Fundraising Support Services
Halpin was engaged to provide mentoring, training and support to fundraising and support staff at DCU Educational Trust (DCUET), firstly to cover the period of then-CEO Nathalie Walker’s maternity leave, and latterly to help continue her work when she moved on to Queen’s University Belfast.
Having worked with DCUET previously, Halpin’s Joint CEO Shaun Horan brought an intimate knowledge of the CEO’s plans, the institutional goals and the wider University’s recent achievements as it sought to establish a well-functioning and proactive fundraising operation. Together, he and Senior Consultant Catherine Wolfgang worked with the team as a whole and seven team members individually. This culminated in a report which covered the approach taken, support delivered and our observations and recommendations for the future.
As part of this project:
- KPIs were agreed with the team,
- We held a training session on asking and managing prospects,
- We brought a new focus to major and principal gifts,
- The fundraising team has since had their most successful year to date, building on the foundations put in place over previous years,
- The principal gifts team has obtained the first significant gift since the former CEO went on maternity leave,
- We helped to motivate and lead the team over a challenging period of transition.
This work has continued and has led to:
- A feasibility study for the next campaign,
- Analysis of prospect pipeline,
- A new strategy for the Development Team.
“Catherine was a pleasure to work with. Over a six-month period she provided fantastic coaching and mentoring, bringing focus, direction and a deep understanding of fundraising that comes from years of experience. Of particular value was talking through specific donor strategies where her clarity and empathy has helped me progress even the most difficult to navigate donor relationships. She also helped me as I worked up our first US Fundraising Strategy.” Pat Edmondson – Director, US Philanthropy, DCUET