Having started numerous face-to-face operations since 1999 – both in-house and as part of several agencies I’ve set up (from NTT/ActionAid to Future Fundraising) – I appreciated at an early stage that achieving the best long-term value from a new donor involved a lot more than simply recruiting them at the lowest cost.

Almost 10 years ago I started working with Morag to establish the very first regular giving survey benchmarking survey (DARS, Donor Acquisition & Retention Survey, for the PFRA) to help the sector start to understand what really drives long-term income from individuals.

Since then, we’ve broadened the benchmarking to include lotteries and internationally, covering all channels of acquisition. I am driven to continually push new boundaries on behalf of our clients to help them  to maximise their income from individuals.

At parties I can most often be found throwing shapes on the dance floor much to the embarrassment of my daughters.