1. Tell us a little about yourself and your experience – including your role at the Swedish fundraising association.

I started my career at the international nonprofit organisation Up With People, where I was lucky enough to have the opportunity to work in 15 different countries in five years and with people of different cultures and nationalities. After a Social Sciences master’s in international political science, I moved to the training and educational business sector, holding various roles, including eight years as CEO of SAUF, the Swedish Association of Certified Educational and Training Companies.

Today I work at the Swedish fundraising association, Giva Sverige, as Deputy Secretary General and Head of Training and Business Development. During my time there I’ve been responsible for professionalizing and expanding training and events, synchronizing this with a broader offering for suppliers and corporates and generating new income streams. In fact, since 2017, we have increased Giva Sverige’s turnover from training and events from 3 million SEK a year to 5 million SEK. So, I have a broad background in both the nonprofit sector and business, including a lot of experience in professional education and training, all of which is perfect for this role!

Charlotte Rydh and Eva Torsson at Skillshare 2024

2. You’re EFA’s first executive director – what was the rationale behind creating this role?

As the voice for professional fundraising in Europe, EFA has an important role to play in providing support and advocacy to members and the wider sector that helps to strengthen and protect fundraising. There is a lot more that EFA wants to do, and this means it’s time to develop it as an organization and to strengthen its voice. Appointing an executive director is about building capacity so EFA can achieve this.

We’re not political, and we shouldn’t be, but with space for civil society shrinking right across Europe, it’s more important than ever that EFA provides that common voice for Europe’s fundraising community. And, with advancing professionalism in fundraising a key focus for our members, strengthening our support here, including through the further development of EFA Certification, is another central priority.

3. What attracted you to the role?

On a personal level, I’m very much looking forward to working not just on a European, but an international level. Developing branch and industry organisations and working with educational and training companies are two areas where I have a lot of expertise and experience, and I’m looking forward to applying this here to support EFA’s next stage of development.

4. What will your initial priorities be?

As a membership organization, the most important thing to do is to listen to your members to find out what their issues are, what their own priorities are, and how on a unified level, you can help. This is essential. So that’s my first goal – I will be listening to EFA’s members and taking in their perspectives on how EFA can help them become stronger advocates for the sector in their own countries.

Other priorities, in addition to what I’ve said about the role already, will be to help EFA develop its work with other umbrella organisations, broaden its member base, and build long-term financial security.

5. How will you be working with the EFA board?

In a nutshell, my job is help EFA develop and grow, which means I’ll be working closely with the board, and its various different committees to make this happen. My first priority here is to spend time with them to understand what they’ve been doing so far, and how I can help them to develop this further most effectively.

Eva is keen to hear all thoughts and ideas. To share your feedback, email her at eva.torsson@efa-net.eu.

The news was announced at EFA’s Annual General Assembly in Zurich.

The creation of the executive director role marks a critical expansion of capacity that will support EFA in growing its essential work to strengthen and develop fundraising across Europe, both through its services, and its support and advocacy for members and the wider sector.

Taking EFA forward

Torsson takes up the executive director role on a part time basis from October 1. She will work with the Board, the EFA Certification and Public Affairs Committees, and other volunteer member groups to ensure that EFA is a collective voice for Europe’s fundraising community. She will also work across EFA’s membership, developing and managing partnerships with a range of organisations across Europe and globally.

Commenting on Torsson’s appointment, Charlotte Rydh, outgoing president of EFA, said:

“This is an important step for EFA and its future development. Eva will play a pivotal role in driving it forward as the board looks to further expand both EFA’s reach and influence, and the knowledge and support it provides to strengthen the professionalization of fundraising across Europe.

“The calibre of candidates was impressive with 61 strong applications, and we thank Daryll Upsall Consulting for their crucial support during the recruitment process.”

Torsson is deputy secretary general and head of training and business development at the Swedish Fundraising Association (Giva Sverige). In this role, she has professionalised and expanded training and events, synchronizing this with a broader offering for suppliers and corporates, and generating new income streams.

She has a broad background in both the nonprofit sector and business, beginning her career at international nonprofit Up With People, before moving to the professional education and training sector. Prior to joining Giva Sverige, Torsson spent 8 years as CEO of SAUF, the Swedish Association of Certified Educational and Training Companies. She has also worked for many years as a consultant.

