How long have you worked for EFC?

For four years, since starting it in October 2020.  Paul and myself founded the company.

What’s your background/experience?

I’ve worked in technology and systems since the late ‘90s and in higher education on and off since 1999, at Sussex University, University of California at Santa Barbara, University of Edinburgh and the University of Manchester.

Primarily, I have worked in system management, but I moved into fundraising in 2008 when the University of Edinburgh launched its £350 million Enlightenment Campaign and had a recruitment drive. I’ve stayed in the sector ever since.

What led you to set up EFC?

I had been made redundant from Alveo Consulting so it was better than being unemployed. Joking aside, starting EFC was an opportunity to deliver projects to clients in ways that other consultancies don’t, by actually undertaking the work rather than just giving advice.

We strive to be independent, working with a broad range of organisations from charities, schools, colleges, universities and NHS trusts. We also work with any systems and technologies and strive to always be independent and honest.

How does EFC stand out from the competition?

Our first point of difference is the self-explanatory name. In contrast to many other consultancies, which tend to be named after the founder or have a very ‘clever’ name, we opted to keep it simple. The aim was and is to present an open and honest approach focussed on the key issue for most philanthropically funded organisations, ensuring their fundraising is efficient and effective.

We have technical skills that many of the prominent consultancies lack, particularly in the higher education space. This is a key point of difference and means we are often partners to these other consultancies, rather than competitors.

What has been your proudest moment whilst working for the company?

I’m not sure there is a single moment, but Paul and Katie joining as employees were big moments, enabling us to take on different types of projects and really build and consolidate the business.

The testimonial from Sean Rainey at Magdalen College Oxford where he explained that following our advice he changed his entire approach to fundraising at the College and is reaping the benefits, stands out as the best endorsement of our skills and approach we’ve had. Sean is experienced, smart and well known and his words have had an impact on other’s view of EFC and it felt great to be recognised in this way.

What challenges are facing the industry and how can EFC help clients overcome them?

Many organisations are facing recruitment challenges, in part caused by changes during and after Covid, changing working patterns and consequently many are experiencing ongoing shortages in their teams.  EFC can provide specialist skills to help fill gaps in teams and skills, sometimes for a project and other times on a longer term, interim basis.

Old technology is hampering some organisations and they are often stuck with outdated tools for integrating data, as is now expected to be normal. We’ve now helped a number of organisations move to new systems, we’ve built new integration processes and have reviewed and improved dozens of systems and operations teams.

Most interesting developments happening in the industry?

Higher education is dealing with a funding crisis with many universities facing difficult financial positions due to inflation, static student fee levels for 12 years and a highly competitive international environment. Fundraising and philanthropy are therefore ever more critical to maintaining University finances and sustainability. This is even more challenging due to the current cost of living crisis and the recent decline in charitable giving.

As technology changes and new systems and tools become available, we’re seeing more and more organisations making major changes to update their systems to take advantage of the recent developments.  These can be large sometimes multi-year projects, so the commitment is significant but so are the potential benefits. It seems that this is happening more and more frequently now.

Where do you see the company in five years?

In five years I see EFC being an even more comprehensive fundraising operations consultancy, capable of helping any organisation to work more efficiently, use their data and evidence to make better decisions and to build a more sustainable base of philanthropy. 

For clients we’ve been working with on an ongoing basis, we will be able to deliver more and more benefits, as we solve the simple problems and can deliver more valuable insight and analysis to help them.

For those people working in smaller fundraising teams, EFC will be their operations team, working remotely to deliver the services and skills normally only available to larger teams. Taking a collective approach means each piece of work benefits from the collective wisdom, experience and skills of the wider group.

Describe EFC in five words

Smart, honest, experienced, authentic, effective.