A Day in the Life of a NORCAS Fundraising Manager
Posted on | January 24, 2011 | No Comments
A snapshot of a ‘typical’ day in the life of a charity fundraising manager from NORCAS’s Matt Wilson
I joined NORCAS bang in the middle of its rebrand in September 2009 and, as Head of Fundraising, my role has since become increasingly relevant in these financially pressurised times.
My background is in sales and in many ways my role with NORCAS is similar, although often much more rewarding because the income I am responsible for generating is for such vital services. It can be more challenging too however, as occasionally people have strong views on the services NORCAS provides based on the stigma sometimes attached to addictive behaviours.
I am always in and out of the office at various appointments so typical days are few and far between! I do however have regular aspects of my role that take up a large percentage of my time.
A big part of my role is to raise funds for either existing or new projects that NORCAS is involved with. I currently have 12 significant projects I’m managing! This often involves me meeting with potential donors/funders to discuss NORCAS’s role as a charity and its plans. At the moment I am working to get financial backing for a new youth service, which is being set up to educate 12 to 19 year olds about the dangers of addictive behaviours. The new service needs enough funding to run for a minimum of two years and my role is to make sure our funders and investors understand the need for the new service and will help support its running costs.
I also regularly apply for funding from the main grant making trusts which include Big Lottery, Comic Relief and Children in Need. There may be several stages to this process such as attending seminars, collating evidence to support the need for the funding as well as writing the actual application. There can also be very strict deadlines with regards to these sources of funding.
Another aspect of my job is to get involved in the NORCAS training programmes, which are designed to raise awareness and educate organisations such as businesses, schools, parents and health professionals, to the issues surrounding substance misuse. We are currently working with Norwich City College and St Felix School offering comprehensive training programmes.
I am also responsible for organising a calendar of fundraising events. I will be starting work on the 2011 events during January, including the second NORCAS charity ball, NORCAS golf day and supporting participants in the London Marathon and Great South Run.
Fundraising is certainly not a 9 till 5 job by any means! I can sometimes be found giving evening presentations for groups like the Lions Club, Rotary and Freemasons, as well as attending business breakfast meetings, which can start as early as 6.45am! I will write to a large proportion of the groups and clubs in the Norfolk and Suffolk area which often results in requests for a talk by NORCAS to raise awareness and may ultimately lead to donations.
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