Transcript

[00:00:00] Multiple Voices: Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. Fundraising everywhere. , you don’t need to add me in there.

[00:00:31] Jade Cunnah: Welcome to the Fundraising Everywhere podcast. Your go-to place for fundraising tips and inspiration. Love what you hear. Get more insights straight to your inbox. Subscribe to our email list for exclusive fundraising resources, early access to training, special discounts, and more. Just head on over to fundraising everwhere.com/podcast to subscribe Now onto today’s episode, enjoy.

[00:00:59] Nikki Bell: That is exciting. Good flow. It is, it’s really exciting. It’s lovely to have us all back again for all things digital. It is once a year, every June, we all this digital room talking about all things, uh, digital. Um, so yeah, I can’t believe it has been a year. How is everyone good? Excited. Good? Yeah. Everyone looks like they’re somewhere warm.

[00:01:24] Nikki Bell: Which is maybe a little bit too warm. Too warm, too warm. Well, the conversation’s about to get hotter, so thank you. We’re talking today about the digital learning grant, all things digital. Um, and I’ve got some wonderful people here back in the room, uh, to, to help me for the next half an hour or so. So I’d love these all to.

[00:01:46] Nikki Bell: Say hi and introduce yourselves. Cam, I’m gonna come to you first. 

[00:01:49] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Thank you. I am Cam, uh, pronouns are she her. Um, I’m head of membership engagement at fundraising everywhere, which basically means I get to make sure that all our members are having the best experience ever and with all of the learning, confidence, networking community that they could dream of.

[00:02:09] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: And so, yeah, that’s me. Uh, 

you’ve got a lovely face on there, Nikki. I was, I was like, that’s really nice. It’s the first time I’ve heard it. Write that down, keep using it. I mean, it’s the heat, it’s the heat. Um, 

[00:02:23] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: so that’s me. Um, and yeah, I’ve had the pleasure of um, kinda stewarding our digital learning grant members alongside Megan in our team as well, which has been lovely.

[00:02:31] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Uh, so yeah, that’s me. Nice. Who do you wanna chuck the intro to next? I’m gonna chuck the intro to Phoebe. I did a physical chuck in. Thanks. 

[00:02:40] Phoebe Sabin: Um, hi everyone. I’m Phoebe and I’m the growth marketing manager at Just Giving. So I work closely with, um, charities, largely smaller to medium sized organizations, um, helping them sort of, uh, work out how to stay up to date, up to date, and engage all the ways they can raise more on just giving and encouraging fundraising best practice.

[00:02:57] Phoebe Sabin: Over to you Zoe. 

[00:03:00] Zoe Amar: Hi everyone. It’s lovely to be back here again. So I’m Zoe Am I run a digital air consultancy called Zoe Am Digital and I’m also the co-author of the Charity Digital Skills Report. 

[00:03:12] Nikki Bell: Amazing. So yes, we’re all in the right room. We’re all here. So Digital learning grant, we have just come to the end of the second cohort and for anybody who doesn’t know what the digital learning grant is, uh, cam would you like to tell people what it is?

[00:03:29] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: I can indeed. So the Digital Learning grant program, um, is sponsored indeed by just giving, um, and it was set up to ensure that we could provide digital skills to help fundraisers feel confident, um, knowledgeable, um, but also inspired, um, to bring digital to their organizations and sort of build. The, the build on the digital skills.

[00:03:50] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: And I know we’re gonna hear later from Zoe, um, about things that have come out from this year’s report, but we’re constantly hearing in the sector. Um, you know, digital has been a big part and a driver for where we’re going to towards and we’re gonna continue to do so. Um, but fundraisers haven’t always felt really skilled and confident in being able to apply and those skills or to know what it is.

[00:04:10] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, that we’re applying. So yeah, the learning grant sponsored by just giving, um, is curated specifically by us at fundraising everywhere. Um, we ask fundraisers for, um, the areas that they would love to develop and grow and learn in. Um, and then we curate, um, a specific and bespoke program for those fundraisers to develop their skills.

[00:04:30] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, yeah, it’s beautiful, really. 

[00:04:33] Nikki Bell: It is. It is. And we, so this is the second time that we’ve run it. Ran it. I dunno what the ran run, what’s the right grammar on that run? Ran both. Well, you know what I meant. Um, and the first year that we did it, uh, and Zoe you were just on this as well, so everyone here is, has all been included from day one.

[00:04:49] Nikki Bell: Uh, we had a hundred people, uh, the last one. So the one that we’ve just finished, we had 200 people go through. And for me, from what I. Saw I wasn’t as involved this year. ’cause Cam, you were leading them wonderfully. Um, the engagement and the impact just seemed to be so much higher. And again, like we will talk, uh, through some of that in, in our chat today.

[00:05:09] Nikki Bell: Um, but yeah, the, the need, the need is. Is still there. I know Zoe, when we had this conversation last year, we, I think we had the results from the charity digital, uh, skills report. But for you, in terms of like where the sector is right now, the general vibe, like with, with digital skills and, and what people are, are working on, what for you is, is standing out as to why programs like the digital learning grant is so important.

[00:05:36] Zoe Amar: Yeah. So there’s a couple of things I’d say there, and this is just a general reflection for, I just touched on a couple of, um, of, uh, juicy stats. Um, I think that digital skills are really rising up the agenda. So one thing we have, uh, been doing this summer so far as we’ve been working with, um, Microsoft, uh, to develop and deliver, uh.

