Should I pursue a Masters in Philanthropy?

[Cannotcope4223]

Turning to the wisdom of Mumsnet for some advice...

I am doing fairly well as a Fundraiser for a small charity (less than £1M turnover) and live in NI. I left school at 16 and went straight out to work with good GCSE results but no more. I started working in finance and completed the AAT qualification and then began studying ACCA (so a part qual accountant).

Anywayyy... fell into the charity sector 14 years ago and have worked my way up to a senior level. I’ve discovered a distance learning Masters In Philanthropy that I know of people with no degrees (but tonnes of varied experience in the charity sector) who are now on the course.

For context: single mum to 7 yr old DS, fairly sure the work isnt beyond me, no option for fees to be paid by work. Currently wfh 3 days a week which should increase next year. Fees would be manageable but any tips on grants gratefully received!! The Uni is in Kent and I live in NI.

How is a Masters seen by an employer? Do you think it would be worth doing?

Oops. Posted before I meant to. CASS is all on-live at moment,

@Cannotcope4223 what specifically do you want to do with it? I would recommend speaking to people who either have the job you want, or would be hiring you into it, and ask if they would look favorably on a master’s or not. Dr Beth Breeze, who runs the course, is great and well thought of in philanthropic circles. But if it won’t move you further along to your specific career goals, it’s better to identify what will.

I am not sure that it will make the difference in term of work.

Have you already done the Institute of Fundraising Certificate? As an ex-Fundraising Director I tended to encourage staff to do this. And I agree about making the move to bigger charities (although now may not be the time) or getting additional experience doing some consultancy. I would have thought that your financial experience woudl put you in good stead for future work - I am amazed at the number of senior people in the sector who cannot even read annual accounts.

Just looked at the entry requirements.

I would ask the university how long that course has been running, what proportion of new entrants have no degree , how many of the latter last the course, and how many students overall have ever graduated.

The usual entry requirement is a 2.1 honours degree, and entry for those with no degree is "exceptional". If you know several people who entered without degrees that might reflect that the course is not attracting enough graduate entries. Which may reflect on its academic reputation .

It sometimes happens that if numbers fall, a course will terminate leaving students high and dry with no qualification.

You're doing a Masters over 2 years pt??

My BA is taking six years

I would look at institute of fundraising higher level course
CMI level 7 - some units very appropriate for CICs or charities
Also try FSI for short courses
I’m a CEO of a charity, trustee of another and a director of a CIC!
I’m getting quite near to having raised £2 million in recent few years

Another thing about fundraising is that it is (rightly) judged on results. so a portfolio of excellent projects that raised, and preferably exceeded targets is the evidence you need. When I was recruiting FR staff, that's what I wanted to see. And to climb the career pole, a broad range of FR skills - have you done individuals, digital, major donors, trusts, events, legacies etc etc.

FR has a tendency to be very segmented as a skills sector, so the more boxes you can tick, the better your chance of getting to management levels.

God you are a great lot.

To answer everyone: yes I have looked at CASS and loved how broad it seemed, however I think you need a 2.1 degree to apply 😟

Dr Beth Breeze looks great and I hadn’t heard of her before now. I should add here that ACCA exams are really tough and I found distance versions of those excruciating to study at home (although 9 hours in class weekly, I did no problem with a tutor - its just the stats and figures are so effin dreary, its easy to get distracted in my kitchen). Some other brilliant points on the validity and tenure of the course too and I’ll check that.

For the full picture and to pick the brains of someone here is CEO level or Director, my CV would read: qualified trainer, experience in FR strategy development, volunteer management, eventing, donor retention, ind giving, legacy fundraising, audits/policy, supporter database etc and I managed a small womens charity before this for 9 years. Income targets have always been £100+ p.a. And exceeded over 14 years. Trust and grants mixed with unrestricted funds.

So! If I came up against another great candidate, would a degree or IoF Cert tip the balance? I have no great passion to study, I just really want better prospects and the chance to crack on while so many courses are being delivered remotely!!

NB: if I won the lottery tomorrow, you’d be watching my ass high tailing to my private island, not looking for second hand text books!

Oh - meant to say I have official training in Marketing. I wished right now I had more from a digital perspective...

Ah ffs - NO marketing training.

I would choose a candidate with qualification from institute of fundraising over a masters in philanthropy
But it would be more about track record and whether or not they were a good fit for organisation
I would also prioritise those with great social media skills so maybe look at short courses in that area as well

jacelancs thank you. Its still £4k per year and is the equivalent study as a Masters but I think social media skills, analytics, search engine optimization are essential now. I really appreciate you all contributing

Exactly what JaceLancs said.

I'd like to see IoF (Cert or Dip) and shed loads of evidence of successful and sustained money generation. Also for various things - core costs, projects, capital expenditure, equipment etc.

And what databases have you worked on. Often get extra points for Raiser's Edge!

I started my career in small (£1m pa) charities, but moved up the scale to larger ones (but not the really big ones) and from regional to national one, and that was seen as career progression too.

@Cannotcope4223

God you are a great lot.

To answer everyone: yes I have looked at CASS and loved how broad it seemed, however I think you need a 2.1 degree to apply 😟

Dr Beth Breeze looks great and I hadn’t heard of her before now. I should add here that ACCA exams are really tough and I found distance versions of those excruciating to study at home (although 9 hours in class weekly, I did no problem with a tutor - its just the stats and figures are so effin dreary, its easy to get distracted in my kitchen). Some other brilliant points on the validity and tenure of the course too and I’ll check that.

For the full picture and to pick the brains of someone here is CEO level or Director, my CV would read: qualified trainer, experience in FR strategy development, volunteer management, eventing, donor retention, ind giving, legacy fundraising, audits/policy, supporter database etc and I managed a small womens charity before this for 9 years. Income targets have always been £100+ p.a. And exceeded over 14 years. Trust and grants mixed with unrestricted funds.

So! If I came up against another great candidate, would a degree or IoF Cert tip the balance? I have no great passion to study, I just really want better prospects and the chance to crack on while so many courses are being delivered remotely!!

NB: if I won the lottery tomorrow, you’d be watching my ass high tailing to my private island, not looking for second hand text books!

1. re CASS...its either an undergraduate degree or qualify by experience....sounds as if you would meet that criteria
2. Beth Breeze is amazing!

OP, I’m interested in this very masters. Did you go for it in the end?