# Be credible to major donors

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2008/11/26/be-credible-major-donors/
- Published: 2008-11-26T17:58:05+00:00
- Author: Howard Lake

We must be credible and transparent to our major donors to attract their donations,
delegates were told at a recent conference.

Caroline Underwood, director of philanthropy and partnerships at Save the Children
said that many organisations are still not prepared to show donors the overall financial
situation of the organisation. “Be honest about any financial problems,” she advissed,“
because donors will find out.”

“It is not new that donors want to know how the money is spent,” she said, “but 
what is new is that we have to tell them and to be transparent.”

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She said a major donor might ask about your reserves, what percentage of your budget
is spent on fundraising, what your CEO is paid and what your total expenditure is
on programmes. Prepare a fact sheet of Q&As and keep it as part of your ‘tools of
the trade’, she advised.

And major donor fundraisers should show ‘innovation and flexibility’. “Do look for
people who are creative, innovative, bright, personable and able to adapt to different
situations. I propose that in tough times donors will be looking for organisations
to be more creative too.”

Underwood was speaking at the first conference organised jointly by the Institute
of Fundraising in the UK and the Association of Fundraising Professionals in the
US. More than 200 delegates attended the ‘Global Perspectives on Major Donor Fundraising’
event in London.

www.institute-of-fundraising.org.uk

www.afpnet.org