On her appointment, Torsson said:

“The creation of this new role marks an important point in EFA’s development, and I am immensely honoured to be its first executive director. I look forward to getting to work and helping to build EFA’s voice and influence even further across the European and international stage.” 

Edwards replaces Charlotte Rydh, who steps down at the completion of her term. He initially takes the role for one year as EFA enters into the next stage of its development, which includes the appointment of its first executive director to support the voluntary board – also announced today.

Nominated for his long-term experience of EFA, Edwards has been a member of the leadership team since 2012, and was previously vice president of EFA from 2020-2022, and a member of the board for 6 years. Over the last year, he has also worked with the EFA board on the scoping and recruitment of the executive director role.

Edwards will be instrumental in ensuring a smooth introduction of new ways of working within EFA’s structure.

Outgoing president Rydh said:

“As I step down after an incredible six years on the EFA board, three of which as president, I’m delighted to hand over the reins to Ceri. I can’t think of anyone better to oversee this next year of EFA’s transformation into an even stronger and more relevant voice for Europe’s fundraising community.”

A former BBC political producer, Edwards started his campaigning career with human rights group Liberty. He has also worked for the Citizenship Foundation, Action for Children and the BBC Children in Need appeal. He has held senior communication and policy roles at London Councils, the Local Government Association and the People’s Health Trust. In addition, he has been a volunteer and trustee at Switchboard LGBT, Survivors UK, Empty Homes Agency and AvMA, the charity for patient safety and justice, and is currently a trustee of the National AIDS Trust and AIDS Memory UK.

New president Ceri Edwards commented:

“This is an exciting time for EFA, and I’m delighted to be taking up the role of President as we move into this new era. Advancing professionalism in fundraising is an ever more important focus for our members, who are responding to their own members’ needs for training that tracks the changes and trends in fundraising and giving. A key focus for EFA moving forward will be on developing our support to help them provide that, and be strong advocates for the sector across their countries, just as we’ll be enhancing EFA’s own advocacy across Europe.

“Working alongside Eva, our new executive director, I’m looking forward to helping reshape EFA over the coming year. We will start by listening to our members to explore how we can all work together to make the most of what has always been a creative and ambitious network of national fundraising associations.”

EFA Board. L-R: Paul Laird, Laurence Lepetit, Pia Tornikoski, Scott Kelley, Ceri Edwards, Paul Dalby, Ruth Williams, Larissa Probst

In addition to the change in presidency, Siri Nodland from Fundraising Norge steps down, while Pia Tornikoski, Secretary General for the Finnish Fundraising Association (VaLa) and Ruth Williams, CEO at Fundraising Verband Austria, are appointed to the board. Scott Kelley and Larissa Probst have been re-elected.

The successful candidate will work with the Board, the EFA Certification and Public Affairs Committees, and other volunteer member groups to ensure that EFA is a collective voice for Europe’s fundraising community. The role will also provide the unique opportunity to work across EFA’s membership, developing and managing partnerships with a range of organisations across Europe and globally.

Full details on the job description and application process here

 Criteria for the role

• A senior and experienced individual with a significant and demonstrated track record in an NGO, civil society organisation or public body,
• Strong financial acumen with proven experience and solid fundraising skills.
• Sound strategic planning abilities with a proven track record of achieving targets.
• Demonstrated experience and success in global partnership building, convening stakeholders with diverse cultural backgrounds.
• Experience in effective advocacy with both internal and external audiences.
• Fluent in English; good knowledge of other languages is an asset.

Timeline

The closing date for applications is 30/06/2024 and the first stage online interviews will take place in July. Further interviews will take place from August with the final decision made in September/ October.

Help EFA find the right candidate

EFA is asking members to help with the search by promoting the opportunity within their own network through their newsletters and social channels.

Questions

Questions can be directed to Charlotte Rydh, President of EFA and CEO of the Swedish Fundraising Association, at info@efa-net.eu.

With nonprofits across Europe facing intensifying pressures, from recruitment difficulties to financial uncertainty, and challenges to the civic space, the AGA saw EFA reaffirm its top priorities for 2023-2025. These are to be the collective voice for Europe’s fundraising community, and to advocate for the ongoing development and professionalisation of the European fundraising sector.

In line with these priorities, the Board will recruit a director in 2024.