[00:05:57] Zoe Amar: AI Leadership Accelerator for, uh, charity leaders from small and large charities. I have never heard so many leaders talk about skills. I think once you start to look at the change that comes with ai, ’cause it’s not just the tools, it’s the the ways of working. It’s the how, it’s the, the why as much as the, the what the women, the wear.

[00:06:18] Zoe Amar: And people are really the sector’s main asset in in many ways. And once you start to realize that you can’t really implement this level of change, you can’t really operate as a charity now without having good digital skills, you inevitably end up having less impact. And therefore, I think AI’s gonna be a real crunch point for whether we really grasp the net or on committing to developing.

[00:06:42] Zoe Amar: Skills further. So that was really refreshing to be working with those a hundred charity leaders who were just clamoring for more skills and how to develop skills in the organization. So, so that was really positive. Um, and then in terms of some of the, the trends that we’ve, we’ve seen, I mean, I’ll be able to talk more about the, uh, actual data from the report itself when it comes out on the, the 10th of July.

[00:07:06] Zoe Amar: Um, but certainly we saw some. Some positive signs from the initial findings. So we did a bit of a dip test, uh, back in April when we had 300 plus responses from the report. And, and we published that and we saw that 62% of charities had made good or significant progress with digital this year, uh, which was really encouraging.

[00:07:29] Zoe Amar: Um, but yeah, at the same time we also saw there was some real. Some real challenges as, as well. So three quarters of charities. So 76% are now using AI tools day-to-day, hence the need for more skills than that, as well as other areas. Um, but there are also some, some other, I think, quite significant challenges among the skills that will be needed to make the new tools and.

[00:07:54] Zoe Amar: The kind of evergreen skills really fly. So for example, we now have 50% of charities have got AI policies, which is up significantly from 16% in 2024. But for me, one of the challenges there is we need to manage risk in a completely. New way in the age of AI as much of as opportunities. So it’s kind of the skills around the skills.

[00:08:17] Zoe Amar: It’s like a kind of skills sandwich, isn’t it, that we need to, we need to develop, um, and, and grow. So yeah, I think the world of skills is becoming more complex. It’s becoming more exciting, and it’s also becoming more demanding. 

[00:08:33] Nikki Bell: It is been, but I, it, it sound, it sounds great that there is loads of support in that.

[00:08:37] Nikki Bell: And actually that came out a lot with the people that we were speaking to as part of the graduation today. I think when we ask people to take part in the digital learning grant, we ask them straight away, you know, who’s put you forward for this? And, and do you have the support on it? And overwhelmingly, we are seeing an increase.

[00:08:53] Nikki Bell: In, uh, participants who, who have that backend. So that’s great to hear as well. Not only, uh, that are, are you seeing the stats, improving the report too, but also, um, that it’s, it’s continuing and that there’s places like that where people can boost, uh, their, their skills. Um, so, and you’re doing a session at the digital.

[00:09:13] Nikki Bell: Fundraising conference on the 3rd of July where you’re gonna be doing some teasers. So, uh, I’m looking forward to hearing more stats there as well. Um, cam, from the graduation, uh, that we had and from the program overall, what have been the standout highlights, uh, for, for you for this year? 

[00:09:30] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: I think it’s twofold.

[00:09:31] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: The first one, um, that I wanted to pick up on was just kind of a bit of a lead on from what Zoe was saying about really thinking about the how that they’re gonna apply this now. Like it’s great that they’re investing in these skills and like, um, you know, lead leadership seem to be even more kind of committed to that.

[00:09:46] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: But what I was also saying with the, um. This particular cohort, although I know I wasn’t as close last time, um, it was the need that they were building things like strategies, um, and really thinking strategically about how they were gonna bring digital fundraising to, you know, their, their fundraising portfolio.

[00:10:03] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, and they were being like, yeah, put in charge of, of, of building those. And that was. To me that felt really different from what I was seeing that the, the cohort was looking for in terms of skills last year. That’s quite nice. So they are thinking holistically in that way. Um, so that was one of the highlights.

[00:10:17] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: I know that we are gonna probably hear, or I hope we get to hear from, um, one of our participants, Neville. Um, I feel like we’re. Big friends, but like, we haven’t actually met in real life. But anyway, um, Neville, um, really kind of utilized the program to the full extent, I think, and um, was able to get support with their digital innovation and strategy and they were able to be matched with another member of the Fundraising everywhere community and have that strategy.

[00:10:43] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Kind of work and build on it together. And they submitted that to their director and the strategy was signed off and they’ve learned all these skills that they were able to kind of input into that strategy, but also share with people within their organization as well. And they’ve actually become organizational members now, like, yeah, Neville’s journey, just.

[00:11:00] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, for me, I know it’s the stu the journey of many, but, um, really, really stands out. Um, and then the second piece, I guess in terms of another highlight, um, is just the dedication, the sheer dedication that people and commitment that people have made to this, to this program. Like I have received, I. So many emails from, um, participants about the fact that their digital, like workbooks are so full of notes and they now need some time over the summer to digest it all, or they wish they had a little bit more time.

[00:11:28] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: And you know, it’s really amazing to see just that dedication. Like even though people’s workloads are heavy and the pressure as we know in the sector, sometimes it’s being really felt and that they are really committing and dedicating that time to learning and seeing the results. Um, we heard some awesome stories from that this morning, um, at today’s graduation.

[00:11:46] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: So yeah, that makes me feel like really happy and warm and buzzy. 

[00:11:50] Nikki Bell: Zoe, I’ll catch you up, uh, and just share some of this feedback with you. So I’ll go through the scores in, in just a moment. ’cause we, we have kind of like a quick snapshots. Not everyone is, is finished completely yet and we’ve actually given them a free month just.

