The Institute of Fundraising’s latest set of accounts show that both its individual and organisational membership has grown over the last year, according to its latest set of accounts.
In the year to the 31 March 2016, the Institute of Fundraising’s individual membership grew 5 per cent to 6,000 while its organisational membership grew 17 per cent to 475 members.
As a result, the IoF’s total income increased by over 5 per cent to £4.7m, while its expenditure increased by just over 1 per cent to £4.3m. This left the organisation with an operational surplus of £332,161, almost double the surplus it had at the end of the last financial year.
Richard Taylor, chair of the IoF, who was presenting the figures to the organisation’s AGM yesterday, said that the increased membership figures were incredibly heartening considering what has been going on in the last 12 months.
“This was a year that I think few of us would like to repeat. It was the hardest year for us – and I don’t mean just as trustees or as fundraisers – but as a fundraising community trying to make sense of what has happened.
He said that the IoF was conscious that “many of its members wanted us to speak and to defend fundraising practices in the UK” this time last year but that “sometimes you can’t defend the indefensible”.
He said that the IoF instead decided to position itself as being “influential behind the scenes. Being involved in the discussions and to be trusted to be involved in those discussion so that we could make sure that the right discussions were being had”.
He said that the IoF did this to protect the self-regulatory system of fundraising. Taylor said: “It wasn’t an idle threat that the government wanted to impose statutory regulation on the sector. We came within a hare’s whisker of that happening”.
New chair takes up role
During the AGM, the IoF also appointed four new fellows and one new trustee to its board. Amanda Bringans has also formally taken up the role of chair.
Danielle Atkinson and Emily Drayson were re-elected as trustees, and Isobel Michael has been elected for the first time to serve on the IoF’s board. Trustees can serve up to two three year terms on the board.
Michael has over 25 years' experience of fundraising and has been secretary of the IoF South West Regional Group for 20 years.
Kath Abrahams, director of engagement and fundraising at Diabetes UK, was elected as vice chair.
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