The EFA Certification Symposium is back for 2024 and this year takes place on 25-26 April in Helsinki, Finland, with the topic: Developing and Improving Fundraising Education in Europe: Sharing best practices and insights from fundraising education research.

The Symposium starts with a welcome dinner and celebration of Finnish fundraising association VaLa’s 20^th anniversary on the evening of 25 April. Following this, the 26 April will see a full day of sessions and workshops led by members of EFA’s Certification Committee and other expert consultants and trainers, covering everything from an in-depth look at EFA’s Advanced Framework, first launched in 2022; to launching and sustaining fundraising educational pathways; and how to build vibrant strategic networks for effective collaboration.

EFA Certification Symposium 2024 Programme

Venue: The venue for the event is SOSTE in Helsinki, Finland.

Hotel accommodation is available at special rates for Symposium participants (10 minute walk to the venue)

Hotel Fabian (subject to availability): EUR 125 for a double room for single occupancy and EUR 145 for double occupancy, both including breakfast. Click here to book at the special rate.

The deadline for booking hotel accommodation at the above special rates is 4 April 2024. Bookings can be cancelled free of charge up to 72h before arrival. For cancellations made after this date or for no-shows, the hotel will charge the full amount for the first night.

Registration: The registration deadline is: 17 April. Please register here:

Katie Docherty

She will join the Chartered Institute after having spent the past five years as chief executive of Scouts Scotland – a membership organisation of 40,000 young people and 12,000 adult members. As a former fundraiser for Anthony Nolan, senior manager for Age Scotland, and as a director of the Association of Chief Officers of Scottish Voluntary Organisations (ACOSVO), Docherty will bring extensive fundraising knowledge and leadership experience to the role.

Commenting on her appointment, Docherty says:

“Fundraisers need a strong, bold, and inspirational Chartered Institute which champions excellence in fundraising; the highest standards of ethics; and empowers and respects fundraisers to create safe environments for fundraising and fundraisers to flourish and be successful.

“That is why I am excited to take on this role at this critical time and look forward to connecting and listening to members over the coming months so that we can work on this together.”

The Chartered Institute is also in the process of recruiting a new permanent leader of its trustee board. At the organisation’s recent AGM, Nadine Campbell was appointed as interim chair along with three new trustees – Rebecca Mansell of Sense International, Kerys Sheppard of Shelter Cymru and Matt Parkes at the Diocese of Westminster. Campbell says:

“I’m thrilled that Katie will join us and, on behalf of the Board, offer her a very warm welcome to the Chartered Institute. As we embark on a new chapter, we’re confident that she will lead us to become a membership body that fundraisers from all over the UK can be proud of and be a leading agent of change at such an important time for us.”

Pivotal period of transformation

Docherty will be charged with steering the Chartered Institute and its membership through a pivotal period of transformation as the organisation seeks to rebuild confidence after concerns were raised about its handling of historic allegations of sexual harassment within its membership.

In recent months, the Institute has underlined its commitment to prioritise safeguarding of the fundraising profession, launching an action plan to tackle harassment, discrimination and abuse in the sector. This includes setting up a Culture Board, a Safeguarding Task Group and a Professional Standards Panel.

Having a diverse and strong leadership at its helm, with leaders who are thoroughly committed to safeguarding, is a key part of the Chartered Institute’s drive for change.

The award has two categories, each year celebrating both a fundraiser and a donor, and is presented during the annual Fundraising Festival.

This year, the pandemic forced a postponement of the Fundraising Festival from its usual mid-May date to last month when it took place online, along with the announcement of the award winners.

Italian fundraising association ASSIF took the decision to give the awards to every fundraiser and donor in tribute for their response to the crisis and the challenges it has presented, which has seen them help not only the Italian healthcare sector, but the entire nonprofit sector, and consequently, the whole Italian community.

ASSIF President Nicola Bedogni commented:

“If there is one thing that the pandemic has taught us, it is that collaboration, empathy and solidarity increasingly represent a winning and essential vehicle for dealing with even the most exceptional and unthinkable situations. And this year IFA has chosen to enhance this message in which the gift emerges as contagious itself and capable of spreading like a virus, positively contaminating the souls of those, donors and fundraisers, who have reacted to the emergency by making a common front with their heart and their creativity.”

