A Feast of Fundraising

Durham is a beautiful city. A monolithic cathedral stands prominently above the river Wear and the surrounding houses. The equally impressive castle now forms part of Durham University and a more picturesque setting for a conference you could not imagine. So its a pity I had to spend so much time at a conference closeted away in lecture theatres.

Seriously, I did manage to see many of the city's charms, admittedly early in the morning before the first session of the day, but I was there for the serious business of fundraising in Higher Education. The conference, organised by CASE, is a 'must' for all university fundraisers. My particular interest is annual fund giving.

Following mostly US examples the speakers guided us through the principles of a successful campaign. The pros and cons of direct marketing, telethons and online giving were thoroughly explored. Add to this sessions on major gifts and campaign fundraising and you have a lot information on best practice. Group projects finally brought a practical element to the proceeding as we prepared a prototype development plan.

So it was with mixed feeling that I boarded the train leaving Durham.