
Paul Weighand
How long have you worked for EFC?
I’m one of the founders, so since the beginning. I officially joined in April 2021 when I left the More Partnership. Alex and I had been talking prior to that and the company was founded at that point.
What’s your background and experience?
I spent 18 years at the University of Edinburgh in various roles. The first half of my time there was in database and application support, testing and developing databases.
I worked in student and commercial accommodation implementing databases and training users. Alex and I spent five years in student systems working with the university staff. That involved managing the student registry and staff in schools and colleges, exam and graduation systems and business analysis to build a student record database.
Then I had 10 years in development alumni as a data analyst and insight manager. I became a consultant in 2018 working as a fundraising consultant at a high-level management consultancy within the fundraising sector, working on big feasibility studies for fundraising campaigns.
Why did you set up EFC?
Alex and I had spoken about setting something up years before 2021. Working with him as a person was key to starting the business. We wanted to specifically work on projects that were of interest to us. Previously we were more generalists in our respective consultancies. When we came together we focussed on our separate areas of expertise so that we could complement each other’s skills and experience.
How does EFC stand out from the competition? What’s its USP?
We deliberately try to do things differently. We’re conscious that a lot of consultancy work is generally just giving advice. Our USP is that we want to partner with organisations to deliver practical help and change. We are very hands on, we don’t just tell you what to do. We open the bonnet and get inside the engine to fix things, giving clients practical expertise for implementation.
EFC is a specialist in fundraising operations, not a lot of agencies can say that. We have very specific data analysis and reporting skills – there isn’t a lot of that in the sector. There aren’t many former insight managers kicking around the sector in fundraising. As a collective we give clients advice in a very particular part of fundraising.
What has been your proudest moment whilst working for the company?
Setting up the business was a very proud moment. The second was when our first employee, Katie, joined EFC. For me, this really said something about our maturity as a company. But perhaps more importantly, it was the fact that an expert in the field decided to leave her job and join us. That showed that she had faith in us and made that life change to come and work with EFC.
What challenges are facing the industry and how can EFC help clients overcome them?
At the moment within fundraising there’s a skills shortage and HR issues. Organisations can’t get the budget to hire. It’s a difficult business case to make as you’re diverting charitable funds towards internal staff to get good database staff. You can hire a fundraiser but not so much database staff. Post pandemic it’s a tricky market as you have to pay people competitive rates, they want hybrid, flexible working and the workplace has changed, which brings challenges with it.
Another challenge is the change in the tech landscape, not just AI. About 10 years ago the fundraising sector had fundraising databases that everyone used, now there’s so many tools available to fundraising teams. But many teams don’t have the tech skills to use them, they’re difficult to implement and some organisations struggle to move with the times. This is a good business opportunity for us. We can support teams within the sector and they can buy our help when they need us to give them very specific support and training.
Most interesting developments happening in the industry?
The new and smaller-scale database systems are ones to watch. We work with Beacon – this is a less-expensive, more configurable customisable cloud-based CRM system that allows people to move away from off-the-shelf static tools that don’t work very well. The system can be tailored to clients’ needs; we work with them to manage everything in house or we can help them manage it themselves, whatever the client prefers.
Where do you see the company in five years?
Our challenge is to consolidate our reputation as a reliable source of expertise and to be a well-regarded, trusted partner in the sector. We’ll grow but growth isn’t necessarily what we’re all about. We want to deliver great, reliable service and be known and trusted to do that.
Best piece of advice you’ve ever been given?
I had an interesting former boss who used to say, ‘Your job here is just to add value’. The phrase ‘add value’ has always stuck with me. Rather than worry about the role, focus on the outcomes not the outputs. It’s not the things you produce but the lasting impact they have on clients. We are in the business of giving confidence to people, that’s the outcome for EFC. We want the people we work with to be in a good place and direction of travel, leaving them confident and happy to advance their great mission.
Describe EFC in five words
Collective, supportive, collaborative, practical, competent.