The competencies form the basis of EFA’s Certification scheme, which enables fundraising associations and training providers to develop national fundraising qualifications that share a common core, while fitting within the relevant cultural, economic and geographic backdrop.

EFA Certification was first launched in 2007, developed with EU funding and modelled on the Institute of Fundraising’s Certificate in Fundraising Management. Now in 2020, with increasing appetite for professional development in fundraising, EFA’s competence framework has been revised and updated to ensure it reflects the realities of modern day fundraising.

Charlotte Rydh, Chair of EFA’s Certification Committee and Secretary General of Give Sweden (Giva Sverige), says:

“Today’s fundraisers are developing new skills in what has become one of the most dynamic, exciting and rewarding professions and it’s essential that professional qualifications reflect how the industry is changing and growing. The new EFA competencies reflect advances in technology, new fundraising channels and trends, together with changes in regulation and best practice.

“We are seeing more and more people choose to become fundraisers, developing their careers within the profession. Currently, there are an estimated 60,000 fundraising professionals working across Europe, and this figure is predicted to rise by a factor of five over the next ten years. Fundraisers are critical to ensuring the sustainability of nonprofits globally and supporting their learning and professional development has never been more important.”

EFA certified qualifications are developed by national fundraising associations with a training partner, and must be submitted to EFA for certification. To date, EFA certified qualifications have been developed and accredited in 11 countries and completed by 5,500 fundraisers.

Training and delivery guidelines are also provided by EFA within a new Certification Handbook, launched today.

For more information see EFA Certification.

Related feature:

Ian MacQuillin: Fundraising should be a career choice, not an accident

The two-year inquiry questioned more than 3,000 people in the UK about civil society and their hopes for its future, and found the country to be facing social turmoil over the next decade with the future of local communities, racism, Brexit, inequality, the automation of work, and climate change among the concerns raised.

It also found that civil society will need to reform if it is to take on these challenges and called on individuals, charities and organisations to commit to a new ‘PACT’ to address questions of Power, Accountability, Connectivity, and Trust with supporters, beneficiaries, and the general public.

As part of its response, the IoF hosted a roundtable during the summer with a group of fundraisers and Julia Unwin, chair of the inquiry, to start the conversation about how the fundraising sector can respond.

The result of this roundtable, the paper states that it “is an attempt to spark the fundraising community into having the meaningful engagement that can deliver real change for the benefit of both our individual causes, and for civil society as a whole.”

As such, it looks at power, accountability, connection, and trust in turn and poses ideas and questions for fundraisers and fundraising charities to consider as a starting point.

These include:

– How do we acknowledge that giving money is also an expression of power? What does that mean in how we ask for money, and how we respond as a result?

– How do we make sure that we create relationships that enable people to give ‘power to’ organisations, and not exercise ‘power over’ them?

– How can we best account for our decisions to our stakeholders in ways that focus on our values, explaining our actions and justifying what we do, and how we do it, outside of the legal and regulatory framework?

– Do we properly understand how fundraising plays a role in engaging communities in a broader way than simply asking for their financial support, and contributes to building trust and confidence?

– How do communities of interest and cause fit into all the current thinking about communities of place and geography?

The IoF’s hope is that the paper will help fundraisers and fundraising organisations engage with the debate and identify how they can respond to the challenges laid out in Civil Society Futures.

The full discussion paper can be accessed on the IoF site, while IoF chief executive Peter Lewis and head of policy and external affairs Daniel Fluskey have also written a blog on what the paper says and the issues and challenges for fundraisers.

What issues do you really care about? What fires you up every time you read about it? How will you show up for that cause? #GivingTuesday pic.twitter.com/8J6g3pdNaY

— GivingTuesday (@GivingTuesday) December 3, 2019

Here’s a selection of this year’s activity from around Europe:

Ce matin à 9h00, @GivingTuesdayFr lançait officiellement la 2e édition #GivingTuesday dans un café @PFPauvres, café tenu par des bénévoles dans le 17e arrondissement de Paris en compagnie du secrétaire d'État @GabrielAttal et @sebastienfolin, ambassadeur #GivingTuesdayFr pic.twitter.com/6s9rMQwfYD

— AFF fundraisers (@AFFundraisers) December 3, 2019

In France, the day officially launched in a charity coffee shop in Paris with secretary of state Gabriel Attal and Giving Tuesday France ambassador Sebastien Folin in attendance. For the second year of Giving Tuesday in France, plenty of advice was offered on how to get involved, along with some inspiring stories of what generosity means to different people available on Info Don’s site. 

