Client
The Children's Society
The community fundraising team at The Children’s Society is responsible for raising over £5m each year. They are a dedicated, hard-working and talented team. Sometimes it can be hard to get a joined up team dynamic because they are based all over the country and only meet as a whole team a handful of times a year.
In addition, the fundraising environment is tough so there is real pressure to deliver on ambitious income targets as well as achieve a good return on investment across all fundraising activities.
Gillian wanted to use the short space of time that the team had together to its best advantage. To focus on the activities that were going to get the best results, to get the team to gel in a short burst of time, to develop ideas for how to raise more money and have some tangible action plans that people were excited about and accountable for at the end of the day.
“I’d worked with Lucy on the innovation in giving programme and I knew she would have just the right balance of fun and inspiration as well as challenging us to develop practical action plans that would make a difference to the bottom line” Gillian Claugher
Lucy ran a day that involved thinking carefully about our core audiences, using practical techniques, including role-play, which was delivered in a way that involved and engaged all personalities within the team. We all enjoyed the day and felt it really challenged our thinking. She made the environment safe to edge outside our comfort zones.
At the end of the session the team was inspired, however it lasted longer than one day and resulted in the team adopting a more audience-led way of thinking about their plans and activities. Putting the audience first meant putting one-year product KPIs to one side and the team focused on the relationships they had with supporters for longer term benefit.
‘If you want a team day that is fun, engaging, thought-provoking and, importantly, delivers on your business strategy, ask Lucy’
Gillian Claugher, Associate Director, Fundraising Independent Age (ex Director of Regional Fundraising and Development, The Children's Society)