[00:12:02] Nikki Bell: That they can get stuck into some extra bits and bobs. Um, but the two standout pieces of feedback from me, uh, one of them was a quote from Hannah May who shared, I no longer feel like I’m sitting in a room alone, struggling to improve, uh, support experience. I feel empowered to know that there are so many of us and really energized to be brave and try new things, fail and learn fast, and to reach across charities to share and collaborate in digital.

[00:12:26] Nikki Bell: Like how amazing is that? That’s just so lovely. That’s from the program. That’s gorgeous. I mean, what a lovely demonstration of the program’s impact. Yeah. And then for tangible ones, because you know, I, maybe the budget holders are like, well, that’s nice that people feel less alone, but what about the money I.

[00:12:45] Nikki Bell: Well, here’s the soundbite for them as well. So Becca shared that they secured two major grants off the back of learning from that course, specifically by presenting new fundraising plans. So they’ve said, thank you. So that’s incredible. So it’s making people feel secure, confident, and raise more. And that’s six months.

[00:13:03] Nikki Bell: Yeah. Do you know like that’s the power of learning, sharing digital skills like this program, uh, it’s so amazing and yeah. Shall we hear a little bit from Nev? 

[00:13:11] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Yeah. Let’s hear from Nev. Cool.

[00:13:17] Nikki Bell: So how lovely to hear from Nev and his experience as well. So thank you Nev. So I went through, at the end of that chat with Nev, uh, as well, I, I, I put, I put them on the spot and, uh, pulled up the scores from when they’d first, uh, took part in the program and said how confident they were and. Rated them there and then in the moment, and thankfully, ’cause it would’ve went awkwardly wrong if it didn’t, all of the scores had gone up.

[00:13:41] Nikki Bell: So let’s look at the highlights so far for, from this, from this year’s course. So when the 250, no, two, 200 participants, sorry, uh, came on board for this year’s digital learning grant, we ask them to rate their skills and confidence in a variety of. Areas. Um, so from, you know, digital wellbeing, social media skills, et cetera.

[00:14:06] Nikki Bell: So the main ones that stood out for me when I was looking at these were when the participants joined the program. Uh, the majority, uh, rated themselves a one out of five for confidence in developing a digital fundraising strategy. Now at the end of the course, that’s four out of five. That’s incredible.

[00:14:30] Nikki Bell: Whole one to four. We’re 

[00:14:32] Phoebe Sabin: silently 

[00:14:33] Nikki Bell: clapping. Silent. Ruin. Mute please. This is a podcast. They can’t see you. You have to have to do some clouds. Yay. Uh, another one which stood out for me as well was, uh, well, digital innovation, um, as well, and behavioral science and fundraising approaches. So both of them went from a one out of five for skills and confidence as well to a four out of five, which is incredible.

[00:14:57] Nikki Bell: Small charity, uh, digital tactics went from a two out of five to a four out of five. So we’ll be sharing, um, more of those results on our socials and with our community once the, um, course is fully wrapped up. But so far that is really incredible and we talked about it before as well, but it’s. It’s down to the people in it.

[00:15:17] Nikki Bell: They have just been so engaged. They’ve been engaging with the modules that are available. They’ve been going to extra conferences. They’ve been asked to be matched with other parts of the community and being, getting mentoring. They’ve been getting coaching, so it’s really, it’s them that have done it. Um, but obviously do you know, it’s, it’s been a home.

[00:15:37] Nikki Bell: Collaborative effort, uh, for, for the, from the sector, uh, as well. 

[00:15:41] Phoebe Sabin: Absolutely. 

Yeah. 

[00:15:42] Phoebe Sabin: And you mentioned earlier, just really briefly, you glossed over the three months, um, membership extra for the digital learning grant. Um. People that have gone through this last cohort, but it is testament to their dedication, their like excitement about all of their learning.

[00:15:57] Phoebe Sabin: That someone even in the graduation was like, this is so great. Like, they’re so excited about having another month, an extra month 

[00:16:03] Nikki Bell: of learning. Yeah. Into the summer. So yes, we did, uh, share with the participants today that we’ve given them an extra month free, um, of fundraising everywhere, membership, because we have the digital fundraising comp.

[00:16:16] Nikki Bell: On the 3rd of July. So it kind of makes sense that they’re there, right. Um, but it also gives them an extra chance to, uh, catch up with any of the modules maybe that they haven’t missed, especially now that they’ve seen, you know, the impact that can come from actually engaging, uh, in this. So Zoe, that’ll be the first time that you’ve been hearing that too.

[00:16:33] Nikki Bell: Like what’s your first reflections on that? Because I think actually the jump on that is higher than what we had last year, so Yeah. What’s your initial reaction to, to those scores? Well, it shows the, the level of demand 

[00:16:45] Zoe Amar: and engagement, doesn’t it? Which is, which is super exciting and it’s really, I think it’s just so brilliant to see how passionate people 

[00:16:54] Nikki Bell: are.

[00:16:55] Nikki Bell: Yeah. It’s, it’s really, and honestly, the, the vibe at the graduation, uh, by far for me, made up for the. Interaction that I missed from not being involved with, with the steward in this year. So it was really, really good to see. Cam, do you wanna talk about some of the top users before we we move on to the digital conference and the, and the skills report in in more detail?

[00:17:19] Nikki Bell: Oh, you’re muted.