The French fundraising association also tweeted to show its own staff had participated in Giving Tuesday, through a range of actions from using a search engine that donates meals to animals in a shelter, to donating to help children suffering from cow milk protein allergies. 

Parce que la #générosité, la #solidarité et l'#engagement sont des valeurs qui font sens avec la philosophie de l'@AFFundraisers, l'équipe en interne a décidé de se mobiliser pour #GivingTuesday Découvrez vite leurs actions pic.twitter.com/h5tynJDCjZ

— AFF fundraisers (@AFFundraisers) December 3, 2019

SVT Nyheter Väst rapporterar om #GivingTuesday. "Motreaktionen Giving Tuesday lockar allt fler" https://t.co/nvGcRjsPsi via @svtnyheter #givingtuesdaysweden

— GivingTuesdaySweden (@givingtuesdaysw) December 2, 2019

2019 was the third year of Giving Tuesday for Sweden, with activity in the city of Gothenburg including the Jonte Foundation, which works for young people who are waiting or having an organ transplant, appearing at the central station to try and encourage more people to sign up for the donation register, and SKF and the Rescue Mission collecting clothes for the homeless.

An interview with Giving Tuesday Sweden project manager Malin Ekeland on SVT News West highlighted these and other activities, as well as the sharp increase the country has seen in participation since launch with 160 businesses taking part last year and more expected in 2019.

In einer Woche ist #GivingTuesday.
Doch was ist der Giving Tuesday?

Mehr: https://t.co/m5Qs5w9Tko pic.twitter.com/3R6WsgIJuF

— Caritas Österreich (@CaritasAustria) November 26, 2019

This year marked the first year of participation for Austria as Stephan Kropf. Organisations came up with more than 125 actions for the day, including Amnesty International Austria, which asked people to donate to support Marinel from the Philippines in her fight for a climate-friendly future, SOS Children’s Village, which raised funds for a new home for children in the SOS Children’s Village Imst (Tyrol), and Zurich Austria, whose employees collected donations of food, clothing and other essential items for a Caritas emergency shelter for the homeless. 

In Finland, everyone was encouraged to take part. Small actions from walking the neighbour’s dog to doing someone’s shopping were just as welcome as big ones, said the Finnish Giving Tuesday site. It challenged everyone to see what they could do to improve their community. 

Charities taking part in Finland this year included The Heart League Lottery, the Finnish Red Cross & Stem Cell Registry, and Animalia.

Tänään ympäri maailmaa vietetään #TekojenTiistai ta. Hyvä päivä auttaa, antaa omaa aikaansa ja lahjoittaa yhteiseen hyvään. Minkä hyvän teon sinä aiot tehdä juuri tänään? Haastamme kaikki seuraajamme mukaan! #sydäntekeehyvää #GivingTuesday @TTiistaihttps://t.co/itPhkRs1mw

— Suomen Sydänliitto (@Sydanliitto) December 3, 2019

Charities Aid Foundation coordinates Giving Tuesday in the UK, with around 3,200 charities and businesses estimated to be playing a part in this year’s campaign. In London, Giving Tuesday messages were beamed from the BT Tower and the Canary Wharf Jumbotron screen throughout the day. Match funding of £150,000 was provided by PayPal, through its PayPal Giving Fund, and The Big Give launched its Christmas Challenge – a crowdfunding initiative offering match funding on donations to 600 charities. The Christmas Challenge 2019 aims to raise £14 million in just seven days.

The UK’s Institute of Fundraising called on charities to share their Giving Tuesday activities with Giving Tuesday UK, with #GivingTuesday trending at number one on Twitter by 10am.

Today is #GivingTuesday! How is your charity getting involved? Share your fundraising activities with @givingtuesdayuk

Last year, more than £7.8 million was raised in the UK in online donations alone on the day itself. You can learn more here: https://t.co/64vs1thgZe pic.twitter.com/wV7KkzoI09

— Chartered Institute of Fundraising (@CIOFtweets) December 3, 2019

And in Norway, where Giving Tuesday launched in 2017, the public were also encouraged to participate in any way they wished, from giving blood, to donating, or signing a petition. To promote the day, Hacienda Film created a video, which featured on Giving Tuesday Norge’s Facebook page, and showed people in the street talking about what they could give, while another film by Hummelfilm showed the value of giving away unwanted clothes and encouraged people to donate to organisations like Fretex Fashion and the Salvation Army. 

