Unlocking the fundraising power of independent medical research institutes

The Cairney & Company approach

When donors and scientists align, there can be a transformational impact on an institution’s fundraising. The scientists, researchers and clinicians behind world-changing discoveries can hold untapped potential to reinforce fundraising across their institutions, and to fund their labs and critical research discoveries.

But too often, there is a disconnect, and this can be because those on the frontline of discovery feel ill-equipped to translate their fundamental research into a language that conveys impact. At Cairney & Co, we’re passionate advocates of empowering and upskilling all members of an institution to be strident ambassadors and participants in engaging with donors.

The Walter & Eliza Hall Institute (WEHI), The Burnet Institute and The Baker Heart & Diabetes Institute - all based in Melbourne, Australia, approached us to help empower and arm their scientists, researchers, clinicians, professional staff and volunteers with the knowledge, tools and confidence to support their fundraising efforts.

Following initial conversations to determine current levels of knowledge and wider strategic priorities of the three institutions, we developed and presented a series of virtual and in-person webinars and workshops, to scientific leaders across all three organisations - both as group activities and one-to-one coaching.

Essential fundraising topics covered as part of the programme included the fundraising cycle, philanthropy as a strategic tool, making the ‘ask’, how to engage and build relationships with donors, telling a compelling fundraising story and identifying fundraising priorities. We also provided opportunities for delegates to put theory into practice in roleplay scenarios.

The outcome

Statistics from WEHI training

93% of delegates said their comfort levels around interacting with donors had improved at least to a degree.
86% would recommend the training to colleagues.
93% would consider attending a future workshop to build on what they’d learned.

Next steps

Following this initial work, we’re now working with all three institutes to deliver bespoke support designed to promote and embed a culture of philanthropy. We’re helping to raise fundraising confidence across their scientific communities, and in some cases with their board. We’ve been asked to coach individual scientists, and we’re also creating ‘train the trainer’ modules so that teams can run in-house sessions in the future. Because of our work, we’re pleased to say that fundraising training is now part of each institute’s onboarding process for new scientists.

Here’s a snapshot of feedback from WEHI delegates:

“Karen and Colin were amazing! Extremely engaging - I appreciated the mix of presentations and activities. They were a pleasure to listen to and obviously bring a wealth of experience.”

“This was a very important webinar/workshop to help us understand the philanthropy, who are donors and how to interact with them. The facilitators were very knowledgeable and gave clear examples which helped understand the theory.”

“I think this is important for all employees where their work is funded by larger gifts or grants etc. As mentioned in the workshop I think it's an important move for everyone to be thinking about their interactions with fundraising and donors, rather than it being the sole responsibility of the Philanthropy team.”