President of EFA Charlotte Rydh explained:

“With the challenges faced nonprofits right across Europe exerting ever more pressure, EFA’s role as the voice of the fundraising community has never been more important. To take us to the next level of our development, it’s time for us to expand. Appointing a part-time director will provide us with valuable additional expertise and propel us forward on this next stage of our journey.”

Further details on this process will be announced in due course.

Board and Committee changes

EFA’s September AGA also saw two new Board members appointed: Laurence Lepetit (France générosités), and Francesca Lucci (ASSIF), with vice president Jan Gregor and chair of the Public Affairs Committee Simona Biancu stepping down. Lepetit will focus on EFA Public Affairs, while Lucci joins the EFA Certification Committee. Siri Nodland (Fundraising Norge) was re-elected, and will focus on Membership.

Charlotte Rydh, Scott Kelley, Paul Laird, and Larissa Probst remain in post for another term.

The full EFA Board is as follows:

Charlotte Rydh – President

Scott Kelley – Treasurer

Laurence Lepetit – Public Affairs

Siri Nodland – Membership

Paul Laird – Communications

Larissa Probst – Strategic Partnerships

Francesca Lucci – Certification Committee

The EFA Certification Committee was further bolstered with the appointments of Soile Bar-Yosef (VaLa), and Annelies Coghlan (Charities Institute Ireland). In addition, Janet Phillips (Chartered Institute of Fundraising) has joined the committee this year and Paul Dalby (Deutscher Verband Fundraising) was confirmed as chair. Paul will also join the Board as a co-opted member when needed.

More on EFA’s Skillshare here.

Among those present were representatives from member organisations in 13 countries, including Fundraisers Forum (Belgium) and France générosités, who have both joined in recent months.

The Members’ Meeting started with an introduction from president Charlotte Rydh before the floor was given to attendees to share the top current issues for their organisations and civil society in their countries. Commonly shared issues included shrinking civic space, changing legislation at national and EU level, and the recruitment and retention of fundraisers at all levels.

Attendees then heard board members share their strategic plans for EFA and present short reviews of current public affairs issues, partnership opportunities, communications, and the Certification programme.

Charlotte Rydh, EFA president commented:

“Meetings like these are an important way for us to keep up to date with the key issues our members are facing, and we will follow up on some of these at September’s Skillshare. They’re also a great opportunity for members to meet and widen their network, and of course for EFA to share our own strategic plans and priorities. It was wonderful to see so many attend.”

This year’s Skillshare and AGA will take place in Prague on 21-22 September, with more details to follow soon.

As well as being an EFA founding member, Barbara was an EFA delegate from 2002 to 2009, and a board member from 2006 to 2009.

She was also one of Switzerland’s fundraising pioneers, and a founding member and vice president of Swissfundraising.

Born in 1939 in Kolberg, Poland, throughout her professional life Barbara worked both nationally and internationally as a lecturer and was a sought-after speaker. In particular, she was an expert in direct mail campaigns. In 1998 she published a comprehensive book on the topic, Successful Fundraising with Direct Mail. Strategies that bring money!.

A second book, Professional Handbook of Fundraising, reached several editions and was known throughout the German-speaking world.

Barbara remained active in fundraising consultancy as well as in the Swissfundraising community well past retirement age. She died peacefully at the age of 84 on March 14, in Lausanne.

All seven EFA board members met in Stockholm in March, hosted by president Charlotte Rydh at the Giva Sverige office. The in-person meeting also included the appointment of Larissa Probst as board member in charge of strategic partnerships, and discussions on partnership plans; updates on EFA’s public affairs and certification work; and a strategy workshop.

L-R: Charlotte Rydh, EFA President; Simona Biancu, Chair, Public Affairs Working Group; Jan Gregor, EFA Vice-President; Scott Kelley, EFA Treasurer; Paul Laird, EFA Communications; Larissa Probst, EFA Strategic Partnerships; Siri Nodland, Chair, EFA Certification Committee

Focus areas discussed in the workshop included EFA’s roles as a strong voice for the fundraising community in Brussels and across Europe, in strengthening professional fundraising, and as a data hub for sharing knowledge. The board also discussed how EFA can achieve sustainable and increased funding which is necessary to become a stronger voice for the fundraising community.

Key updates from the board

Board meeting presentations saw EFA Public Affairs Working Group chair Simona Biancu give a report on the group’s activities, including plans to publish a number of position papers on key topics with the help of working group member Patrick Gibbels.

