The next changemaker in my 7 Questions for a Changemaker series is my friend Siobhan Aspinall. A brilliant fundraiser, consultant, surfer (of course she is!!), and, honestly, one of my favourite people to share a French dinner with. She also makes me laugh like few others can!
Siobhan helps charities strengthen their fundraising programs and build confident, capable teams. With deep experience in annual giving, major gifts, and planned giving, she brings strategy, heart, and humour to everything she does.
- Who are you, and what do you actually do? I'm a one-trick pony - it's all fundraising: working, teaching, consulting, presenting and sometimes blogging. But also surfing! Even this one-trick pony needs a hobby!
- What pulled you into the nonprofit world? A friend of mine pulled me into the nonprofit sector...my origin story was lifeguarding a charity swim in a leaky rowboat. One of the volunteers I was with brought along a jar of margaritas (!) but thankfully, no-one drowned that day, and my career took off from there.
- Tell me about a moment that made you think, “Yes. This is why I do this.” There have been so many moments where I thought I was doing the right thing, but one in particular was when I was building a relationship with a demanding corporate funder. My contact person was prickly, but I praised his "attention to detail" by sending him a chocolate bone and saying he was "like a dog with a bone." He was so proud that chocolate-bone-note that he showed it to the entire management team of a prominent financial institution and confirmed our gift renewal for another three years.
- What’s something about working in nonprofits most people don’t understand? Most people don't understand how much work is involved in fundraising - and I've found that they're even a bit scared of the topic!
- What’s one thing you wish more fundraisers or hiring managers knew? I wish more of us understood and embraced the power of creativity in stewardship (see: chocolate bone story above!) We're coached to be very conservative and consistent, but a good fundraiser should trust their instincts.
- What’s a small, underrated habit that’s helped your career? My #1 underrated career habit is to stop drinking coffee at 11am - why drive everyone nuts?? A close second would be to let other people chair meetings even when I'm the senior person in the room. Rotating chairs is an easy way to build team confidence and get everyone talking. It has helped me be seen as more of a mentor than a talking head.
- Finish this sentence: “The future of fundraising is…” The future of fundraising is about transparency. Don't wonder and worry! Just talk to your donors, your team, your colleagues at related charities, your frenemies on Facebook, everyone! Keep the lines of communication open and you'll have an easier time understanding what's really important to our sector.