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Where are they now? Face-to-face Alumini
28.04.2010

Face-to-face fundraising has been filling charity databases and generating tabloid headlines for nearly 20 years. From humble beginnings in Austria face to face, street fundraising, chugging, call it what you will has spread across the world and proved to be an incredibly successful way of raising funds.

I first started recruiting for face-to-face fundraising over 12 years ago and in that time have personally interviewed and placed thousands of people . Over the last 6 years my team at Flow Caritas has focused on in-house fundraising operations as these are a far more effective way of using face to face in a controlled and valuable way.

As is the nature of the job many of these recruits rapidly left to study, travel or pursue careers they felt more appropriate to their skills, but a lot have stayed in the industry and gone onto bigger and better things in the charity sector. Incidentally a few have gone onto be quite famous, but that's for the pages of a gossip magazine!

Something I have always felt strongly about is that the sector should recognise the skills that fundraisers pick up working in the field and take the opportunity to use these to their great advantage. True, not all fundraisers would suit an office environment but there are many passionate, clever and talented people working in the field and their street or door experience successfully making an "ask" to an incredible range of prospective donors should be viewed as a real selling point to an employer.

I thought it would be interesting to speak to a few past face-to-face fundraisers and see where their career has taken them since they left the field:

Nick Connolly

Nick is now a Business Development Manager with Centrepoint, but started in the sector as a street fundraiser.

Nick got onto the idea of progressing his career in the charity sector after a stint as a street fundraiser. Nick felt it was a great way of getting into the sector - "fundraising is about knowing how to persuade people to do something they were not planning to do. If you can do that on the street, you can do it anywhere."

Sacha Glasgow-Smith

Sacha is now a Fundraising Initiatives Team Assistant with UNICEF.

Sacha just fell into street fundraising but absolutely loved it and went onto be very successful. She felt it helped her by increasing her knowledge of the charity sector, getting her talking to people from charities and gave her real inspiration. She said - "I'd really recommend it as a great way to get into the charity sector as it shows potential employers how dedicated, tenacious and focused you are. Everyone I speak to at my current role is always impressed that I started my career as a street fundraiser."

Stephanie Halliwell

Stephanie is currently a Supporter Recruitment Manager with the NDCS.

Stephanie says - "having completed a law degree, volunteered for charities and worked at RNLI's Regional Office, I thought finding a job wouldn't be difficult. I underestimated how competitive the sector is."

Stephanie went onto apply for a few charity graduate schemes but after a lot of hard work took the plunge, much to her parent's dismay and became a street fundraiser. Stephanie said - "it was one of the most enjoyable years of my life. As well as having great fun, finding lifelong friends and meeting new people every day, I was doing a job that I was proud of and getting closer to a career within the sector."

Stephanie believes that becoming a face-to-face fundraiser was definitely strategic. She now manages million pound budgets and is responsible for recruiting 60,000 supporters a year but now manages face-to-face agencies who do that for her.

Janine Crombie

Janine is now a Direct Marketing Manager with Shelter

Janine spent 8 years working in face-to-face fundraising eventually with the in-house team at Shelter in a management position. She then made the move across to Direct Marketing and hasn't looked back. About street fundraising Janine says - "Face-to-face helps you to be able to adapt quickly, cope with a demanding job and be determined to succeed." In relation to her current role and how it has helped she also says - "it has given me a very intuitive understanding of supporters, what their motivations are and what kind of language, messages and examples of charities work will encourage them to support."

Laura Salisbury

Laura is the Senior Community Fundraising Co-ordinator with Amnesty International UK

Laura didn't always enjoy her time as a street fundraiser but it's the reason she now works in the charity sector. Asking her whether she enjoyed her role on the streets she said - "sometimes, but I think it is a very hard job to do for a long time," but she says ? ?it was the main reason I got a job in the charity sector.?

Face-to-face and door-to-door fundraising has diversified massively and is no longer the preserve of fundraising agencies. We work directly with Shelter, Everychild and St Mungos providing their in-house teams with brilliant fundraisers. There are several other in-house teams out there and a few charities in discussion about the idea of setting one up.

Going in-house has been good for the sector in many ways. Not least is the improved understanding that charities have of this as a successful fundraising stream and the realisation that these people in bibs are not to be feared and avoided but openly embraced as they can have so much to offer the charity sector longer term.

by Rory White May 2010

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