This week we’ve been lucky enough to grab one of our busy Team Managers Ange as she visited our head office in Reading. Learn all about Ange’s background and her journey from face to face fundraiser to Regional Trainer, to Team Manager. Enjoy insights on her role, her take on what makes a good charity fundraiser and what she thinks separates Charity Link from other fundraising agencies in the UK.  

Feel free to keep reading, or check out the link to the podcast of our interview below…

Tell us a bit about your background. Are you from the charity sector or have you have you come from a completely different field?

So I've got a sales background, and I think the first thing I started in was market research which was door to door. So I've done the door to door. After that I got recruited by other people I met walking the streets into the energy sector. I worked for a company  called Empower for quite a while.  

After that I actually worked for car showroom, so I was calling people who bought a car - just upselling, things like that.
I’ve done lots of sales jobs like that but then decided to completely switch lanes!

I got my pub license and really liked it - I was a relief manager for a little while - my license let me do that. Eventually whilst I was working in a particular pub I ended up as pub manager. I really enjoyed the whole scene but after a while the hours do take their toll. I wanted to do something during the day again.  

So then I applied at Charity Link as a face to face fundraiser after hearing about the role. That was four years ago and I haven’t looked back!

What was it that particularly drew you to the face to face fundraiser role?

Actually my cousin already worked for Charity Link doing Dogs Trust at the time, and he really enjoyed it. He kept talking to me and talking to me about it and I was like ‘no, no, no, no, no!’

And then finally we sat down one day and I was like, right, yeah, ok - I can see this could work for me. I want to do this!

Do you think your previous job in sales means you're not afraid to go and talk to people?

Exactly - I have the confidence to strike up conversation and I was also just used to being outside as well. I suppose, is quite a big feature of being a face to face fundraiser that sometimes people don’t get initially.

But yes I mean, being a pub land lady means I've talked to anybody and everybody! But you know,  I'm quite confident in my work life, but in my personal life (which is really weird) I actually have social anxiety.

When I'm doing this job, it's like I've got an armour on - when I'm not doing this job, I am different. I’m like two different people. It's like a switch goes on when I wear the uniform.

So I'll be like “hi!, come and talk to me!” but when I'm not doing this job, it’s definitely more ‘don’t talk to me!’

So what’s happened since you got promoted from face to face fundraiser?

So whilst I was a fundraiser I enquired about a vacancy that came up to be a Regional Trainer. I didn't think for a minute I would get the job especially as quite a few people applied… So I was really shocked when I got it!

I definitely enjoyed doing that job.

About a year and a half later the team manager role came up and I was actually in the middle of training another man to take on the role. He was fresh into the business and he just couldn't do it.

I made a flippant comment one day saying I could do this better than he could so then the Area Managers and Head Office said

‘Well, why don't you apply?’

So obviously that’s what I did and here I am! Again, I never expected to get the job, so it just goes to show what you can do if you take a chance and go for it!

How does the role of F2F fundraiser differ to a Team Manager?

Being a team manager is much more hands on. There's a lot more paperwork and things like that, but I actually really enjoy going out to see my team and see how I can help them.

When I see that at the end of the day they've achieved their target it really makes me feel quite proud! I’m like, I've helped them to achieve that! 

One incident really sticks out - I remember going out with one guy - it was after Christmas. He’d come back from a while away and he just wasn't doing well.

So I went out and thought ‘Right, I'll just go watch him, see what he's doing’. I could see he’d just got himself in a little bit of a rut – he wasn’t asking people and was letting his bad mood influence him.

I said to him

“Look, you've just kind of given up a little bit! Right, come on. I know you can do this! You've got it in you, you've done it before!”

And do you know what - for the rest of the week he hit his targets. I really felt like I’d made a difference that day and that’s a great example of how a Team Manager can help - it’s like we’re the motivation when a fundraiser can’t motivate themselves.

Is it easy to motivate people or do, is that quite tricky?  

Some people it is. Others are naturally a little bit negative, but it's just kind of instilling in them that they CAN do this.

We chose our fundraisers because we believe they’ve got the ability to do it. Now they’ve just got to believe in themselves!

Also though, sometimes people just have a bad day. In that instance, you just need to put on the smile and try and give them some positive energy, you know? Sometimes if they just start chatting to the public it can lift your own energy.  

I really try to emphasise to never come across as pushy sales but just pick someone and start talking to them. It can be about anything – like “I love your shoes or something – where did you get them?’  

Learn more about grabbing (and keeping!) attention from passers by

And then that just brings you into a conversation and people don't feel like they're being sold to because you've had that really nice conversation with them. And you know, even if that’s ‘all’ you’ve managed to do, you’ve raised awareness and had a nice exchange, so you’re still winning!