[00:17:22] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Of course I am. Um, obviously everyone’s a winner. Um, and everyone has been super, super engaged, which has been amazing. Um, but we have had some standout in terms of how many sessions they’ve engaged with. Um, so we’ve got Emma n uh, very big clap for Emma, n um, also Emma f both of the Emma’s the top on our list.

[00:17:42] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, also Annabelle, who was also with us today at the graduation, and they shared, can’t remember now off the top of my head, but they also shared some feedback, which was really lovely, um, about how they found the, the program. Um, a couple other mentions of people who’ve just really engaged in like workshops, coaching, um, mentoring, the whole kind of.

[00:18:02] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Uh, I guess experience of membership. Um, we also, Louise w uh, John Spriggs, uh, Molly c Hannah w, uh, Joe, Beverly, Dana, Ella, and Jess as well. So just a couple of shout outs for them. Big shout outs. Yeah, really big shout outs for them. Um, genuinely, I think it was Dana who shared with me that they said they’ve watched everything and more of the additional content and they’ve learned so much.

[00:18:30] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, their workbook is full of masses, of notes and links downloaded. Thanks to everyone at Team Fe and the sponsorship by just giving for, giving me this opportunity to learn all things digital with regards to fundraising. 

[00:18:43] Nikki Bell: Gorgeous. What a quote, what a quote. And if you’re listening to this and you’re like, well, that’s all well and good, but I’ve missed out.

[00:18:50] Nikki Bell: Well, all good news. So we are launching the digital learning grant, Ram three at the Digital fundraising Conference. So. Thank you. Just given, uh, who have confirmed that we’re gonna be partnering on that again through 2026. And this time we’re gonna be taking 250 people through the program. So applications for that are gonna open at the conference on the 3rd of July for participants.

[00:19:14] Nikki Bell: So please do be there. We would love to, uh, see your applications. We can’t wait to do it all again. Um, and if you have missed out last time and you’re listening to this and you’re thinking, I want a bit of that, you can, um. You also get to come to the conference. So let’s move on now and talk about digital skills overall.

[00:19:32] Nikki Bell: We were having a little chat before we hit record and we were talking about. The need and just how rapidly things seem to be changing at the moment. And even some of our participants had said, you know, with this program that had been put together at the end of last year, like some of that’s already obsolete.

[00:19:48] Nikki Bell: It’s, it’s moved on a bit already. So why the state of the sector digital? How is it feeling? What is the, the, the core, uh, opportunity, if we look at it from a positive, uh, perspective that’s ahead of us right now that we really need to be working towards to, to grasp. Zoe, I’m gonna come to you first. What would the report 

[00:20:08] Zoe Amar: Yeah, sure.

[00:20:10] Zoe Amar: Um, so I think the, the big opportunity for me is very much about, um, it’s about AI to be honest with you, but it’s also about trying to deal with some of the systemic digital skills gaps we have seen for such a long time now, certainly ever since the report began. So I’ll start with, with those because they are the ones that just aren’t shifting.

[00:20:31] Zoe Amar: So historically, year on year, we’ve seen. Two very significant skills gaps alongside some of the others. But these two have, have always really struck me as really quite, really quite critical to the success of the sector. So data skills have always been a really significant challenge. We know there’ve been challenges with infrastructure, but also.

[00:20:50] Zoe Amar: Data skills and collecting and managing and analyzing data and cybersecurity as well. Uh, so I think that is an ongoing issue, which is going to become even more pressing in the age of AI growth. Uh, and then I think there’s a really significant challenge around the skills of leaders as well. So historically, year on year in the report, we’ve seen how.

[00:21:12] Zoe Amar: Challenging it’s been for charities ’cause they’re just not getting the, uh, digital vision that they want to have from their CEOs and also their, their boards as well. So this is about leaders sharpening their own AEs on, on skills as much as data skills. Um, and there are, you know, other skills gaps that definitely need to be, be closed as well.

[00:21:34] Zoe Amar: But I think those two things are really key to fix. And then. Obviously with the growth of AI adoption across the sector, so I mentioned that figure of 76% of charities now using AI based on our initial findings from the reports. For me, that means the whole water table of skills across the sector needs to.

[00:21:53] Zoe Amar: To rise up because I think it’s hard to use AI well, unless you’ve got that good, solid base of digital skills, as much as knowing how to use AI tools and when to use them as well. So I hope all of this reinvigorates the conversation about skills across the sector. 

[00:22:14] Nikki Bell: Absolutely right there about what you, you put in.

[00:22:16] Nikki Bell: ’cause it’s, it’s like fundraising overall, isn’t it? If the basics aren’t there, the foundation isn’t there. What you put in is, sorry, what you get out is only gonna be as good as you put in. So it’s that balance, isn’t it? You, you have to get those fundamentals right. You have to get the skills right. But then, yeah, exploration.

[00:22:30] Nikki Bell: I feel like for me, AI is. Starting to click now, the way I’m using it and how I’m using it to help me, not from a generative point of view, but even do, you know, to help me quicken up some processes. That’s been really exciting to, to feel and see. So we will be, um, delving into some, uh, AI topics at the conference as well.

[00:22:49] Nikki Bell: And Phoebe, for you, obviously you, you’re working with charities every day on their digital fundraising, you know, what changes are you seeing there and you know, what are you. Not like, what are you coming back for? But, you know, what are you excited about doing the, the digital learning grant again? You know, what do you, you hope to see this time round?

