Two decades ago I left the commercial sales world to enter the voluntary sector.  I felt there was more to life than underpinning the next dividend payment of our shareholders – not that I have anything against dividends or profits! But I wanted the profits from my hard work to benefit others in need.   I was lucky enough to get my first break in the Jewish voluntary sector, working in a well-honed and hugely successful fundraising campaign that partnered me with voluntary committees hubbed around synagogues across north-west London.  Two to three nights a week saw me meeting volunteers in their homes before we fanned out across the local area, cold calling on past donors or running a telecanvassing evening from a volunteer’s office.  We raised hundreds of thousands every year from small to medium sized donors, utilising local connections and relationships to yield a collective campaign total of £10M annually. It was a great training ground. ​ I went on to work in a series of “start-up” roles, in charities that hadn’t had a fundraising function or whose fundraising was in a moribund state. The slog of chasing supporters, lapsed and new, building relationships to increase major gift and trust & foundation income, and developing new ways and means of funding rapidly became familiar. ​ But why do this? I was motivated to utilise the sales skills I acquired in my previous decade of work for the benefit of those who needed help – it really wasn’t any more complicated than that.   Following a couple of decades of experience in a variety of roles and organisations, I have acquired a broad base of experience and knowledge, raised several tens of millions pounds, and acquired more than a few stories of fundraising along the way!