Oooh, good question.
Well, are they? Let's explore this shall we:
We began this topic on our Academy Facebook page recently - one response read. 'I believe fundraising can be taught. However some are better at it than others'.
Too true! Of course! Everyone is better at something, naturally, than someone else. Nevertheless, if we all thought in these terms there would be no improvement or development due to people being so disillusioned.
Applying learning to your professional life conveys a sense of pride, as well as a real and tangible want to develop in your chosen career. Bragging rights about something transferable and apply-able.
Some people are born with the seemingly natural affinity to communicate effectively; however, that doesn't exclude those of us who don't know yet how to do this. It's why we were given brain capacities surely? To fill them with the skills and knowledge to progress.
Avolio, B (2005) states that, 'When we say people who have lived through certain events see the world this or that way, we are saying something about their collective life model.'
In his book, Leadership Development in Balance - Born or Made, Avolio's point is that despite there being some correlation between being 'born with something' the majority of us are the people we are based on our life experiences. This is how we develop! And this, fair reader, is encouraging as it means that we can learn the skills we require to compete with those who have an apparent 'natural talent'.
Enough of the waffle! How do we help you to develop?
This was exactly the question we asked a few months back when the Academy was naught but a pipe dream; how do we give our members the tools to really make a difference?
Westhead and Storey (2009) got it in one when they expressed: 'There is almost complete support for the concept that an educated and trained workforce is a key element in the competitiveness of both individual businesses as well as the economy as a whole.' Their academia on training and development in work is renowned.
Training is an investment in longevity, a word more and more sought after nowadays especially since the spending review this year.
What do you need to do as an individual to get the numbers? What do you need to do as an organisation to prosper for your chosen cause?
The academy offers courses that can encompass the industry as a whole, or specific training needs.
The blog question, are fundraisers born or made? Has been answered by the members who have taken these courses and reaped the rewards.
But don't take my word for it, check out the prospectus online for their testimonials:
Sarah Bradley
Institute of Fundraising Academy
References:
Avolio, B (2005) Leadership Development in Balance: Born/Made. Lawrence Erlboum Associates Inc. New Jersey, US.
Westhead, P; Storey, D (2009) Training Provision and the Development of Small and Medium Sized enterprises. Research Report. [Online] Available at: www.voced.edu.au/td/tnc_69.210
Interesting topic.
ReplyDeleteI believe there must be some kind of balance between nature and nurture. Sitting on the fence hurts my behind though, so I think that although nature is important, life's experiences make us better fundraisers and are more important than plain communicative ability.