[00:23:07] Phoebe Sabin: Yeah, I mean it’s, unfortunately, it’s the, it’s the sort of similar story to what we’ve seen over, we’ve been talking about for the last couple of years, and we’ve been doing this alongside all of the issues and sort of opportunities and risks that have already been talked about so far. There’s also the age agile problem of the resource and sort of time, confidence, resource, et cetera, that go alongside the.

[00:23:28] Phoebe Sabin: Opportunity for upskilling, uh, if there are, if there are opportunities from, um, leaders in the organization. But, um, yeah, anything to do with digital strategy that’s like such a positive. So it’s great to hear that feedback from Zoe, um, from those initial findings and from Cam, from what she’s heard from, um, some of the members of the, um, last cohort of the digital learning one as well.

[00:23:51] Phoebe Sabin: Um, but yeah, in terms of. What I would love to see is also their confidence being built up, which is something that thankfully we’ve seen has been improved, um, from the digital learning grant. Um, it’s because that’s not just necessarily their confidence in sort of doing something better. It might be them trying new things or testing and learning or seeing what a different organization does and taking something from that.

[00:24:14] Phoebe Sabin: And trying to apply it at a scalable level to their own organization depend like no matter the size of them or the re resource that they have. Um, so anything they can do to focus on like one key area would be like amazing. And yeah, I’ve talked a number of times, uh, and I don’t think it’s groundbreaking to think about digital skills and digital fundraising.

[00:24:33] Phoebe Sabin: Working in harmony with one another. Um, so the digital learning grant is obviously the perfect example of this in reality. Um, so yeah, fundraising everywhere and just giving, we share the same goals ultimately, I think, of helping improve the knowledge and skills and confidence in both of those areas. So I’ll always rave about how much we love working with fundraising everywhere and doing the digital learning grant.

[00:24:54] Phoebe Sabin: So it is for that reason that the digital learning grant was born and why we’ve come back to be able to hopefully offer it to even more people this time around as well. I love it. 

[00:25:02] Nikki Bell: So good. And we appreciate it too. Thank you. And Cam, for you as well, I mean the Fundraising Everywhere membership community has grown wildly, for want of a better word, in the past 12 months.

[00:25:14] Nikki Bell: What, for you, are you hearing from them around digital? What opportunities are they going for? What are, what do they need help with? 

[00:25:21] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Yeah, I think it, you hit the nail on the head there, Phoebe, about the digital skills also. Somehow I, I’m not so tech savvy, but like also teaches that kind of culture around test and learn and fail, and you can do that so quickly because of digital.

[00:25:37] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, so yeah, there was a, a, a bit of feedback that came through the graduation today that like, I can’t remember, I think you might have spoken to it earlier, Nikki, that like, there’s so much more like. Happy to try things out or test something new. And like that also comes from that digital skills, that also comes from that confidence.

[00:25:52] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, so I think I’m definitely seeing that. And I think because they’re getting to see it and do it in community, um, and that’s the joy I think of learning through fundraising everywhere. It’s self-paced learning, so you’re doing it your own time, but there’s so much opportunity to also come together through matchmaking or workshops or.

[00:26:08] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: You know, or drop-ins, whatever it might be. So you, you do some stuff on your own, then you have a little bit of a, you know, a crew to check in with. Um, especially for those who might be like lone fundraisers and like, doing it alone. Or I go back to Neville again, but like, just not being sure on their own right?

[00:26:23] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Like, am I doing the right thing? Is this any good? I don’t know. I’ve got no one to speak to about this. Um, I think that’s, that’s where the real benefit lies. Um, and then I guess I’ll just wrap up by saying, we’ll wrap up from me, but, um, the. A couple of our members shared with us that yeah, they’re, they’re looking for even more kind of new content because digital is changing all the time.

[00:26:43] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: And I think that’s what’s going to keep the digital learning grant evergreen like forever. Like, you know, there’s, I don’t think there’s a day where you stop digital learning then, um, because it’s always changing and, and especially as a sector, we’re always changing. We’re always moving forward. So, um, all of those people who are super keen to learn, there are even more opportunities to do that as part of the membership community too.

[00:27:03] Nikki Bell: Which is cool. Do you think it’s a case of, oh, we, we have to because it, it cha like the pace has picked up so rapidly recently, at least even with, uh, not the introduction of ai. ’cause obviously it’s been around in, in, in many forms. But I guess the, the in increased use of it, do you think that’s why there’s been an acceleration?

[00:27:23] Nikki Bell: Zoe? What kind of chat are you having with, with your community at the moment? 

[00:27:28] Zoe Amar: Yeah, I think the increased exhilaration is definitely creating more demand because people are asking not only how they can develop the skills, but also how their organizations might need to to change as a result. And those.

[00:27:43] Zoe Amar: Conversations are gonna get even more intense. I think when we start to see the probably quite radical shifts that will come with introducing Agen AI into our charities, which comes with risks as well as opportunities. So this is where, as I said, we’ll need to really build out that skill set more widely.

[00:28:03] Zoe Amar: ’cause it will be about how we use the tools, but also how we can use and scale the tools responsibly. 

[00:28:12] Nikki Bell: What is, what’s that word you shared there? Agent? 

[00:28:15] Zoe Amar: Yes, ai. What does that mean? So what agen AI is, um, it’s basically a type of AI where it’s an autonomous tool. So for example, if you are using a tool like Chat, GPT or Claude or co-pilot, it’s very dependent on your prompts.

[00:28:31] Zoe Amar: So you have to be talking to it and telling it to, to do things, or asking it to give information to you or analyze something. Agen AI is where you would give it. An actual task and it would go off and it could potentially, it would in fact manage other tools and integrate with your systems to, to do it.

