Responding to the Global Marketplace

But some of the frenzied desire to take on new markets has reduced as INGOs take a more seasoned approach to managing their portfolios of fundraising countries, even to the extent of tackling the perennial issue of market underperformance. Some are learning that new is not always better.

On the downside
Needless to say, the demand for an experienced international fundraising staff is strong. So if a new approach to strategy is the current peak for me, the low has to be the continued obsession with “restructuring” at some INGOs. Naturally, organisations must evolve to cope with changing demands to deliver mission and vision. However, for some, restructuring is as certain as elections — it comes around every five years or so. Unlike elections, the INGOs do little to publicise the manifestos behind their reorganisations, often leaving the wider INGO community to form opinions from rumour and disgruntled (ex-)staff. And then their senior managers wonder why they find it so hard to recruit good fundraisers to replace the old!