanthropy researchers in Europe – wants to develop ERNOP Research Notes.

These will be easy to read two-pagers providing summaries of academic articles published by ERNOP members in the past and to be published articles of the future. The notes will be published on the ERNOP website on a dedicated webpage.

Within the coming months ERNOP, with the endorsement of the European Fundraising Association (EFA), Philanthropy Europe Association (Philea), the Centre for European Volunteering (CEV) and the European Venture Philanthropy Association (EVPA), will launch a call for practitioner experts that will be listed in a ‘philanthropy practitioner expert’ database.

Why is it needed?

Most academic research is underutilised yet there is a need from practitioners to learn from academics.

How does it work?

Practitioner experts will translate academic work on philanthropy into research notes, in close collaboration with the authors of the original work.

By signing up to the database, we will match your interest and expertise with relevant academic publications. After we have made a match, we will approach you and if you are available to create the research note. After approval by the author, ERNOP will publish the research note on its webpages.

What’s in it for me?

• Free access to readable and relevant summaries of academic publications on philanthropy
• Opportunity to showcase your expertise and grow your knowledge
• Develop or freshen up your knowledge on fundraising and related knowledge by getting direct access to relevant academic work
• Position yourself and your organisation as expert on the management of philanthropic organisations or impact measurement
• Contribute to making academic work accessible and more relevant for the philanthropy community and improving the effectiveness of philanthropy
• Your name and organisation listed on the ERNOP Research Note and access to all other research notes – a unique way to showcase your expertise and to expand your knowledge on philanthropy on the one hand and to connect with academic experts on the topic on the other!

How do I find out more?

Sign up here! You can also stay tuned through the EFA newsletter, sign up for the ERNOP newsletter and follow ERNOP through LinkedIn.

About Simona Biancu

Simona Biancu, ASSIF

Fundraising and strategic philanthropy consultant and trainer, Simona is founder and CEO of ENGAGEDin, vice-president of the Italian Association of Fundraisers (ASSIF) and a board member of both EFA and the European Lung Foundation. With a post-graduate Masters in Fundraising from Università di Bologna, she has more than 10 years’ experience of fundraising strategy, board development, major gifts, individual and corporate fundraising, strategic philanthropy with trusts and foundations, and legacies. She is a regular speaker and trainer, presenting at conferences in Italy and internationally. She has co-authored Board in prima fila (2020), which focuses on Board development, and the blog Welcome on Board.

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There are many reasons why people give to charity, but the way legacy teams see things, a gift in a will is the ultimate donation – someone’s swansong, their final gift, and for many their first and last chance to be a major giver.

But what do you think drives legacy motivation more –­ philanthropic or financial reasons?

Here in the UK, inheritance tax (IHT) relief applies when people leave 10% or more of their estate to charity. This reduces the rate of Inheritance Tax applicable to their entire estate from 40% to 36%, leaving more behind for their other beneficiaries. Recently this got me thinking – with that (potentially) acting as an incentive, how many of the legacy gifts made through Guardian Angel’s online will writing system are in this category?

The answer? 27%! That’s nearly a third. But that in turn means 73% of legacy gifts aren’t motivated by financial reasons (in terms of purely saving money on your inheritance tax). And that, for me, is even more amazing. 73% of people who leave a gift in their will to charity are doing it for purely philanthropic reasons. Not to save on their tax bills. Of course, it’s essential to stress that many of those leaving 10% or more also aren’t doing it purely for financial reasons either – it might just be an added bonus that it lowers the tax rate for them too. But for the 73% below that threshold, it’s purely an act of generosity to support a charity’s work after they’re gone.

This is a testament to the extraordinary work that so many organisations, including Remember A Charity with their annual awareness week, have been doing in years gone by, and will continue to do in the many years to come.

So legacy teams – keep up the fight!

And as a bonus fun fact for you – according to our data, on average 1 in every 219 people here leaves 100% of their estate to charity. Just wow.

How do people give?

So how do people tend to leave a gift? In the UK, there are broadly speaking two types of gift­­ – either residuary (a percentage – e.g. leaving 10% of your estate), or pecuniary (e.g. leaving a lump sum – such as £5000).

Interestingly, when it comes to income generated, 85% of legacy income year-on-year is from residuary gifts ­– even though they only make up 40% of total gifts left. The average residuary gift is around £60k (€70,000), yet the average pecuniary gift is around £4k (€4600) – it’s a big mismatch.

Therefore, whilst traditionally legacy marketing has revolved around what a pecuniary gift could achieve – e.g., ‘£550 could support 24 hours of hospice care’ or ‘£2500 supplies a new well for a village of 500 people’ ­– recent years have seen a big shift towards prompting for gifts left as percentages.

One of the best-known legacy consultants working internationally is Richard Radcliffe – he’s done considerable research and work on the ‘leave as little as 1%’ style campaigns that lean towards a residuary gift. Much of this is aimed at tackling the ‘but I have family’ excuse – in that by leaving 1% to charity, you still have 99% to leave to your loved ones.

However, building on that, more and more charities are focusing their marketing efforts now on residuary gifts but without suggesting a 1% gift. The reason behind this is that often people want to make a big impact through their gift and most who leave a percentage give much more than 1%. By prompting for 1%, there is a risk of significantly devaluing the potential legacy left.

But a word to the wise – whilst pecuniary gifts typically tend to be of lower value, it all adds up and they’re certainly not to be sniffed at. In the UK, lump sums come out of the estate first (so if there is money in the pot, the gift is pretty much guaranteed) and usually are considerably quicker and easier to see the income arrive with your finance team. It’s all well and good if someone has left 20% of their €2mn estate, but if it requires the selling of a house at a price all the stakeholders are happy with, it can take years…

What about elsewhere?

Of course, outside of the UK you might not have the same laws that apply here in terms of leaving gifts and tax savings. In Sweden for example, where there is no IHT, legacy giving is definitely all about philanthropy – and wanting to make an impact for the cause / causes closest to the person (with thanks to my friend Rebecka Winell at The Swedish Childhood Cancer Fund for enlightening me on that). Legacy marketing for countries in the same boat therefore should focus on communicating the impact that your charity makes (but not in the same way that a gift today might).

But even if your country’s tax laws don’t offer any kind of financial incentive for leaving a gift in a will ­– fear not, as our data suggests it’s not that important anyway… the most important thing is to proactively promote the idea of legacy giving, so that a supporter is aware that it’s possible and can then decide for themselves.

About Dylan Burke

Dylan Burke is head of charity partnerships at Guardian Angel, a free will service in the UK that covers online, telephone and face-to-face will writing services. As part of the online process, all users are prompted to consider leaving a gift in their will to charity with information also included about the potential tax benefits of leaving 10% or more to charity, as IHT relief. Burke has been working with the third sector for 3 years, having launched the free wills product in 2019 and in that time has established nearly 200 charity partnerships.

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