[00:28:49] Zoe Amar: So for example, you might have, um, an ag agentic AI tool, which, uh, runs your community fundraising program, um, or deals with some other kind who perhaps organizes a fundraising event. And, and, and this stuff, I know it sounds a bit like science fiction. Um, but it’s also is an area where I think there are opportunities to help charities grow their income further, but it has to be done very carefully and very sensitively and very safely, because it’s really dependent on having a.

[00:29:21] Zoe Amar: Good data infrastructure in your organization, and really good skills and really good integrations as well. Really, everything needs to be really tightly and carefully and safely integrated in your tech stack. Otherwise, you’re just. Letting loosen something that could be very, very chaotic. So yeah, that is the, the big development that is, is here and some charities are using it, but we’ll see an awful lot more charities using it over the next couple of years is what I would predict.

[00:29:51] Nikki Bell: Hence the 

[00:29:52] Zoe Amar: skills. 

[00:29:53] Nikki Bell: I have written that down. Thank you. And I’ve written down, take that out as a soundbite. ’cause that’s gonna be very helpful. We’ve got, I was looking at the program and I was thinking, do we have a space in the conference to put that in? But let’s not rush it. Let’s take out time to get that right and come up with the right content.

[00:30:12] Nikki Bell: But that’s, uh, amazing. Zoe, thank you for, for sharing that with us. Now looking at the digital fundraising conference. So this is the first time that we’ve held the conference. In its new form, but it is a bringing together of two events that we’ve run previous. So we had the Charity Digital Skills Conference, and the fundraising tech conference, and we were like, hang about, why are these two separate things?

[00:30:35] Nikki Bell: Let’s bring them together and have one big digital party. So now on the 3rd of July, between the hours of 12 and four, we have a four track bonanza, um, is what we’re calling it now of all things, uh, digital fundraising, and it is hosted by the wonderful Zoe Amman. And Cam sent o Donaldson. And we also have Josh Lee from Hint and Simon Scriber, uh, from fundraising everywhere as well.

[00:30:57] Nikki Bell: But we have 24 sessions, almost 50 speakers. And don’t worry, obviously if you can’t attend, we can’t attend all of this live. That’s not possible. You can come back and watch on demand, uh, at any point. Up to a month afterwards, or as much as you want, if you remember. But it is just jam packed with everything, uh, that people I could just need to send can send me a message in the chat and be member.

[00:31:23] Nikki Bell: She’s right. Um, so tons of the most up-to-date content that you could get to take your digital, uh, fundraising conference and skills, you know, from that one and a two up to the fours, hopefully a five Cam, what are you looking forward to at this conference? What’s standing out for you as some of the sessions that are like.

[00:31:42] Nikki Bell: You are like, yeah, this is gonna land well. 

[00:31:46] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: I’ve seen one, I think it’s Anthony Nolan, um, oh, I’m gonna forget the title. Um, but it’s definitely an Anthony Nolan ’cause it’s in my track, which is all about the innovation stuffs. Um, and I think it’s gonna land well because mainly it’s a, a charity example as well, which is super helpful.

[00:32:03] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, so really thinking about how you can put that into practice almost immediately and providing a bit of that blueprint. Here we are, um, to digitize the service users. Experience and turn them into donors or fundraisers. And I think that conversation, especially when I worked in Sporter experience at the Red Cross, that conversation about like service users or communities, um, that you work with versus people who give money, who give funds, um, I think is really interesting and how you can kind of.

[00:32:32] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Loop them in together and actually find there’s more synergy than not. And how tech can help you do that will be really interesting. Um, it also leans into that kind of one 60 kind of approach, um, that we’re all searching for within the charity sector and how, again, digital can aid that. So I am super excited about hearing how Auntie Nolan have been able to do that.

[00:32:52] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: They’re also one of our org members, so love that. 

[00:32:55] Nikki Bell: And that session’s live as well. So I can see in the program, uh, that in, in front of me here, that there’s gonna be a q and a with Rebecca as well after that session, which is gonna be cool. And I was chatting to Rebecca, um, and yes, I need to get back, I need to update my, uh.

[00:33:10] Nikki Bell: On their register. So I’m looking forward to that. Yeah, yeah. Um, just, uh, Phoebe and Zoe, just so that you can get a chance to, to go and have a look at the program there as well. One of the sessions that I’m looking forward to is, it’s up in room one, actually. Oh, no wait. Room three. It is with award winners, uh, Muslims charity, and it’s using, using AI in segmentation to boost email donations by 300%.

[00:33:36] Nikki Bell: What? That’s one of the standout sessions. Uh, for me, um, because they, they were doing, um, what, what you were saying there. So we said they were actually using, uh, AI to integrate with their database so it could actually pull out information to help personalization for comms. Um. And, and the, the charity we use.

[00:33:56] Nikki Bell: And that’s so that when they were doing thank yous, when they were doing check-ins, when they were chatting with people, it was all there and readily available for the fundraisers just to be able to have that personal connection with people, which is super cool. Um, and we also have a session up in room one, which I am gonna catch up.

[00:34:12] Nikki Bell: On. Um, and it is from Paul, uh, actually Paul from the head of CRM, uh, from, from Just Given, and that’s around email stewardship program from the ground up. ’cause there’s a lot of conversations with charities at the moment about how they’re finding it. A challenge to do. Acquisition at scale. So this is a really key session that fundraisers need to be at to go, right.

