Learning About the New School of Fundraising With Rowena Veylan, Ep #56

Episode 56

With Benjamin Johnson and Rowena Veylan

Fundraising is an $18 billion industry fighting to be taken seriously. Charities often struggle to become more sophisticated and business-minded without losing their nonprofit side. One way to move the needle forward for the charitable sector is through fundraising education for fundraisers and those that work with them. On this episode, Ben sits down with New School of Fundraising founder Rowena Veylan to talk about accessible fundraising education, the importance of fundraising training for board members, supporting smaller charitable organizations, and establishing indigenous protocols for fundraisers.

You will want to hear this episode if you are interested in...

  • Rowena’s fundraising journey and starting the New School of Fundraising [0:13]

  • The importance of fundraising training for board members [8:03]

  • Moving the needle for smaller organizations and supporting volunteer-run charities [13:00]

  • Creating indigenous protocols for fundraisers [23:31]

  • Final thoughts on fundraising education [34:52]

Accessible fundraising education

Not everyone who needs to learn about fundraising is a fundraiser. Even if someone is interested in philanthropy as a career, they need a place where they can dip their toes into the nonprofit world to see if it’s a right fit. That’s one of the main reasons why Rowena Veylan created the New School of Fundraising. She found that most of the fundraising education options were specifically for fundraisers. Rowena received a formal education in fundraising from the British Columbia Institute of Technology and is a huge fan of their program. However, their introductory class is 36 hours over 12 weeks. That's a huge time commitment for those who only need to understand the basics! This is why she combined her love for teaching and her passion for serving the community to create this groundbreaking school.

Changing the game through boardroom fundraising training

One group of people that desperately need fundraising training that often gets overlooked is a charity’s board of directors. Fundraisers often assume and expect their board to know what to do as corporate heavyweights. However, a lifetime of misconceptions in the boardroom can keep organizations from their philanthropic potential. Rowena’s eyes were opened to this need when conducting a training workshop for board members at The New School of Fundraising. An individual who had led massive capital campaigns as a board member approached her after the session to thank her for being the first person to ever give them fundraising training. They had been doing this for years, and it was the first time someone allowed them to see things from a fundraising perspective. Even the most basic fundraising education can be a game changer for people who have never been taught before.

Moving the needle

The charitable industry is funny in that education and compensation are virtually unrelated. Of the 86,000 registered charities in Canada, 58% are completely run by volunteers. Imagine how much more effective organizations could be if all of their volunteers had a foundational education in fundraising? However, charities are viewed with an unfair lens compared to for-profit corporations. These companies are allowed to develop budgets for professional development without batting an eye, but because it’s assumed that 100% of charitable donations should go to programs, many nonprofits miss out on the growth that would further their causes. The reality is that $5,000 spent to build capacity in a small charitable organization would go so much further than sending that money straight to the program budget. Smaller charities can’t move the needle without an emphasis on professional development and education.

Resources & People Mentioned

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Ben Johnson