Responding to the Global Marketplace

It also galvanises each part of the network. Goal setting revolves around those who are advancing in their markets, understanding why and challenging others to adapt that success to their markets. The development of committed giving programmes globally might be a key goal, but rather than the international team trying to devise and implement the same methodology or creative concept across every market, the national office’s responsibility to find the way to adapt the need for regular donors to its market conditions is respected.

Within a framework strategy lay possibilities for tackling the opportunities that often trip up INGOs, e.g., managing global donors. Teamwork has been enhanced by the framework approach — only those parts that have the maturity and opportunity need engage with advanced fundraising activities, and global-fundraising management standards have been agreed on peer to peer.

Financial goal setting
For a smaller national office that raises $5 million a year, it can be daunting to hear that the organisation needs to raise $100 million a year by 2012. Such giant goals can be demoralising unless each office knows its part in achieving the mega goal. It’s a completely different prospect to buy in to increasing your annual income from $5 million to $15 million in five years knowing that others have a national goal, too.

While a classic, top-down, one-strategy-for-all approach has a chance of working in an INGO with a strict head office/branch structure, the framework approach can be adopted by the looser network organisations with the international steering team drawn from key national office staff. This subtle shift in international strategic thinking around fundraising development is one that is poised to bring some serious results to the smart international teams at organisations, such as the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees and the World Society for the Protection of Animals, for example.