Hello.

I'm Craig.

 

Where Are You On Your Fundraising Journey?

I'll never forget how lost and overwhelmed I felt when I first started out in fundraising. I had no clue where to start and no one to point me in the right direction.

I'm now an award-winning, global fundraising consultant, author and guide to some of the world's most successful nonprofits.

My courses recently won the 2022 Global Fundraising Innovation Challenge (Reimagining Fundraising).

Now I'm sharing everything I 've learned along the way, to help people like you to raise the donations you need for the causes you support.

My Long & Winding Road To Fundraising Success 

I never set out to be a fundraiser. I always wanted to be a vet, until the stark reality of a school work experience placement cured me of that dream.

I went on to scrape a degree in mathematics at Exeter University, then managed a cocktail bar in Northumberland for a while, before moving to Nigeria (with VSO - Voluntary Service Overseas), which was hectic, where I caught lots of malaria, and where I raised my first funding.

When I returned home (Med-Evac), I bought a grey suit and became a trainee accountant with KPMG but did lots of volunteering and travelling in my spare time.

I jumped ship when I was offered a paid fundraising training placement in the UK social care charity Turning Point and that's how it all began.

Since then I've led the fundraising teams to massive income growth at AMREF UK (8X growth in three years) and London's SOAS (20X growth in three years). Around this point I fitted in a Masters (at SOAS) in Violence, Conflict & Development, before I set up a charity called Cycle Africa.

After that adventure I bought a blue suit and set out on my own as a fundraising consultant.

It took me five years with More Partnership to get really good at consultancy, learning from the best in the business and leading major complex global projects.

I've served as a Trustee on seven non-profit Boards (including the Fundraising Institute of New Zealand).

After four years in Okinawa (consulting and building the Fundraising Radicals in the spaces between looking after two young kids) I'm now based in New Zealand.

The Fundraising Radicals is my next adventure (and I no longer wear a suit). 

Anyone Can Fundraise & Fundraising Is For Everyone

Over the decades, I've learned that fundraising is a craft, I've seen that anyone can learn to fundraise, and can get good at it with commitment and practice.

For me, this is personal. The world needs more people like YOU, people willing to put themselves out there to get the funding they need to make some positive change in the world.

Whether yours is a charity, a cause, a community or a more personal challenge. Let's get it funded.

My personal commitments to social justice, gender equity, and racial equity mean that I've always been selective about which organisations I guide to raise funding.

I've built a huge amount of experience over three decades, working with nonprofits of all shapes and sizes, fundraisers and donors in more than 100 countries around the world.

I've always wanted to make my experiences available and accessible to everyone, not only those who can afford consultancy rates.

I set up the Fundraising Radicals to help the world fundraise more efficiently and effectively. 

I want to tear up the old fundraising playbook that tells us who can do fundraising and how it should be done.

The Fundraising Radicals shares the tools and approaches that consultants and professionals use every day to raise big donations.

I have invested hundreds (maybe even thousands) of my hours and own money into creating a new modern, efficient and effective, step-by-step approach to fundraising that anyone can follow. No experience required.

It's all about value - understanding and articulating the value and impact of your charity or project, the value of your donations, and the value of your time.

The Fundraising Radicals is different to anything else out there.

Doing this programme IS doing fundraising. And it's about learning how to do it properly, no gimmicks, no shortcuts, no jargon, no unnecessary theory - just the knowledge, tools and confidence you need to get out there and do fundraising yourself. 

The world can and MUST fundraise smarter

Globally, millions of precious fundraising hours are wasted every year - doing the wrong things - targeting the wrong donors, writing long proposals that are then rejected, spending time with people who will never donate, the list goes on...

This has both a direct and opportunity cost for nonprofits that equates to BILLIONS of wasted dollars, every year. Imagine the difference you could make with those sorts of resources.

I'm on a mission to help the world fundraise smarter - so you have the tools and knowledge you need to focus on the donations and the donors that matter.

So you can spend less time on getting the funding in and more time doing all of the other important, world-changing things on your to-do list.

Three Things About Me That Have Nothing To Do With Fundraising...

(I also do other things!)

I grew up on a farm...

... in rural north Northumberland (close to the Scottish border) close to a little town called Wooler. That explains the accent. It also explains why I'm always happier in green places, than in cities.

This is my family

My wife Loretta (she's the paediatric clinical psychologist who joined me on that bike ride) and Noah (8) and Aria (7). They keep me grounded and on my toes, both at the same time. They all love distance running. I really don't (but I do love playing the guitar, tennis, soccer and ultimate frisbee!)

I once cycled to Cape Town

I didn't even own a bicycle, but set up a charity and then cycled 17,000 kilometres from London in the UK to Cape Town in South Africa. Carrying all of our own camping and cooking stuff. It took a year. It was humbling, hard, inspiring, and I'm glad it's done.

What Others Say About Working With Me

Craig is always supportive and encouraging with me, he believes that I can do this, even when I don't ... and he gives the best practical advice in a way that makes everything clear.

Nguyen Thi An

Country Director (Vietnam), HealthBridge Foundation of Canada

Craig is a rare breed of fundraising guide, one who only feels successful if he has transformed your fundraising income and sustainability. He is not a '5 %er'.

James Whiting

Executive Director, Malaria No More UK

I don't think I realised at the time how much I was learning from you, but I know I could not have landed this £11 million donation without your guidance and that understanding of the fundraising process - and what to say to a donor, when, and how to say it.

Professor Eleanor Robson

Head of History, University College London

QUESTION: Would having me as your fundraising guide make your life easier and help you get funding for your charity or project? 
ANSWER: If you want to say YES! and say goodbye to all of your doubts and fears about fundraising, if you feel that I can help you, come and join me.
Join The Fundraising Radicals Today, For FREE!
Let's Go!