Jan Gregor, EFA vice president and board member in charge of membership, reported on the progress being made on plans for this year’s Skillshare, which will be held in Prague on 21-22 September. The date was also set for the Digital European Tour. This will take place from 10-13.00 CET on 15 November, with more details on both events to follow in due course.

Siri Nodland, EFA Certification Committee chair, updated board members on the committee’s work. This currently includes evaluating a number of Re-Certification applications; looking at ways to attract more member countries to apply for EFA Certification; finding new members to join the committee to replace those completing their terms; and looking ahead to the next EFA Certification Symposium.

Paul Laird, who was appointed to the EFA Board last November, with responsibility for communications, presented details on the continuing support from EFA’s communications partner Turner PR, as well as items from EFA’s communications plan. This includes setting up an editorial group comprised of communications officers from EFA member organisations to facilitate the sharing of news and spokespeople for articles.

Election committee

Finding new members to join the EFA board and Certification committee to replace those completing their terms was also discussed, and an Election committee has now been formed to assist the board with this process. This comprises of former EFA board members Ceri Edwards (UK), Eduard Marček (Slovakia), and Astrid von Soosten (Germany). Proposals for new board members are welcomed – these can now be sent to Denise Dawes and will be put to the new committee.

Members’ meeting

The members’ meeting will take place on 12 May. Speaking on the plans, Rydh commented:

“The upcoming members’ meeting is part of our strategy to focus on strengthening communications with EFA member representatives, so that they in turn can better communicate with and support their members. It will also provide us with valuable feedback, both on how we can better serve our members and attract new ones to the EFA community.”

Picture by Jan  Židlický on Pexels

Two decades ago, a group of fundraisers from across Europe came together to turn an idea into reality. The fundraising profession has always been collaborative, keen to share knowledge, ideas and experience for the greater good. What was missing then was an organisation that united fundraising associations and fundraisers across Europe’s national borders, providing the sector with a voice and representation at a European level.

To bridge that gap, in 2002 eleven people – from Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Switzerland, and the UK – came together and formed the European Fundraising Association.

Gosse Bosma, EFA co-founder and former president (2016-19) reflects:

“In a way, forming EFA and watching it grow has been like raising a child and supporting it to flourish. Together in 2002 we co-founders set the wheels in motion for what we hoped and wished would become an organisation of use, of influence, and inspiration. I think we’ve achieved that.  

“To be effective nationally, you need perspective; to reflect on your job, you need peers; while to understand the wider fundraising environment, you need international sources of information. To stimulate an enabling environment, you need cooperation; and to have political influence in Europe, you need power. For all this, EFA is important.”

As well as facilitating the sharing of learning and expertise, EFA’s primary aims – then, as now – were to help fundraising associations across Europe improve fundraising standards in their nations, and to give the profession greater voice.

Dr. Marita Haibach, one of EFA co-founders and a former president (2004-08) comments:

“For me, EFA is the embodiment of an extraordinary success story. When we, the EFA pioneer generation, came together to invent EFA, we had to do a lot of convincing in our respective countries why Europe-wide, cross-national networking of fundraisers was necessary at all. Many of our colleagues at home did not see the need to think beyond borders. Today, international cooperation has become a matter of course. And that is a great thing.”

20 years of action

Over the last two decades we’ve launched and developed our Certification Framework, providing fundraising associations with a set of standards for developing their own fundraising qualifications; run annual Skillshare meetings, providing a platform for fundraisers to meet, explore best practice and learn from each other; and offered our monthly Fundraising Europe newsletter sharing relevant news, legal updates, and current thinking with an ever-growing base of subscribers. We’ve also launched a programme of regular survey reports on fundraising trends; made our members’ views heard on legal and policy matters; collaborated with other sector organisations on numerous initiatives and events; and more.

Günther Lutschinger, former board member, treasurer and president (2010-2016) says:

“If we didn’t already have EFA, we would have to found it as a matter of priority because there’s such a great need for cooperation between countries and national fundraising associations. And with EFA, this is what we’ve achieved – not only have we brought together European associations but we’ve strengthened bilateral and multilateral cooperation between countries.”