Last year Giving Tuesday raised more than $400m raised worldwide for good causes, and with more individuals, charities, and businesses taking part this year than ever, this year’s results will be awaited with interest around the globe.

Headline speakers include Doug Balfour, Chair of philanthropic consultancy company, Geneva Global and Anders Magnus Løken, Director at Deloitte. Hosted by the Norwegian Fundraising Association, Secretary General Siri Nodland will present a series of case studies in partnership with non-profit organisations.

The full programme and online registration will be available later this month at EFA’s events page.

Further information is available from EFA’s Executive Officer, Denise Dawes.

On 8 June, Britain goes to the polls to decide who will form the next government. The Institute of Fundraising has been working hard ahead of the election writing to the party leaders and producing a new election policy briefing outlining why fundraising is so important and how the next government can help to support those raising money for good causes. We’ve also asked our members to join with us to speak up for charity fundraising by contacting their candidates ahead of election day. A lot of work so far, but we are just getting started.

Immediately after the election we’ll be working to engage the government and politicians from all parties to help the amazing work of charity fundraisers. So how can charity fundraisers across Europe work to ensure our voices are heard by MPs and government? Here are a few pointers to bear in mind:

Be clear about what they can do to help
Even with the most important issue in the world (of which fundraising comes close!), unless you can show what needs to change and what politicians can do about it you are not likely to get much support. As far as possible have clear ‘asks’ and recommendations for action, even if that action is just for the Government to convene a meeting or commissioning a report to decide what to do!

Show why it matters
People become politicians (at least partly) because they want to make a difference in the world. To get them excited about and issue you need to show what the ‘problem’ is and why it matters. For fundraising, it’s important to show how vital fundraising is to donations and charity income, the impact this has on beneficiaries and what would happen to these vital causes if fundraising didn’t exist.

Show why they should care about it
Even if you show that your issue matters, you still need to show why it is so important that it deserves the attention of politicians when they are so busy and there are other vital and competing issues going on. It is important to show why it matters to them and what they want to achieve from their time in office. Understand the issues they are interested in, what motivates them and how fundraising and the work of charities might be important to this.

Have an authentic voice, and authoritative statistics
If you are going to be listened to, it is important that you know your stuff. When it comes to highlighting an issue to busy politicians there is nothing like making sure that the person providing the information has direct experience. If you are a fundraiser, you can speak from your personal experience on the job. Ask your beneficiaries to talk about how important fundraising is and the difference this has made for them. Have examples and case studies that demonstrate in tangible terms why fundraising matters. These should be backed up with statistics that make and strengthen your case, and needless to say these need to be accurate and authoritative.

Build support where it already exists
Even with the right approach, you are unlikely to change a politician’s mind if they fundamentally disagree with you. Although most will support charity fundraising in general, it’s worth making sure that your first approaches and closest engagement is with those politicians who already know and support the sector. They will be more likely to help champion your issue, and will be more effective at persuading their colleagues to potentially also support your work.

Practical stuff – make direct contact, don’t waste time and make sure you follow up
If there is one thing that politicians don’t have a lot of, it’s time. So when you make your approach, whether in writing or in person, always make sure that it is clear and to the point. Make sure that if you are emailing or writing a letter you address it to the person and make it personal – if you don’t make a personal approach, you are unlikely to get a personal response. And finally, always follow up! With busy offices and competing priorities, letters or emails can get lost and actions agreed in meetings can fall by the wayside. So always call the office to follow up on any approach and try to keep in contact about any actions agreed following meetings.

As someone with a deep interest in politics and a passion for making the world a better place, I can’t wait to start engaging again with the Government, MPs and decision makers after the election about how they can do even more to support fundraising. Hopefully the advice above will help colleagues across the UK and Europe to do the same.

About Mike Smith
Mike Smith is the Head of External Affairs at the Institute of Fundraising.  He joined the IoF in October 2015 having worked for several years in large and small charities across the sector.  His background is in campaigning, communications and public affairs, most recently as joint Head of Public Affairs at Age UK. Prior to his time with Age UK, he spent three years working for Oxfam in both government relations and public campaigning roles.