[00:34:33] Nikki Bell: Okay. Well, we need to get these foundations right before we come to the IG conference in October. Shameless plug for that so that when they do do this acquisition at scale and bring all those DON donors in, I. The foundations that they have there are as solid as can be. So that is the second session there 

[00:34:49] Phoebe Sabin: in room one.

[00:34:50] Phoebe Sabin: And I’ve touched all the right analogies there, Nikki, because it, Paul is taking everyone through from like literally the foundations to the building, the structure to adding the decorations. It’s like everything you need to know from the basics through to like compliance through to the frills. 

[00:35:03] Nikki Bell: We had a little round table with all of the speakers the other day.

[00:35:06] Nikki Bell: Great. So, uh, my brain was pulling quickly, pulling bit stuff from that. But also Zoe, your session as well in, in room two, so kicking us off in, in there. ’cause I know when I come to you for your highlights, you’re not gonna say you are on session. So I do wanna shout that out because we’re gonna be getting a sneak peek if you early findings from the charity digital skills report as well.

[00:35:23] Nikki Bell: So do, uh, head along to, to that one. Um, and then Phoebe, what are your highlights for the conference? What are you looking forward to? 

[00:35:32] Phoebe Sabin: I’m just gonna shout out Paul for sure. ’cause I’ve seen that session and it’s really useful. But, um, I mean, anything from, I, I always appreciate anything that is like the back to basics.

[00:35:43] Phoebe Sabin: Like I think that sometimes you can get swept up in, um. You know, like the latest bells and whistles. And actually some of the times it is about like stripping things back, looking at like the very like root of what you’re doing and making sure that those stepping stones are in the right place for you to then build on.

[00:36:00] Phoebe Sabin: So I’ve seen a few things like that about, um, sort of getting everything sort of in, in the right place before you. Start with all of the sort of newest skills and tools and AI and things. So any of those bits, there’s a few things I’ve seen across different rooms, but each track looks so good. I’ve, I’ve just gone through the program in a bit more detail.

[00:36:18] Phoebe Sabin: Um, and I’m also looking forward to hearing about just the state of, sort of where we’re at with digital fundraising from a couple of speakers I can see on their agenda as well. 

[00:36:27] Nikki Bell: We love insights. And Zoe, what about yourself? ’cause you’re horse in a room, so is it just like all the sessions in your room?

[00:36:32] Nikki Bell: What are you looking forward to? Um, 

[00:36:34] Zoe Amar: there’s, there’s so many and, um, I mean, I’m going to talk about a, a, a couple of them that really stand out to me. So, uh, I’m big fan of Kim Lu from Royal College of Surgeons ’cause I’ve worked alongside her for years. And she’s doing a session on ways of working. So the kind of skill of learning skills and how we can encourage our staff to develop skills almost without realizing it from the way that they work.

[00:36:59] Zoe Amar: And I’m really excited about that ’cause I’ve seen Kim lead her team and lead the organization through a massive process of their own skills program and how. Their own ways of working has had to evolve as a, as a result. So I think that’s gonna be really, really fascinating. I’m, I’m really excited about that and got all the sessions just look so good.

[00:37:20] Zoe Amar: I wish I could just go to all of them. They look brilliant. 

[00:37:24] Nikki Bell: You can Zoey, are you a member yet? I was 

just coming. Membership. What membership You 

[00:37:35] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: watch back? I wanted to. Quickly add, um, hint at doing a session on the new soft opt-in. Um, and I know that, that my inbox is full from everyone trying to talk to me about that at the moment.

[00:37:49] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: So I know that it’s gonna be a great, um, session and really, really useful, um, for our membership community as well. So definitely try and get along to, to that session if you can, peoples. Sweet or watch it back on demand 

[00:38:01] Nikki Bell: as a member. Um, and tons of support for this as well. So of course, thank you to just giving, uh, for being our headline partner, uh, for this to hint as well for being, uh, one of our partners.

[00:38:11] Nikki Bell: We also have I raiser social sync, uh, Toan and Blue States. So huge thank you to them and thank you as well Zoe. ’cause you were heavily involved, uh, in the very early stages too, and helping us shape the program, bring some speakers in as well. And you’re down there too as a support and partner. So it is.

[00:38:28] Nikki Bell: Very much, uh, a collaborative effort, and we are really looking forward to next week. So if it’ll be this week by the time you listen to this. So if you haven’t had your ticket yet, or you haven’t booked your ticket yet, for the digital fundraising conference, head to www.fundraisingeverywhere.com forward slash shop.

[00:38:47] Nikki Bell: And you will see all of our upcoming events, and this conference is on the 3rd of July. If you’re busy, maybe you have a meeting in there with your board to try and convince them to give you some digital budget. Do book anyway because you’ll get access to the recordings to watch back on demand until the end of.

[00:39:04] Nikki Bell: August. Um, but like we’ve mentioned quite a few times, and if you haven’t quoted already, uh, you can become a Fundraiser Everywhere member and catch up on all of the events, uh, that we’ve ever hosted, you know, since day one. Um, and you’ll also get access to additional resources like, um, mentor matching.

[00:39:22] Nikki Bell: Like with other members, you can get funded coaching and I believe as well in early August can we’ll be having a incubator conversation with members who attended the conference. To consolidate their learnings and help them make a plan for how they can implement that going forward. So we’ll be hosting that at the beginning, uh, of August as well.

[00:39:39] Nikki Bell: So there’s a, a lush, lush journey there. Uh, we’re gonna round up now, but before I do that, um, I just wanna go around the room and I asked Nev this before and the full conversation with Nev at the conference or so you can watch that. What would you be saying to people who are. On that digital learning journey?

