Fundraising Institute of Australia

Fundraising Institute Australia (FIA) is the national peak body representing professional fundraising in Australia. FIA champions and facilitates fundraising best practice with a code for ethical fundraising, professional development, networking and advocacy for all members.

Client:  Fundraising Institute of Australia

Service:  Exclusive Executive Search

Role:  Chief Executive Officers

Placement:  Rob Edwards (2012) and Katherine Raskob (2018)

Challenge

After six years at the helm, outgoing CEO Rob Edwards, originally placed by NGO Recruitment, had transformed FIA both financially and strategically by delivering a wide range of new sustainable services. The FIA Board engaged NGO Recruitment once again to search for a replacement CEO to build on Rob’s legacy and take the peak body to the next level.


The challenge was to find the perfect candidate to work closely with the Board to implement FIA’s latest strategic plan including many bold goals over the next few years. These included repositioning the organisation, to represent not only fundraising professionals, but also the charities themselves as a reputable selfregulatory body. The perfect candidate also needed to help raise the profile of the fundraising profession and the associated professional identity of fundraising. This was a critical role of architecture and building in an industry worth over $12 billion in revenue in Australia..

Solution

NGO Recruitment’s executive search team was tasked with finding someone with the right skills and determination for this critical role. Based on the success of Rob Edwards, who came from an industry association rather than a fundraising background, we knew the ideal candidate would possess similar senior leadership and strategic communications skills including brand, marketing and digital expertise. NGO Recruitment launched a targeted executive search and advertising campaign, including extensive talent mapping across the NFP and industry body sector.

Results

2-month executive search campaign - from brief to placement

143 applications

Shortlist of four senior candidates all selected for interview

Successful candidate Katherine Raskob had been identified as the standout candidate in her role as Director of Communications and Customer Experience at ADMA (Association for Data-driven Marketing and Advertising)

Katherine is an outstanding executive leader and has been well received by the fundraising industry

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