HEFCE funds university fundraising workforce review
Howard Lake | 19 September 2013 | News
The Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) is to fund a review of the workforce involved in UK universities, with the aim of helping it to expand.
The review follows the publication by HEFCE in 2012 of Philanthropy to UK Universities (the Pearce Report), which set the target of £2 billion a year in charitable gifts to UK universities by 2022. For this to be achieved, the workforce of higher education fundraisers would need to double or even triple.
For this reason HEFCE has appointed fundraising consultancy More Partnership and fundraising recruitment consulants Richmond Associates to research the university fundraising workforce. More Partnership was the author of the Philanthropy to UK Universities report. The two organisations have been tasked with making recommendations on the future career development and training options for the fundraising workforce in higher education.
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Report due in 2014
The review is scheduled to be published early in 2014. Based on qualitative and quantitative inputs, it will focus on:
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Understanding the career paths within the sector and how these can be made attractive to talented people from inside and outside the sector.
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Developing recommendations for the training and development of the philanthropic workforce in higher education, including exploring the desirability of professional qualifications.
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Identifying the skills, attitudes and competencies required for successful fundraising at key levels of progression through a fundraising career.
- Tools and ./guidance to help institutions to recruit, retain and promote talent.
Professor Shirley Pearce, Chair of the Philanthropy Implementation Group set up by HEFCE to implement the recommendations of the Pearce Report, commented: "UK university fundraising is increasingly professional but not yet well recognised as a profession. Our goal is to unlock even greater philanthropic support for our universities. To do this we need to find ways to build a respected profession that attracts, develops and retains the very best staff."
According to Rebecca Rendle, Managing Partner of More Partnership, added that this is "the first time the sector is taking a cool and considered look at practical ways to attract and enhance fundraising talent".
Photo: Mortarboard and money by KenDrysdale on shutterstock.com
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.