# Rogare asks if English-speaking fundraising ideas crowd out local fundraising

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2026/10/08/rogare-asks-if-english-speaking-fundraising-ideas-crowd-out-local-fundraising/
- Published: 2026-10-08T00:01:00+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

**Rogare, the international fundraising think tank, has launched a project and working
paper asking whether fundraising ideas developed in English-speaking countries are
crowding out practices better suited to local cultures of philanthropy.**

The paper, _Does one size fit all? Cultural differences in the evolution and development
of global fundraising professions_, argues that much thinking about best practice,
ethics and regulation originates in the “anglosphere” and is then exported to fundraising
professions around the world. It asks whether those ideas always suit other cultures
and, even where they do, whether they displace local approaches that might work 
better.

## A roadmap, not a prescription

Rogare emphasises that it is not telling fundraisers in any country how to professionalise,
which it calls inappropriate anglophone behaviour. Instead it offers a template 
that fundraisers can adopt or adapt. It recommends four stages:

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 * identify the characteristics of the local social culture;
 * describe the local culture of philanthropy;
 * compare anglophone best practice, ethics and standards with local values to see
   which fit and which are problematic;
 * and consider the most appropriate forms of professionalisation.

The working paper draws on [Geert Hofstede’s six-dimension model of national culture](https://geerthofstede.com/culture-geert-hofstede-gert-jan-hofstede/6d-model-of-national-culture/),
and acknowledges criticisms of it. Rogare defines professionalisation as a group
of fundraisers collectively moving their practice towards greater effectiveness,
efficiency and accountability within their local culture of philanthropy. It says
this “categorically does not mean” adopting the norms of any one culture.

## Commission and ‘because of you’

The paper gives two examples. **Paying fundraisers by commission** is almost universally
prohibited in the English-speaking world, but might be acceptable elsewhere, or 
might not: Rogare says it does not know.

**Donor-centred fundraising**‘s habit of singling out the donor for praise, the “
because of you…” direct mail letter, reflects individualist anglophone culture and
might not play well in more collectivist ones, such as those found in Asia.

Alice Ferris of US agency GoalBusters, a Rogare Associate Member and Council member,
said:

> “Calling something best practice doesn’t make it universally best, and the fundraising
> profession keeps mistaking its own reflection for a universal law.”

## No universal ethics, and next steps

The key implication, Rogare argues, concerns ethics. Its Rights-Balancing Fundraising
Ethics framework balances fundraisers’ duties to donors and to beneficiaries, and
those duties may vary between cultures. A practice that is unethical in one culture,
such as paying commission, could therefore be ethical in another, meaning “there
can be no universal global standard of fundraising ethics”.

Rogare hopes to set up working groups in some countries and cultures, starting with
Hopi Nation nonprofits in the USA in collaboration with GoalBusters. It has also
held initial discussions with members of the Māori community in New Zealand/Aotearoa.
Fundraisers who want to collaborate can contact Ian MacQuillin at cu******@****re.
net. Rogare’s work is supported by its Associate Members, among them ST (Stephen
Thomas Ltd), Ask Direct, GoalBusters, Giving Architects, Chell Perkins and Fundraiser
in the Room, and by a strategic partnership with the Chartered Institute of Fundraising.

 * **[Rogare issues warning as commission-based pay for fundraisers is deregulated](https://fundraising.co.uk/2026/02/04/rogare-issues-warning-as-commission-based-pay-for-fundraisers-is-deregulated/)(
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 * **[Ian MacQuillin awarded outstanding contribution award at CIOF awards](https://fundraising.co.uk/2026/06/08/ian-macquillin-awarded-outstanding-contribution-award-at-ciof-awards/)(
   8 June 2026)
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