As the fundraising profession faces a skills crisis, is it time to introduce formal pathways into the profession?
Continue reading NEWS: Raising standards – New report calls for formal pathways for fundraisersCategory: Professionalism
OPINION: The cases for and against graduate entry into fundraising

In response to the NonGraduatesWelcome social media campaign, Ian MacQuillin looks at the arguments for and against graduate recruitment into fundraising and asks whether NonGraduatesWelcome risks falling into the trap of anti-intellectual populism.
Continue reading OPINION: The cases for and against graduate entry into fundraisingKNOWLEDGE: More critical thinking at the Ask Direct Summer School
Another week, another conference. This time, it’s the Summer School, devised, hosted and run by Rogare Associate Member Ask Direct. Now in its third year, the event will take place at Trinity College in Dublin on Thursday 12 and Friday 13 July.
Continue reading KNOWLEDGE: More critical thinking at the Ask Direct Summer SchoolKNOWLEDGE: A deep dive into professional knowledge at AFP I-Con in New Orleans
Rogare identifies the sessions at AFP I-Con that explore issues in fundraising from a critical thinking perspective.
Continue reading KNOWLEDGE: A deep dive into professional knowledge at AFP I-Con in New OrleansOPINION: We need to talk about donor dominance
Not only did the Presidents club dinner highlight inappropriate behavior by men against women generally, it also raised the more specific question of how fundraisers respond to such behaviour by donors. Heather Hill says we need to start this conversation.
Continue reading OPINION: We need to talk about donor dominanceOPINION: What do we need to learn from the Presidents Club debacle?
The can of worms opened at the annual Presidents Club dinner might be bigger than we think. Ian MacQuillin explores some of the questions raised.
Continue reading OPINION: What do we need to learn from the Presidents Club debacle?NEWS: New report identifies critical issues and challenges confronting fundraisers in Ireland
Greater collaboration among professional fundraisers is needed to address some of the major issues facing fundraising in Ireland, according to a new report by the think tank Rogare, which is published today at the Ask Direct Summer School in Dublin.
Continue reading NEWS: New report identifies critical issues and challenges confronting fundraisers in IrelandKNOWLEDGE: Blog digest June 2017
Each month, the Critical Fundraising blog presents a digest of the best fundraising-related blogs and articles that have adopted a critical fundraising mode of thought. Inclusion in this digest does not indicate that Rogare agrees with any arguments presented, only that we thought they made a good argument.
Continue reading KNOWLEDGE: Blog digest June 2017NEW IDEAS: Teach a fundraiser to fish…Rogare’s theory of change for fundraising
Amanda Shepard outlines Rogare’s new theory of change, which aims to move fundraisers away from a ‘copy the case study’ model to a situation where they demand to see the evidence for what they are being told to do.
Continue reading NEW IDEAS: Teach a fundraiser to fish…Rogare’s theory of change for fundraisingOPINION: The case of the accidental fundraiser and the need to professionalise fundraising
Is fundraising a ‘profession’? As Rogare publishes a green paper on the subject, Ian MacQuillin argues that it isn’t, and can’t be while you don’t have to know anything about fundraising in order to become a fundraiser.
Continue reading OPINION: The case of the accidental fundraiser and the need to professionalise fundraising