He continues:

“Thanks to EFA we also have Europe-wide ethical standards of fundraising, and this is important because it’s where every fundraising organisation starts – with discussions on how to be ethical in how we talk to people, share our messages and ask for support. If a national association wants to develop its own training materials, EFA’s Certification Framework provides the baseline, and through its other activities – which are just as critical – its events, newsletter and website, it shares valuable knowledge, skills and expertise. Over the past two decades, EFA has shown that it can really make a difference.”

Raising fundraising standards

2022 Certification Symposium

Launched in 2007, the EFA Certification Standard Competence Framework is now recognised not only across Europe but internationally, with over 6,250 fundraisers having completed EFA Certified qualifications to date in 14 countries, and courses currently on offer in nine.

In 2018 we launched the EFA Certification Symposium, four of which have taken place so far, to share not only our news but best practice and insights from fundraising education providers across Europe. This year, we went further, fulfilling our aim of developing our Certification Framework with the launch of our Advanced Competence Framework. With a focus on leadership, it will support fundraising associations around Europe in helping their members continue their professional development.

Commenting, board member and Certification Committee chair Siri Nodland says:

“Every nation across Europe has its differences where fundraising is concerned. In some it is well established, while in others it is still in its infancy. Yet there are also many similarities and shared aims. In every nation, fundraisers want to do the very best they can for their cause, and their supporters. Crucially, what EFA provides through its Certification is a clear pathway for the development of professional qualifications anywhere in Europe that take these differences and similarities into account whilst upholding the highest standards.

“By sharing techniques, innovations, and best practice through the Standard Certification Framework, EFA has successfully accelerated the development of the sector, helping nonprofits across Europe reach and maintain these standards and raise more funds as a result. And now, in EFA’s 20th anniversary year, we’re proud to launch our Advanced Certification Framework to support fundraisers who want to go further in their careers by developing their leadership skills.”  

Building bridges

Skillshare delegates in 2016

Our first Skillshare came in 2008, taking place in Berlin. Since this inaugural outing, the annual event has travelled to Barcelona, Krakow, Berlin, Vienna, Budapest, Oslo and Paris among others, welcoming member fundraisers, observers and associates from across Europe. This year it takes place alongside EFA’s AGA and 20^th anniversary celebrations in Dublin.

With fundraising changing fast during the pandemic, in 2020 we opened the event up beyond our membership with the introduction of our virtual European Fundraising Tour. This saw us invite speakers from across the continent to showcase best practice and inspire their peers with short and insightful presentations. We ran this again last year, with fundraisers and sector experts from 16 countries taking part and we’re hoping to run more of these in the future.

Inspiring and informing

We launched our popular newsletter Fundraising Europe in 2012 – our 10^th anniversary year. Starting as a resource for member associations and their own membership, the following year saw us offer it more widely, to anyone with an interest in fundraising. A platform for building awareness of EFA’s valuable work, this free online resource is open to fundraisers across Europe and the world. Through distribution by our membership, every edition reaches some 10,000 fundraisers Europe-wide, and in addition we have over 2,200 individual subscribers – a figure that continues to grow each month.

Ricard Valls, former EFA treasurer (2006-09) notes:

“Europe has its own model of society and philanthropy, so having EFA as a tool to build our own model of fundraising is of immense value to the sector. Over the years it has united and inspired us, offered valuable opportunities to meet with other European fundraisers and to learn from their experiences, driven up standards, and provided us with an essential voice.

“When many countries do not have a formal training scheme for fundraisers, EFA has provided invaluable support through its Certification framework, while its newsletters and events provide information and advice that inspires and educates.”

Representing & advising

As the main representative of fundraising associations throughout Europe, public affairs is another important aspect of our work. Through the regular updates of our Brussels correspondent Patrick Gibbels and our occasional What’s going on in Brussels webinar series, we have kept our members and readers informed and up to date with relevant legal developments. We also respond regularly to consultations on our members’ behalf and collaborate with other Europe-wide sector bodies and organisations to ensure the sector’s position is known when changes are on the table.

Most recently we responded to a proposed statute for European cross-border associations and nonprofits, something we also held a webinar on, attended by MEP Dr. Sergey Lagodinsky. And to help us take this work further, this year we’ve launched our public affairs working group.

Simona Biancu, current board member & public affairs working group chair comments:

“Connecting the different actors at the European level, and interacting with the institutions that govern processes and policies, means taking an active part in building a system. From the point of view of public affairs, this is the role that EFA must carry out: representing the needs of civil society, being the ‘spokesperson’ for crucial issues and themes, contributing to raising awareness on the importance of nonprofits as one of the pillars of our societies, disseminating philanthropic culture as a model of living, and shaping a different, better world.”

