News & Insight

8th October 2020

IWITOT (I Wish I’d Thought of That) And the winner is…Professional Development

Louise Parkin, International Consultant at Philanthropy Company, shares highlights from the recent IWITOT virtual FINZ conference.

It is both a tragedy and a blessing to have your heart in two places in different parts of the globe. On the downside, wherever you choose to base yourself, you are always away from a group of people you love; or from a professional perspective, away from hard-won, soul-uplifting professional networks.

But, thanks to the global pandemic, this morning I was able to join the first IWITOT (I Wish I’d Thought of That) session in New Zealand run virtually at the Fundraising Institute’s 2020 Conference. Ken Burnett also joined from the UK (SOFII Foundation Trustee) introducing the event conceptualised by SOFII in 2015 to showcase brilliant fundraising ideas worth sharing.

Aside from the excellent content, there were some real highlights:

The glitch-free tech was supplied by an OnAIR Virtual Event portal beautifully branded with the conference theme of Space Odyssey (#galacticFR) complete with Live Q&A, Polls, Discussion Forum and a space for notes.

Ten speakers presented for seven minutes each on a fundraising campaign that they wish they had thought of. From Greenpeace’s Australia’s clever Legacy campaign first spotted on a beer coaster in 1984, to the sheer scale of the NSPCC’s Full Stop Campaign in the 1990s, and more recent offerings like Save the Children’s “Most Shocking Second a Day” clip – all had resonated with each of the speakers.

The winner, voted by the audience in person and online, was the UK’s Missing People Choir championed by Aaron Peacock, Head of Marketing, Fundraising and Communications from Cancer Society Auckland & Northland. Making the Britain’s Got Talent final, the choir reached millions of people worldwide, raised the profile of and income for Missing People, and tangibly resulted in two children finding their way home. It was a stand-out campaign for sure, but Aaron’s delivery made as much impact on the audience as the story and the fundraising return-on-investment statistics.

My personal favourite came from Stacey Ogg, recently returned to New Zealand from London after 10 years working in regular giving for the likes of the National Gallery, Goldsmiths Centre for Contemporary Art and the National Portrait Gallery. She presented Pennies, the micro-donations success story (https://pennies.org.uk/) launched in the UK in 2010. It may not have tugged on the heartstrings like some of the other campaigns, but for those of us obsessed with simple, impactful, capacity-building tech, it got my vote.

The whole experience gave me some great ideas, took me on a trip down memory lane (having worked for NSPCC on the Full Stop campaign as a prospect researcher) and most importantly, woke me up to the possibility of attending just about any international conference or training event I am interested in – sleep allowing.

Frankly, this is the future of philanthropic professional development and staying connected on a global basis. There were 30 international guests at this event and I’m looking forward to my next one, IFAB Online (International Fundraising Across Borders) run by Chapel & York in November 2020. For those of us fundraising for international charities in the UK, it is not to be missed.

Philanthropy Company is currently collating some of our unique collateral and expertise to deliver world class live and on-demand training for charities at all levels – whether you need board training, the essentials of corporate fundraising, or advice about your new database, watch this space for details about details about our affordable training packages to suit every budget.

If you would like a free 30 minute exploratory consultation with one of our expert fundraisers please get in touch.