[00:39:59] Nikki Bell: ’cause I imagine most people are by now and they’re thinking, right, okay, I can feel this momentum building now, but I’m just finding it a little bit tough. What bit of advice would you give them just to keep them fired up and and focused on this digital fundraising journey? Uh, Zoe what would you be saying to them?

[00:40:16] Nikki Bell: I. 

[00:40:17] Zoe Amar: You just 

[00:40:17] Nikki Bell: gotta 

[00:40:18] Zoe Amar: keep going. I think with any skills development, you will feel like you are going backwards before you guys go forwards because it’s that thing of the, the, the conscious incompetence. Uh, and I always get really frustrated at that point, but I. The pain barrier is part of the, the learning, isn’t it?

[00:40:35] Zoe Amar: It’s the, it shows that your, your brain is learning and, and adapting and you, you’re probably learning and progressing much more at that point than anyone gives themselves credit for. So just, just keep going is what I’d say. Keep going. 

[00:40:52] Nikki Bell: Do you know that scientifically correct as well? It’s called the learning zone.

[00:40:55] Nikki Bell: So when you’ve, uh, acknowledged that there’s something that you don’t know, you go across this barrier into uncomfortableness where things can feel really like overwhelming and scattered, and then obviously, which path you take. Completely depends on how successful you are on the other side. ’cause if you kind of take that little, you bend and then go back into that space of comfortableness, you’ll stay there.

[00:41:18] Nikki Bell: But the people who are continuously, you know, curious, they take it at a time, maybe they take two steps forward and one back, they’re the ones that continue on. So yeah, the learning zone. So you’re absolutely right. So thank you for sharing that and that’ll be helpful I think for people that might be feeling a bit, um, a little bit like, eh, at the moment for want of a better.

[00:41:35] Nikki Bell: Noise, 

[00:41:36] Phoebe Sabin: Phoebe. Um, I love that though, that basically it’s just keep swimming, just keep swimming. Um, but uh, alongside that, I do think, you know, like there’s always the next thing to learn. There’s always the next thing to tick on your to-do list. I think it’s important for people to also like, take a moment to reflect on what they’re actually achieving in their space and at their organization or with their network.

[00:41:58] Phoebe Sabin: You might not have a huge digital reach and you might, or audience, and you might feel. Like, you know, there’s other people doing things way better or bigger or louder than, than you are, but, um. It might be that you know it, your focus shifts from growing your audience to making the most of the network you have currently and then you know, using that for your next campaign or appeal or moving your charity’s brand awareness to turning ’em into fundraisers.

[00:42:22] Phoebe Sabin: I think there’s little wins that you can reflect on that can keep you positive to then carry on with the keep on swimming message in your head and sort of take a moment to go. Yeah, actually Pat on the back and then I can learn from that and go into the next thing that I’m gonna tackle. So a little moment of reflection maybe.

[00:42:37] Nikki Bell: Love that. 

[00:42:38] Phoebe Sabin: And Cam. 

[00:42:41] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Well, I’m gonna stay on the theme. So like, yeah, definitely the keep swimming and then do some reflection, and then maybe join a fundraising everywhere, drop in, um, so that you can hear that others are doing it too. Um, they’re struggling that, that they’re having successes. They’re having challenges, they’re seeing wins.

[00:42:56] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, and I think someone this morning said it best in their feedback, but like, they just feel that they’re not alone. And like, I know that isn’t gonna be enough necessarily to convince you. Director that this is a great thing to invest in. Um, or it might, considering what Zoe was saying, but um, the feeling of not feeling alone also helps massively with that confidence.

[00:43:15] Cam St-Omer Donaldson: Um, and just yeah, hearing from others and how they’re doing it. So that would be my advice. Talk to someone else. They’re probably in the same boat swimming with you. My analogy. 

[00:43:26] Nikki Bell: Beautiful way to end it. I don’t wanna chuck more in there ’cause I’ll just complicate it. Uh, thank you so much to all of you for being involved in this conversation in the digital learning grant in everything that you all do as individuals in your own spaces to help the sector be better at digital fundraising.

[00:43:43] Nikki Bell: I feel really happy, uh, that we’re in on this together. Um, and the results. Uh, that we’re seeing from this and the impact that it’s having, I can’t wait to do it all again, and I will see you on July 3rd for the digital fundraising company. 

[00:43:59] Phoebe Sabin: Can’t 

[00:43:59] Nikki Bell: wait. 

[00:44:00] Phoebe Sabin: Looking forward to everyone’s applications. 

[00:44:02] Nikki Bell: Yeah, we get to go, we get to go through 900 of them again.

[00:44:07] Nikki Bell: Yay. That’ll be lovely talk. You all look forward to the report as well, Zoe. Yeah, same Zoe, what’s the launch date? Uh, 10th of July. 10th of July. There we go. 10th of July. Register onto Zoe’s, uh, email list so you get that. So I will be conference first. Reading that. Away we go with Digital Learner Grant, part three.

Thanks 

[00:44:25] Nikki Bell: everyone. 

Thank you. Thanks. See you later. Bye.

[00:44:32] Alex Aggidis: Thank you so much for listening to the Fundraising Everywhere podcast. If you’re enjoying this podcast, why not share it with a fundraising friend? And if you would like to give us a little KU subscribe. It really helps more fundraisers, let you find us. Thank you so much. See you next time.

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This transcript was created using AI. If you spot any mistakes, please reach out. Thank you!