In case of magic, break glass
Howard Lake | 27 October 2010 | Blogs
Yesterday, more than 300 delegates representing nearly 100 Scottish charities converged on the Hilton Glasgow for the 19th Institute of Fundraising (Scotland) Conference. The current economic climate and reductions in many organisations’ training budgets meant the conference was streamlined into a one-day conference this year – but there was no reduction in quality.
Tony Elischer, of THINK Consulting Solutions, challenged fundraisers in the opening plenary, Futurology 2010: 4 Precious gifts to survive the future – there are tough times ahead over the coming months and charities need to become part of everyday life if they want to remain relevant.
Delegates then had a choice of 20 sessions ranging from How to spice up your fundraising to Mean ROIs.
And Alan Clayton, of Clayton Burnett Associates, treated delegates to The Inspiration Show in the closing plenary. At times, you could hear a pin drop in the Main Auditorium such was Alan’s supreme story-telling and command of the arena. In these days of strategies, timelines and procedures, there must be room for the mantra, ‘In case of magic, break glass.’ No lamp-posting, simply go with your gut instinct and get the message out there.
Informal conversations through networking opportunities may have been condensed but the standard of the programme left me feeling inspired and enthused. I hope the Institute of Fundraising (Scotland) reconsider the format of the conference next year; budgets may be tight, but there is no substitute for that face-to-face conversation that lingers into the wee small hours of the morning.
Stuart Glen (@stuglen) is Director of Fundraising at OneKind
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.