From its humble beginnings, EFA now has 21 members representing the third sector in 18 countries, and since 2020 membership has been open to organisations beyond national fundraising associations. All this, managed by a board of 7 dedicated volunteers, and supported by executive officer Denise Dawes who has performed her invaluable role in keeping EFA running smoothly since 2006.

Haibach says:

“Denise has played a major role in EFA’s continuity and professionalism. Without her, EFA would not be where it is today.”

The changing fundraising landscape

Fundraising has changed a lot in 20 years and in such a fast-moving sector EFA plays a valuable role in helping the sector as a whole grasp the latest developments and maximise their fundraising through the latest technologies and innovations.

In just the last few years we’ve seen digital grow from occasional usage to every day. Led by consumer trends, nonprofits have adopted QR codes, smartphone technology, digital wallets and even cryptocurrencies and NFTs. In many countries we’re also seeing a move away from cash to contactless. Better understanding and use of data and technology means communications are now targeted and personalised as a matter of course, with an emphasis, quite rightly, on the supporter journey. Legal changes including GDPR have also led to a greater focus on data protection and privacy.

We’ve also seen great challenges – most recently the pandemic, the war in Ukraine, the climate and cost of living crises, as well as attacks on democracy and a shrinking civic space.  And no doubt there is more to come.

To the future

EFA’s role then remains extremely relevant, and we are working now on our strategy for the coming years.

EFA president Charlotte Rydh says:

“Over the past 10 months, much of our focus has been on EU public affairs, extending the EFA network, finalising the Certification Advanced Competence Framework and improving all Certification processes. Now the Board is reviewing EFA’s work, examining our vision and strategic priorities with the aim of preparing us for the next 20 years. We know that these are challenging times for nonprofits right across Europe and our focus as always will be on how we can best support and serve our members and the wider European fundraising community, both now and in the future.

“The last two decades have given us a great foundation to work from, and a strong perception of representing the wider fundraising community in Europe, which is a huge honour and a responsibility we take very seriously. With more members joining, we know that EFA has great potential to create more impact and reach broader audiences. Our challenge is to match the opportunities and expectations with the limited resources we currently have, and we look forward to discussing our ambitions for the coming years with our members at the AGA.”

None of what we’ve achieved would of course have been possible without the commitment of our co-founders and board members, or the support of our members. Above all then, we’d like to express our thanks and gratitude to everyone who has contributed to and supported EFA over our 20 years. Here’s to the next 20!

Join us at our Skillshare and 20th anniversary celebrations in Dublin on 24 and 25 November!

The most successful digital content isn’t always predictable

In a highly interactive session exploring what really works for digital fundraising, attendees were asked to vote for the digital content they thought would be most successful – those that led to the highest level of clicks or gifts.

Stressing the importance of testing campaigns rigorously, Ewald Verhoog of Fundraising Love in the Netherlands led an engaging ‘Which test won?’ quiz, showing that what truly works for supporters doesn’t always match up with fundraisers’ expectations. He explored what digital posts most inspire supporters to click through, and how small changes to the images, messaging and call to action can have a striking impact on success.

Verhoog says: “I can’t say it enough. It’s so important to test what really works. If you do it well, it will make a huge difference – you can double your digital income in days.”

See more in Verhoog’s blog on building donor engagement.

A legacy boom is coming

It’s no secret that legacy giving has been one of the sector’s biggest success stories from recent decades, but Ashley Rowthorn of Legacy Futures (UK) examined the changing legacy environment in greater depth, painting a motivating picture of growth and opportunity for nonprofits. Citing research from the UK and Netherlands, he emphasised that gifts in Wills have become even more important through the pandemic and that the UK market alone is expected to grow five-fold by 2050.

Rowthorn says: “There are some big changes coming for legacies, with a new generation of donors, the emergence of digital channels and new technology. We’re expecting to see significant income growth, but the market will likely look quite different from what it is today.”

And it’s not just the most established legacy markets that are seeing growth. Jan Gregor of the Coalition for Easy Giving, spoke of the increase of gifts in Wills in the Czech Republic. When the group was formed seven years ago, none of the nonprofits in the coalition’s legacy group had received a legacy.

