Outsource on Resource
Fundraising leaders often asked, ‘is it better to outsource to an agency, or resource and build a highly skilled team in-house’?
Many years of charity experience has taught me that it is not one or the other, it is a fluid working relationship that builds on a foundation of best practice, resources and returns.
It is important to have a highly skilled team that can align fundraising with the organisation’s strategy while managing fundraising plans and engaging key stakeholders for fundraising purposes.
Whereas, working with an agency provides new ideas, trend insights, the skills of a multifaceted team and subject matter expertise, and the benefits of scalability and resourcing.
Although in-house staff might seem cheaper, outsourcing delivers minimum operational costs and provides specialisation that is not always readily available in-house. By using an agency, I had access to the range of skilled specialists that could deliver high-quality output, much faster than the thinly spread in-house resources.
Outsourcing is not a substitute for competent fundraising staff within an organisation; in-house teams still need to have the skills to be able to work with an agency to get the best results. An agency, like Pareto, lets your organisation tap into a wealth of knowledge and talent and provides an opportunity to harness the experience of agency teams, who work across multiple clients, testing, analysing and adapting tactics to maximise results.
The secret to working effectively with an agency is a collaborative partnership, developing a clear strategy, planning effectively and harnessing the knowledge both in-house and outsourced staff bring to the table.
Dearne Cameron CEO, Pareto Fundraising
