Making world-class fundraising knowledge accessible to change-makers around the world

Sarah Scarth, Global Programmes and Strategy Director at The Resource Alliance, shares how the IFC Pop-Ups have made a global impact, made possible thanks to Raw London.

Helping organisations of every size and type develop the critical human, financial and intellectual resources necessary to build a better world, is at the heart of the Resource Alliance’s mission. We do this by creating platforms both in person and online, where those dedicated to bringing about social good can access leading edge thinking; trusted content; and connections most vital to help them learn, share, thrive and ultimately become more successful at building stronger and more financially sustainable social impact organisations.

Our flagship event – the International Fundraising Congress (IFC) – brings together fundraisers and change-makers to share knowledge and learnings; inspire and disrupt one another; and cross-fertilise thinking and ideas. Delivered through a richly curated programme, the IFC is a hub for unparalleled learning, innovation, networking and opportunities.

Why IFC Pop Ups?

Notwithstanding their incredible value, only a fraction of those working in civil society globally can attend an IFC each year. Finding a way to meet the need of change-makers around the world who are hungry to access world-class resource mobilisation learnings, lead to the creation of IFC Pop Ups, which aims takes the IFC in a virtual format to change-makers around the world. 

We piloted the pop up concept in South Africa in 2016 and, on the strength of its success, we’ve now taken them to South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kenya, with plans to develop into Uganda, Ghana and Brazil in coming years.

Raw London and the IFC Pop Ups

Fundamental to the success of the IFC Pop Ups has been the quality of the video presentations and there are two critical components that are needed. First, the willingness of the expert speakers and second, the incredible support from Raw London, who filmed all the Pop Up content at IFC Holland and IFC Asia in 2017, 2018 and IFC Holland in 2019.

As a result of Raw London’s support, the Resource Alliance now has an extensive library of video resource mobilisation learning sessions, delivered by many of the world’s leading experts in this field. These resources have now benefited hundreds of people in multiple countries, who are able to take the learnings and directly apply them to their work. For example, in 2019, Jo Garner, Australian Grant Fundraising specialist, who’s session was filmed at IFC Asia 2018, was able to share her insights with 600 people in South Africa, Singapore, Hong Kong and Kenya.

To illustrate the benefit and impact of this work, here are some of the comments shared by IFC Pop Ups participants in 2019:

• “I loved the variety of speakers and the option to ask more questions via video call. That gave me a great sense of support knowing that I can always reach out whenever I need help. I also loved the ‘I wish I’d thought of that’ session, showing that people are genuinely doing amazing things and it’s so inspiring to see.” Karabo Moshodi, Sizanani Mentorship Programme, South Africa.
• “I loved the high-quality content. My most valuable takeaway is the concept that the donor is the hero, not the organisation.” CJ Van Wyk, Saints Foundation, South Africa.
• “Great Pop Up! Empowering! Looking forward to the next one and to support more.”. Daniela Jeronino, Greenpeace, Hong Kong.
• “I loved the energy; Ideas inspirations. Wish I’d thought of that session – very inspirational!” Annie Fung, Heifer HK, Hong Kong.
• “Videos felt more personal than expected. Local application was a good idea.” Alex Danier, DIV Asia, Hong Kong.
• “The opportunity to video with global experts was thrilling and amazing. The presenters were very well versed in their areas of presentation. The live interactions with presenters Q and A sessions were well tackled.” Kenya.

How delegates have applied learnings from Raw London’s IFC Pop Up session

Several organisations who attended the IFC Pop Ups in South Africa in 2019 shared how valuable they found the session, ‘How to effectively approach video content strategy‘, run by Ryan Wilkins, Founder & CEO at Raw London. The session scored an overall approval rating of 84% across the three IFC Pop Ups in South Africa in February and March 2019. 

Jovana Djeri, Head of Sustainable Development at the Ikamva Labantu Charitable Trust, shared how she was able to apply the advice Ryan shared when she was faced with having to raise $10,000 at short notice for a severely under-resourced pre-school in the impoverished township of Delft in Cape Town. The session offered practical and tangible ideas for using video for fundraising, and within a week she had easily exceeded the campaign’s goal and raised more than $10,000.

She explains, “Thanks to what I learnt at the IFC, I felt that the best way to get traction from the video was to send it personally to friends of Ikamva in the USA. Throughout, we used Nomsa and our donors as the heroes and the response by donors to this shift has been amazing. One major donor who donated to the Nomsa pre-school appeal shared a screenshot of Ikamva’s thank-you on her Facebook page with the remark, ‘You made my day’”. 

Another organisation which is benefitting from Raw London’s knowledge sharing is the Cape of Good Hope SPCA.  Belinda Abraham, Head of Resource Development, Communication and Education, said; “The video content strategy session was excellent and really opened my eyes! We intend to continue using the approach which has seen us achieve a viral reach each time we send out our communications. We are also seeing a growth in Facebook conversion.” 

Find out more about The Resource Alliance and IFC on their website. You can also find out more about IFC and register for IFC 2020: Accelerating Change here.