Gregor says: “Now, every organisation in our coalition has benefitted from a legacy donation and momentum is building. Czechs are becoming more open to thinking about leaving a charity in their Will and that’s really exciting.”

Pandemic surge in online donations is spurring on regular giving in Spain

There’s no question that the pandemic and nonprofits’ increased use of digital channels has seen donors take their giving online, but Ricard Valls of Zohar Consulting in Spain highlighted that this shift has also inspired a rise in regular giving.

Presenting new research based on 124,000 donations made via StockCrowd software, which accounts for 15% of online giving in Spain, he reported a 97% rise in online donors from 2019 to 2020 and 109% rise in the amount given (€8.6 million).

Valls says: “The culture sector is attracting the highest average donation levels, but many organisations are seeing a growing number of regular donors online too.”

Showcasing the example of Open Arms – a humanitarian NGO working to protect vulnerable people in international waters – Valls demonstrated the effectiveness of strong video imagery in building understanding of the charity’s work. More than 1 in 4 of the charity’s online supporters signed up as regular givers (26%).

He also shared examples of interactive landing pages on La Marato de TV3 and Thyssen Museum, where donors could – at the click of a button – select which cells their donation would cure or what areas of the museum’s restoration to rebuild, helping them to visualise the impact of their donations.

Mission-centred fundraising is not only more sustainable – it makes it easier to ask again

The mission may well be at the heart of every nonprofit organisation, but is it at the core of your fundraising? Rebecca Allaigre at the Fondation Les Arts Florissants – William Christie in France, encouraged delegates to be mission-centred in their fundraising, shifting the focus from bringing in the money to creating relationships that inspire ongoing commitment.

Describing fundraising as a tool of empowerment, Allaigre said: “The best way to ensure that donors support an organisation over the long-term is to ensure that they understand and connect with your mission and that they become partners in helping to achieve that goal.”

She explained that creating a shared culture of belonging – one that links supporters and volunteers, along with staff and trustees to the organisation’s mission – not only helps to attract unrestricted gifts and build retention rates, but paves the way for nonprofits to ask again, saying:

“Major donors can experience fatigue when we ask again and again for focused gifts, but if they invest in the mission instead of a specific project, it’s much easier to encourage them to do it again in the future. We can go back to them and show them all we’ve done thanks to their help, demonstrating what their support has enabled and what we hope to achieve next.”

Fundraisers have become more nimble, tech-savvy and collaborative… but wellbeing is at risk

During the Tour, speakers reflected on the growth in digital fundraising and the opportunities to build back stronger from the pandemic in the long-term. Sebastian Węglarz of the Polish Fundraising Association reported that – in the weeks that followed the coronavirus outbreak – one third of NGOs in Poland had to suspend their activities, 6 in 10 had to limit operations and 3 in 4 feared they wouldn’t be able to provide services. And yet, one year later, 8 in 10 organisations had adopted new technology that allowed them to operate on a regular basis and 4 in 10 were collaborating with other nonprofits. The period has seen some record fundraising campaigns, including the #Hot16Challenge – a viral rapping campaign that raised over €800,000 for Polish health workers.

He underlined that the upshot of such a challenging period was that the fundraising community had drawn more closely together with renewed appetite for shared learning, saying: “The sector is building back in Poland.”

While the short-term impact of the crisis has been incredibly difficult, he recognises how much progress has been made, saying he expects that ultimately the sector will come out of this stronger than before.

Findings from Salesforce.org’s State of Nonprofit Marketing study, presented by Andrea Goezzine, reinforces this picture of growth, reporting that 9 in 10 nonprofits have changed their digital engagement strategy since the pandemic. However, she also emphasised that the nonprofit workforce is facing a historic shift in how work gets done and that staff wellbeing and mental health is of growing concern.

The new 2021 Nonprofit Pulse Report, previewed at the event, also underlines concerns about rising workloads and increased pressure on nonprofit staff. A second year of lockdowns, remote working, cancelled fundraising events, barriers to service delivery and a general climate of uncertainty has taken its toll on the sector’s workforce, ringing a warning bell of the need to protect and support staff and volunteers through such an intense period of change.

Read more in our report on survey findings here.

The 2021 European Fundraising Tour was the second virtual tour hosted by EFA. To find out more about EFA’s events programme, sign up for our free news service Fundraising Europe or follow us on Facebook, LinkedIn or Twitter.