It’s about the journey – 10 lessons from day 2 of IoF’s National Fundraising Convention

Even before I got to the Institute of Fundraising Convention today, I was thinking about journeys. Day two coincided with the 10th anniversary of the 7 July 2005 London bombings, and the venue was coincidentally at Edgware Road. As I walked the last part of my own journey as a very small tribute, I was thinking about those who lost their lives that day who never completed their journeys. And I was thinking about those who were injured or who lost loved ones. The direction of their lives must have changed utterly. I also recalled my own muted seven mile walk home that evening. But talk of journeys strangely filled the ensuing day too. So here are some of the key points I learned: Beate Sorum explained that we often make our donor’s online journey too difficult. Why do they want my phone number? What is “address line 2”? She also explained that we should think of our online forms as a conversation. Let’s stop asking irrelevant questions that don’t belong in it. We need to stop confusing our donors with such a variety of different asks. Pick one thing and put it first, she advised. Ian MacQuillin spoke convincingly about what being a proud fundraiser really means. How do we best defend our profession? Let’s take pride in our core strengths and not be sidetracked from what it’s really about, he argued. And he asked: Why do we confuse means and ends with fundraising so much? Why is fundraising often seen disparagingly even internally as a ‘nec