Session: Opening Plenary: The future of fundraising

Fundraising is a busy, demanding job. Sometimes it can be hard to find the space to think about next week, let alone next year. And thinking a decade or more into the future feels like an impossibility.  That's why the Summer School is such an important conference. It's an opportunity to come together, to stop - breathe - and think differently about who we are and what we do: to fall in love with fundraising, all over again. 

In this session, we'll use this valuable opportunity to take a longer-term perspective. We'll think about the trends we can see around us and what they might mean for the future of fundraising over the next decade and beyond. And even more importantly, we'll spend some time thinking about how we can impact that future: how we can make small changes now in order to shape a future that we want to see - and that the people we work with deserve. 

Claire Routley

Dr Claire Routley has worked in fundraising for over twenty years, for charities large and small. In 2011, she completed a PhD looking at why people choose to leave charitable legacies. She is now Consultancy Director at Legacy Futures, a tutor for the CIOF’s qualification courses, and works closely with Rogare, the fundraising think-tank. Being the eternal student, she's currently studying for a Master's in Foresight at the University of Houston.