FICO - Autumn Conference Sarah Webster Fundraising with Bishops!

Fundraising with bishops (and vicars and trustees….) Sarah Webster Director of Development and Comms, Greenhouse Sports @smwebster also LinkedIn

A bit about me… 2 years headhunting in the city 5 years building a corporate partnerships function at City Gateway (and becoming a Christian!) 2.5 years developing fundraising strategy for Diocese of London Nearly 1 year as Director of Development and Comms at Greenhouse (£3.6m private funding pa) MSc in Voluntary Sector Management (Cass Business School) Biggest single gift: £500k Also Chair of TwentyTwenty youth charity in East Midlands Loves fancy dress, silly fitness challenges, inspirational quotes, learning Yet I remain hugely insecure about my age, my lack of experience and credibility with donors, trustees etc; and struggle entirely with my own authenticity to be who I am in what God has called me to do… although I believe it is when we are outside of our comfort zone that is when we really see what is possible

Aims of today’s session Share the learnings of the Diocese of London and the Richard Chartres Fund For London Improve our networking and ‘political’ skills Improve our skills in managing upwards Make us all able to make fundraisers of our Bishops, Vicars, Trustees etc

But first Write down the last time you faced a situation which genuinely scared you; that you didn’t know how you were going to handle it; that you didn’t know what the answer was; that you knew your reputation or credibility could be on the line. OR the first time you looked someone in the eye and asked them for a significant sum of money. How did you feel?

Richard chartres fund for london The Bishop of London and the Diocese was terrified of launching this Building a case for support was a huge challenge https://www.london.anglican.org/mission/building-communities-transforming- lives/the-richard-chartres-fund-for-london/ A dinner at Mansion House – with Sir John Major in attendance hosted by Sir David Brewer Raised nearly £800k / changed the culture I've learned that people will forget what you said, people will forget what you did, but people will never forget how you made them feel – Maya Angelou

Why did I want us to remember our last scary situation? We will only become better fundraisers as we become more empathetic Think how terrifying it is to most people to ask somebody for money? Bishops, Vicars, Billionaires; they’re nearly all equally terrified…. Our job is to take the fear out of this… how can we do this? Small group discussions

What did we do at the ldf? We engaged with a credible expert We considered the theology of giving We ran training We provided examples of success We worked with those who were keen and didn’t force others We made it easy (e.g. an event) We supported with research, offering to do meetings, writing letters, system to track etc

Knowing our limitations will make us limitless How much time do you spend match making or mapping inter relationships? E.g. table planning at Mansion House – and the specific Christian issues Knowing when to push for your involvement and when to hold back and let it happen Building credibility and trust is key – internally (board etc) and externally Also knowing your weaknesses and working on them What do you read, watch, do - how do you find common ground? I am probably not going to be everyones cup of tea - We are not always the best person to develop a relationship – but that is ok!! How much time do you spend mapping inter relationships between your donors/patrons/senior staff? How do you identify relationship leads on accounts/relationships? What is one thing that you could do to improve your ability to engage your target audience

And why does it matter? The largest avalanche starts with the smallest shift…. God can do big things if we’re willing to go with him What is the 1% improvement you will make tomorrow? One thing you will do differently?