Your Voice Matters: Help Us Prove the Impact of Organisational Culture on Training & Development

Written by Cam St-Omer Donaldson , Head of Membership Engagement & Relationships at Fundraising Everywhere

So, I’m starting with an ask (because fundraising!): Please take a moment to complete our survey on the impact of organisational culture on learning and development in the charity sector.

You can complete the survey here. It should take less than 10 minutes.

I think it’s super important! 🙂

Ok, yes, I'm slightly biased when it comes to Training & Development. I started my career in Fundraising as a Dialogue Fundraising Trainer, over 10 years ago - loved it and still do. I remember attending my first training session when I joined Pell and Bales, as a Telephone Fundraiser back in 2010!

Shout out to my trainers, Jo & Jol, who taught me the art of conversation and how to inspire others to support great causes. They made it a safe but accountable space to learn, make mistakes, and try new things, like asking for money from strangers, which I’d never done before.

I decided then and there that I wanted to be just like them when I grew up. Fast forward a few years, and I became a Dialogue Fundraising Trainer! 

I saw people develop and grow every day. I trained over 1,000 fundraisers who may or may not be somewhere in the sector today. But for sure, doing awesome things and being awesome. 

Training boosts self-esteem, ability, and inspiration. But how do we prove its impact? The answer lies in evidence.

Those who went from 'I can't' to 'I did’, those eager to soak up the knowledge with all the questions in the room, and the one individual who attended the training with the most scepticism but enjoyed it, perhaps even ended up loving it and learned the most at the end. I love them all!

That's the power I think of people being in a room (virtual or IRL) together. 

I'm a strong believer that EVERYTHING is better done together. As humans, we are not made to operate alone, so why would we learn, grow and develop alone?(That's my belief anyway). Training and investment in developing staff has so many wider benefits on self-esteem, ability, connection and inspiration.

Those who went from 'I can't' to 'I did’, those eager to soak up the knowledge with all the questions in the room, and the one individual who attended the training with the most scepticism but enjoyed it, perhaps even ended up loving it and learned the most at the end. I love them all!

As a trainer, facilitator and 'bringer together-er' of people (yep, that's a thing now) I think in fundraising, staying ahead means evolving our skills, remaining inspired and connecting with others. Training boosts self-esteem, ability, and inspiration. But how do we prove its impact? The answer lies in evidence.

Why Evidence Matters

1. Validating Investments aka "Show me the impact!" Training is a big investment of time and money, it's a process, not one & done. Demonstrating its impact helps justify these investments and secure ongoing support from key stakeholders.

2. Improving Content aka "Give the people what they want" Evidence-based feedback helps us refine and enhance our training, sessions and workshops ensuring they are as effective and relevant as possible. So tell us how you learn best! 

3. Motivating Teams aka "Show me results" When fundraisers see tangible results from training, it boosts morale and motivates us to apply what we've learned.

How can You Help

To gather the necessary evidence, we need your insights. We've had a large proportion of our community complete already, so thank you - but we need more.

By completing our survey, you provide us with crucial data on how training has impacted your work and your organisation's/Individual success., or maybe it hasn't, tell us that too. This information will help us make a compelling case for ongoing professional development and training in the sector. 

Get Involved

Your participation in our survey is more than just ticking boxes; it's about shaping the future of fundraising.

Your feedback will help us demonstrate the real-world benefits of training and drive positive change across the sector. 

By completing our survey, you provide us with crucial data on how training has impacted your work and your organisation's/Individual success

Take the Survey

Join us in proving the power of training.

Share your experiences, and let’s work together to build a stronger, more effective fundraising community.  

Thanks for reading,

Cam St-Omer Donaldson 🙂

PS* I am always happy to nerd out about the importance of Training, L&D, impact measuring etc. anytime. In fact please do reach out and we can talk more.