What Is Fundraising Success?

The theme of this year’s IFC is asking the right questions. So here is my question: What is fundraising success? The answer is obvious surely. It’s how much money we raise.

Success is based on getting from X amount of money to Y, where Y is greater than X. Look at any fundraising award citation in the U.K. and it’s about the increase in money. A campaign is deemed more successful if it raises more than last time. So success is more money raised.

Yet, is that really success?