This year, CASE was pleased to award two scholarships for the Spring Institute in Educational Fundraising (SIEF). CASE awards scholarships to make our programmes more accessible to institutions with limited budgets, and as part of our commitment to diversifying the advancement profession, encourage those from groups underrepresented in our professions to attend.
Scholarship recipient, Rashid Hall, Major Partnerships Manager at the International School of Geneva made his application after reading about the opportunity in an online CASE newsletter. In this interview, Rashid reflects on how his learnings apply to his day-to-day role:
"I have lived in Switzerland since moving to pursue my master’s education in 2015. But the opportunity to join the International School of Geneva (Ecolint) came at a time of introspection. It was the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic and my young family had just expanded. So, in this moment of self-reflection, I questioned the true impact of my work.
I’m Jamaican, so as a youngster from a small island in the Caribbean, I understood the power of opportunity, and Ecolint’s mission—to educate for peace and to inculcate strong humanitarian values of inclusiveness and intercultural understanding—really resonated with me. I was excited by the prospect of working on campaigns that provide scholarships for refugees and teachers from developing countries and playing a role in shaping supporter engagement in Ecolint’s 100th Anniversary.
I have now worked as Major Partnerships Manager at Ecolint for almost three years. Within our team of five, my role is to build relationships with potential major donors across four main constituencies of parents, alumni, corporations, and foundations. I must build personal and meaningful relationships to find the giving opportunity that most closely aligns with their philanthropic interests. Stewardship is also a key component of my role; I must ensure donors are kept up to date with the progress of projects and involved with how their support has been utilised. I enjoy being able to work alongside donors to ensure they achieve their personal objectives through their gifts.
Having attended the Spring Institute, my key takeaway would be the art of storytelling. I believe we need to work on this area more assiduously to create a narrative that connects with our community and makes them interested in getting involved with our campaigns.
My favourite part of the week was the sheer openness of everyone. There was a real willingness to share, from experiences and information to insights and tips. I knew I could benefit a lot from the learnings and experience of colleagues from the industry, but it was a pleasure to be in a space where people are willing to build each other up rather than be competitive.
This was my first CASE conference experience and if I were to offer advice to anyone thinking of attending a CASE conference for the first time, I would say: be open-minded and build relationships where possible. Make the effort to join a new table every day and speak to as many attendees as possible. There will be a great amount of information to take in, but don’t pressure yourself too much as you will call upon the information you have learnt for weeks and months after leaving the event."
To find out more about scholarships offered by CASE, please see our website.