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Can student recruitment and kindness fit together?

Jul 19, 2019
We've been talking a lot about kindness at Halpin recently. Susie has written about kindness in fundraising and Shaun's latest blog reflects on whether it is better to be kind, or right. So I've been reflecting on the role that kindness plays in student marketing and the extent to which it can still be genuine, even if the main purpose is to recruit students.

Taking kindness to a national level

Jul 16, 2019
Do we want to be seen as the arrogant know-it-all who may be pretty good at some stuff but wants to be the centre of attention and have everyone gravitate towards them? Or do we want to be seen as the helpful, generous, open-minded friend who is willing to listen and learn and reach out to help resolve problems? Do we want to be inward-facing and self-centred or outward-looking and interested in others? How about striving to become a sector characterised by kindness: one that is described by those in other countries not just as a world-class system, but as a world-class collaborator and friend?

Will Spinks joins Halpin’s Consulting Fellows

Jul 11, 2019
Halpin is pleased to announce the addition of Will Spinks to its team of Consulting Fellows.

Campaign counting: smoke and mirrors?

Jul 04, 2019
Campaign counting - no one institution counts in the same way, because no two institutions are exactly the same. A campaign should be about what you value, what behaviour you are trying to encourage, what areas you want to expand, what areas you want to encourage to work together. Whilst it is sometimes a surprise to people outside of fundraising teams that not all of the money in Campaign is philanthropic income, all of those thirteen ways of counting were absolutely credible, based on the above factors. So what are the things you need to consider?

Are fundraising researchers our next sector leaders?

Jul 02, 2019
Halpin Fellow Jason Briggs asks why more prospect researchers are not stealing the leadership limelight. Prospect Research is now one of the fastest growing professions in fundraising. It grew from traditional desk based research, such as profiling potential donors and their gift potential, to prospect management, the process of monitoring a fundraising pipeline, and now sophisticated data analytics and due diligence.

Announcement: Halpin declares climate emergency

Jul 01, 2019
Management consultancy firm Halpin Partnership has declared a climate emergency and set out its response plan.

Asking on the first meeting: good practice, or scandalously impolite?

Jun 28, 2019
If you ask well, politely, with enthusiasm and genuine belief, and in an area they have indicated they are interested in, there should be no way that you can cause offence. You will have set up the meeting in the first place (I hope) by saying that you would like to talk about them, update them on your institution, and talk about their support. If so, not to ask will seem very odd to them. And if you haven’t set up the meeting that way, why are you trying to hide the fact that you would like them to support your organisation financially?

Better to be kind, than to be right?

Jun 27, 2019
In working with Senior Leadership teams and individuals, we will often discuss how they can get the outcome they really want, if they are willing to give up the need to be seen to be right, and to “win”. I have sat in countless meetings where all parties could have walked away with exactly what they wanted, but their need to be publicly seen to be correct got in the way. I have often seen that the need to be “right” holds you back as a leader – you can’t bring people with you if you are only focused on yourself.