Meet Andrew Barton

“Sometimes we’ve got so focused on fundraising technique that we’ve lost sight of the need to inspire supporters and think how we make them feel.”

I started my fundraising consultancy in 2016, after working in senior fundraising roles at World Vision UK, Oxfam GB and Oxfam International for over 10 years. I was a ‘latecomer’ to fundraising, having spent the first half of my working life in management consultancy and then in strategy and planning and senior marketing roles at Abbey National.

It’s a tough environment for charity fundraising. It was hard before coronavirus and the pandemic has made it even harder.

My core skill is to help charities get under the skin of how their current fundraising is performing, where they need to focus their investments. I then help implement practical plans that will deliver peak performance in their fundraising activity.

A ‘state of the nation’ fundraising audit is often where my consulting work starts. In a number of cases that has led on to building a Case for Support that can work across all forms of giving.

I never lose sight of the financial impact of fundraising decisions, but fundraising is so much more than that. It’s all about inspiring supporters to give. Sometimes I think we’ve got so focused on fundraising technique that we’ve lost sight of the need to inspire supporters and think how we make them feel.

I love sport and I’ve been inspired by what drives sporting success – whether that’s a team like British Cycling, my football team, Leicester City (yes, champions of England 2015/16), or an individual like Andy Murray. I apply that thinking – what Dave Brailsford at Team Sky calls “accumulated marginal gains” – to help my charity clients achieve peak performance and be the best that they can be.

I enjoy coaching senior fundraisers and their teams and building their technical skills. I’ve worked with a number of fundraisers stepping up into Fundraising Director or Head of Fundraising positions for the first time, helping build their confidence in managing fundraising streams where they may not have had direct experience.

I’ve combined Interim roles alongside my consultancy (having been Interim Fundraising and Supporter Engagement Director at Christian Aid for almost a year, and Interim Head of Individual Giving at RNIB for eight months). So my consulting is grounded in practical experience.

I’ve also experienced life as a Trustee or non-executive advisor. I’m currently a Trustee of Bible Reading Fellowship (more famous as the home of Messy Church) and have served on the Finance and Fundraising Committees at Church Mission Society for many years.

Outside of work, I’m very involved in church life, spending time growing fruit and veg on my allotment, walking and (now that my hockey playing days are over) watching Leicester City in action.