Not many people start their fundraising career at five years old, but for Sarah Beresford, MBA, CFRE, CPM, FAMI, it all began in kindergarten. At that age, children usually worry about naptime, but as Sarah learned through her school’s affiliation with The Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children, not all kids have access to medical care.
Fast forward into adulthood and Sarah has since worked across the global education sector, alumni relations, marketing, communications and admissions. Now, she serves as Director of Membership and Engagement at the Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Australia, and New Zealand.
She recently gave us insight into how her childhood experiences impacted her career, her philosophy on how diverse communities directly impact fundraising goals, and the value she’s found in holding CFRE certification …
My lifelong passion for helping
It started with the “Cot Fund”. I was five years old and in kindergarten when my school introduced us to its endowed hospital “cot” (a dedicated bed for a child) at the Royal Alexandra Hospital for Children. The Cot Fund was founded by the hospital in 1906, and in 1910 became a philanthropic tradition of my school. Throughout my 13 years at that school, its almost 1000 students fundraised every year to support the initiative. We were children supporting children, while learning about community and the power of collective fundraising.
Some 25 years’ later, and by pure coincidence, I supported the hospital again (now known as The Children’s Hospital at Westmead) as a member of a prominent Sydney charity committee – its only dedicated funder of the hospital’s in-house radio station, “Radio Bed Rock”. The initiative provided for bedside storytellers (professional DJs who volunteered their time) for every child to play songs, games and keep them smiling on their road to recovery.
Around the same time, I co-founded the Junior Cancerians Committee for The Australian Cancer Research Foundation (ACRF). The goal was to inspire and educate a younger crowd to donate and support The Cancerians. Grant funds went to the St. Vincent’s Medical Research Institute to establish the Centre for Immunology. I’m proud to have made a difference in cancer research via these efforts in the early days of the Foundation.
I also co-founded a fundraising committee, The Junior Australian British Chamber of Commerce (ABCC), in support of its parent organisation. As a nonprofit facilitating trade and collaboration between Australia and the United Kingdom, the ABCC fosters bilateral growth and cross-border collaboration for its members.
While I’ve experienced many pinch-me moments throughout my career, contributing to these committees is among my proudest achievements. Volunteering brings community together. It drives connection and delivers a direct impact on others. The exposure to others who are less fortunate, less able or going through a time when they need help to get back on their feet is what sets us up to understand kindness, tolerance and resilience.
I can’t imagine a life where I wan’t giving back and developing an innate sense of social responsibility for my fellow Australians.
The value of CFRE within advancement
The CFRE is often a topic of conversation, with colleagues asking, “Is the CFRE really worth it? “For me, it’s 100% worth the effort. I earned the CFRE because it’s the only globally recognised and rigorous credential to prove mastery in ethical fundraising. It brought together many years of fundraising experience and know-how through a formal set of standards and assessment.
As awareness of the CFRE designation has grown in Australia and New Zealand, it’s become an expected credential for those working in advancement leadership roles. Ask anyone who has met the hurdles to apply to become a CFRE, and they’ll tell you how the process has brought clarity and purpose to what they’ve achieved in their career to date.
At CASE, I’ve found that holding the CFRE credential builds immediate trust and engagement within the advancement teams of the 3600 education institutions we serve as members in 82 countries. Our members represent more than 100,000 advancement specialists.
As a CFRE, they know I understand and appreciate their needs, their time volunteering with CASE, and can trust their fees are directed with integrity and their loyalty is understood. We speak a shared language within the advancement community.
It takes a village
Fundraising – like a child – needs a safe, healthy community of diverse people (family, neighbours, teachers and leaders) to grow and thrive. In the Advancement context, it really does take a village to bring campaigns and projects to fruition and take our prospects and donors on a meaningful journey through the full development cycle.
Without our village, it’s almost impossible to achieve our institutional goals, navigate challenges, instigate change and innovation, and manage so many internal and external relationships. As a result, our stakeholders form a deep network and web that underpins our success.
Nothing is more important than our village to build and sustain a philanthropic culture across our institutions and to attract and guide those newer to the sector.
Sarah Beresford, MBA, CFRE, CPM, FAMI, is Director, Membership and Engagement, Council for Advancement and Support of Education (CASE), Australia, and New Zealand. She has been a CFRE Since 2021.