When I go and see people I’m able to look at what’s going on objectively and that makes it a lot easier for me to see when someone's just having a bad day or if maybe they’re doing something that they could improve on.

I always try to point that out that not every day is going to be full of sunshine and roses! Resilience is such a primary part of the role.

You get a lot of rejection. It’s never personal, you just don’t what's happening in that person's life in the morning. They might have had some bad news. It’ about accepting it and saying ‘Okay, no worries. Have a lovely day’. You can’t let it bring you down.  

You’ve got to keep getting back up and keep persevering and keep believing that it's eventually going go your way - and it will - especially if you follow the procedures and training that we teach here.

Learn how to be a fundraiser with super human resilience

Tell us about a typical day as a fundraiser team manager

I usually get up at seven and get straight in the shower and I'm on my laptop for half past seven.

I'll start with filling in figures from the day before because when, by the time people send them to you, it's gone eight o'clock and that's MY time!

Obviously I’ll check my emails and calendar to see what’s on for the rest of the week, along with looking at the rotors and checking where my team are going to be and where I need to go.

I also look at everyone's figures for the week which helps me see who probably needs my support more, and I’ll go over any feedback from the regional trainers too.

Sometimes you're out a lot in the field which means it can be difficult to catch up with the admin side of the role which is why my routine is always to start the day with that.

By nine I've got a good idea about my priorities for the day. Sometimes I’ll leave the house before nine depending on where I'm going. I try and get out most days and see somebody or sometimes I might be fundraising myself.

I also take part in our fundraiser experience days where fresh candidates have passed a certain stage of our recruitment process and spend a day on the field with a fundraiser to get a taste of what it’s really like. During that time they might have a go at stopping someone and my job here is to try to gage how positive they are, whether they’re resilient, things like that.

From their perspective it’s really good that they can spend an hour or two with a fundraiser and ask any questions, as well as get input from a team manager.  

What’s  your favourite part of the job?

I just like fundraising! – I like the buzz of it!

I also like that we get to see lots of different things and go to lots of different places.

On a normal day today, you might be in a Co-op or a Morrison's, or another day you might be at fantastic shows fundraising.

Plenty of times now I’ve seen and met celebrities – I know a lot of the fundraisers have from Michaela Strachan to Zoe Ball to Gabby Logan.  So yeah, I've seen some lovely things, met some lovely people along the way.

So would you prefer to still be a fundraiser then, do you think?

In some ways yes – for me it's the pressure of being the fundraiser and having a new target every day. Although I was okay with that, it's still the mindset you have to bring every day, regardless of how you’re feeling or how your life is going.

With the Team Manager role, I’ve still got targets, but I've also got everything else built in to let me help people.

This job is very different – for example, before as a fundraiser, I didn't know people in head office really at all. Every time I've progressed up, I get to know a new circle of people. That's quite nice to actually be involved more with our whole organisation.

Do you think that's one of the things that differentiates Charity Link from other fundraising agencies? (In terms of the head office support?)

Yes I think  we've got this infrastructure that other companies don’t have. That means everyone does have that ongoing support.

When you do hear about some other fundraising agencies they've got one charity and you've not got the Regional Trainers, the HR department, the L&D team, the inhouse recruitment team… Or any of the other support that's ongoing at Charity Link.

I always say to people, it's a family, you know?

And it, it really is!

I feel that I talk to people at work more than I talk to anybody else. So, I feel this connection with everybody and everybody's really friendly. I especially talk to my manager Greg more than anyone at all – we have this really nice connection and we get on really well.

Read Area Manager Gregs interview here

How do you overcome your most difficult days?

So most days Greg will phone me in the morning and he can tell straight away I'm having a bit of a bad day. He'll just say things to make me laugh and funny and you can't resist it. You just do feel better and just smile.

In training once I got asked what I would like my ‘branding’ to be; so what three words I would want people to think of when they think of me - I couldn't think of any, but then Greg walked in the room and everybody smiled and I just thought - that's what I want! I want everybody to smile! I don't want them to think of words.

What would you say is your overall motivation?

Obviously you are helping people, the charity and their work motivates me… But I like to see other people get where I was.

When I started at Charity Link I had credit cards and overdrafts and loans, but working here has helped me. I don't have any of them anymore – I always say that to people.

If you work hard with this job, if you give it your full commitment, It can get you where you want to be; able to get the nice things in life that you want. But you're also knowing that you're going home and you thinking

‘I've actually done something today, something worthwhile’

And it’s not only just the work side – sometimes my team are going through personal problems as well, and I'm always there for them – I can give them my time.

