Fundraising think tank to bring new thinking to fundraising from other disciplines
Howard Lake | 1 April 2014 | News
Plymouth University’s Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy is to establish a fundraising think tank which will bring new ideas to fundraising and promote fresh approaches to fundraising problems and issues.
The think tank is provisionally called ‘Rogare’, Latin for ‘to ask’. It has been developed by fundraising communications expert Ian MacQuillin, who today joins Plymouth University as its manager.
Professor Adrian Sargeant, director of the Centre for Sustainable Philanthropy (CSP), explained:
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“Ian approached us last year with a proposal to establish a new think tank and I knew it would be a perfect fit with the CSP.
“We are still finalising the think tank’s outputs, but the overall plan is that Rogare will tackle two issues of importance to the sector each year, promoting new and innovative solutions to existing issues”.
Professor Sargeant added that the Centre’s research programme and the activities of Rogare should complement each other. The CSP would grow philanthropy through a better understanding of the drivers of philanthropy”, and Rogare would do the same “by developing a more nuanced understanding of the fundraising profession and the practice of philanthropy.”
Ian MacQuillin
Ian MacQuillin is the former head of communications at the Public Fundraising Regulatory Association. He was editor of Professional Fundraising magazine from 2001-06 and then account director at fundraising public relations specialist TurnerPR. He writes for UK Fundraising.
He explained why there is a need for a think tank for the fundraising profession, saying:
“There is relatively little new thinking in fundraising to address some of the problems our sector faces, which means a lot of the time, ideas are simply recycled.
“One of Rogare’s principle aims will be to look outside the charity sector to other academic disciplines, such as behavioural economics, professional ethics and evolutionary psychology, to see if there are ideas there that we can import and adapt to charity fundraising.”
Two projects a year
MacQuillin expects Rogare to undertake two major projects each year. Each will begin with the compilation of an inter-disciplinary literature review of the topic. This will then be discussed at a seminar by the think tank’s advisory board of fundraising practitioners, who are currently being recruited. They will then translate these ideas into practical applications, which will be published in special report.
One of the first projects Rogare is likely to undertake will be a scoping study to identify current issues in fundraising that are under-researched which could benefit from fresh thinking and a new approach.
More on Rogare
- New Rogare project will create theory & evidence knowledge bases to help fundraisers inform work (20 May 2021)
- Rogare announces new project exploring how to study the history of fundraising (12 May 2021)
- Beneficiary framing examined in new Rogare paper (22 May 2018)
Related posts
Rogare’s first project is to ‘review and refashion’ relationship fundraising
Fundraising must professionalise for the future, says Rogare paper
Fundraisers invited to participate in Rogare research into ‘donor dominance’
Paper calls for new ethical approach to framing service users in fundraising
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.