Great Fundraising Organizations — and How They Got That Way
In this episode of The Beacon Podcast, Lighthouse Counsel Content Coordinator Margaret Gardner talks with Alan Clayton about organizations that “get it” and excel at raising the money needed to make their mission a reality.
In their conversation, the author of the book “Great Fundraising Organizations: Why and How The World’s Best Charities Excel at Raising Money” talks about the research that helped formulate the insights found in the book, some surprising findings, what a great fundraising organization looks like and the kind of leadership needed to help an organization excel at fundraising.
About our guest
Alan Clayton is the author of the foundational book “Great Fundraising Organizations.” published globally by Wiley in January 2025, which lays out how a nonprofit can transform its fundraising revenue. The source for the content is a more than ten-year project involving academic research, action research and detailed casework with clients in multiple countries.
The same project provides the framework for accelerator projects delivered worldwide by Revolutionise International, of which Alan is chair.
Alan has been a fundraiser since the late ‘80s. He worked in-house at two national charities before founding his own agency in London in 1998. After selling the agency in 2007, he worked for the merged agency for two years before founding Revolutionise International.
Revolutionise is the accelerator for fundraising organizations worldwide. Alan and his team have worked in over 30 countries with over 100 clients. The compounded revenue growth of the client base is billions of US$.
Alan is also pursuing his own “big purpose” with the launch of a new business after two years of research and testing: EmPower: mental fitness, resilience and wellbeing.
He also runs the Inch, a residential seminar center in Loch Ness, Scotland.
