Beth Breeze wins AFP/Skystone Partners Research Prize
Melanie May | 16 April 2018 | News
Senior lecturer on social policy and director of the Centre for Philanthropy Beth Breeze has been awarded the 2018 AFP/Skystone Partners Prize for Research on Fundraising and Philanthropy for her book The New Fundraisers: Who Organises Charitable Giving in Contemporary Society?.
Published by Policy Press in 2017, The New Fundraisers provides a global overview on the purpose and history of fundraising, with in-depth data from an extensive study of UK fundraisers. The book is an empirically-based and theoretically-informed account of the makeup and role of fundraisers, how fundraising works in practice and what kinds of skills and training make for an effective fundraising professional.
Each year, the AFP Research Council awards the Skystone Partners Prize for Research to the author or authors of a book that contributes substantially to the knowledge and understanding of fundraising or philanthropic behaviour. The award is funded by an endowment established by fundraising consultants Skystone Partners.
Commenting on her prize, the jury said:
“This excellent volume was selected because of its value as a research study that centres itself outside of the United States. Dr. Breeze’s book argues that fundraising is about much more than simply ‘raising funds’ by asking donors, as the process must also include the complex work of cultivation by the practitioner.
“Prior to now, most researchers have focused on individual donors, their characteristics and their motivations. Dr. Breeze flips the script and, through empirical research, helps us understand the fundraiser. We commend Dr. Breeze for strong research and an accessible book that can forward our field.”
Breeze said:
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“Writing this book was a labour of love because I feel strongly that fundraising is a crucial yet overlooked, and often misunderstood, profession. I hope that the book helps to challenge the illogical position whereby charities are widely admired, but the people who bring in the funding that enables charitable activity to take place, are not.”
Breeze worked as a fundraiser and charity manager before co-founding the Centre for Philanthropy at the University of Kent, where she now leads a team conducting research and teaching courses on philanthropy and fundraising. She has written the annual Coutts Million Pound Donor Report since 2008, co-authored Richer Lives: Why Rich People Give (2013), The Logic of Charity: Great Expectations in Hard Times (2015) and co-edited The Philanthropy Reader (2016).
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About Melanie May
Melanie May is a journalist and copywriter specialising in writing both for and about the charity and marketing services sectors since 2001. She can be reached via thepurplepim.com.