So my motto has always been ‘ Be the reason someone smiles today’.

If you can make a difference just to one person, then it's worth it and I feel like I've had a good day.

Another big motivator is wanting to share the knowledge I’ve got from working with the charities. I can use that to help people too.

For example, I spoke to a lady at a show last week and she'd found a lump and she said she wasn’t going to bother as the doctors are so busy
I said, it’s a two week thing - two week period and you have to be seen and you have to have a scan. I said to her

‘Please promise me. Promise me you will do this’.

And I gave her lots of information, tried to spin it on the positive because most of the time it's nothing - but you need to go and get it checked out.

Knowing I might have made a difference to that lady because of our conversation is great. I had the confidence to deliver that information and statistics in my pocket to pull out as well. As a fundraiser you're not just guessing, you know. You work, you work with these facts and figures every day so you get that trust in knowing what you’re saying is the right thing.

What three qualities do you think a fundraiser would need the most to be successful?

You do have to be a happy person. You know, you've got to be happy and positive.

You should also be confident in your own abilities.

You've got to be flexible I think as well because of where we go and the times we work - depending where you’re working, it might be an early start or it might be a later finish. Sometimes travel can be longer too. If you willing to be flexible, you're gonna get the outcome that you want.  

Do you think that's why the more successful demographic for fundraisers tends to be older, because they generally won’t have dependents?

Yes I do think that’s true. I think as well, they've had more life experience so they don't let the pressure get on top of them. They don't let rejection get them down. It's not all about money for the older fundraiser – of course there may be money motivation with mortgages and things like that, but I do think the life experience teaches them to be more patient.

That said, there are some young people that do really well too!

If you personally could choose a charity for us to support, which charity would you choose and why?

There’s lots out there, but the one I suppose most apparent to me is pancreatic cancer. I lost my mum last year. I remember my mum telling me when she was diagnosed (I was working on Breast Cancer Now) and she phoned me to tell me.

It was awful and my colleagues were like, do you want to stop and go home? But I said -

“and do what? You know, at home I'm just going to sit and think about it. At least whilst I'm here, I'm doing something - I'm talking about cancer and I know I'm doing something to help other people.”

So yeah, I think that Pancreatic Cancer UK charity like would be the one that I would choose.

What’s your best memory of working at Charity Link?

Actually I do talk about this a lot with new starters.

 I think I was about six weeks in, I was fundraising at a petrol station. I was getting really frustrated. I'd done nothing.

 It was really close to where Emma (one of our Regional Trainers) lived, so she came out to see me.

We just sat down and had a chat. She let me get everything off my chest and all the things that were bothering me, not necessarily work – just a proper whinging a moment like we all do. After that, I went back in the petrol station and did TEN sign ups that afternoon! It was just such a wow moment -  just what a difference that chat made!

I always say to Emma ‘You know what? You really inspired me that day’

That's why as well, why I wanted to work as a regional trainer and be able to do the same for others. That’s the memory that always sticks in my mind.

What makes Charity Link different to other fundraising agencies?

I know we have the infrastructure in the head office which I think makes us one of the most professional agencies around. We’re always looking to improve and have such a drive for compliance and lifting the bar for the whole industry.

On a personal note, I do quite like the benefits too! I've had a free massage treatment before at a spa. I've had my eyes tested and got glasses for free on the healthcare plan and I’ve also got money back from dentistry too.  

Another time I went to a show and I during my stay in the hotel I got out the shower and I slipped. I really hurt myself and I was able to get four different treatments of physio through work that I didn't have to pay for as well.

I’m always telling my team ‘Look, it's literally there. Just use it!’

But it's not just physical things as well. Charity Link are there for your mental health. It’s not always the things that you can see that people are struggling with. There’s a real big support for people who are suffering with different things.

With mental illness I think it's up to eight sessions of counselling which is great. I was trained to be a mental health responder by Charity Link, which means I’m the first point of call. That’s definitely given me ideas and tips so I can recognise when people aren’t themselves.

I think we are really hot on mental health here which is probably driven by the passion of Hannah and the team in HR.

They’re just pushing mental health awareness I feel like it's a really open conversation here that everybody’s invited to share.

The message is to reach out for that help if needed and I do think separates us - it's like a safe environment where you can talk about it and not have to worry about am I going to keep my job? 

Instead it’s ‘Your job is going to be there – How can we support you?’ and that’s fantastic.

Read HR Manager Hannahs interview here

Essentially fundraising is a sales job (although not a typical one!) but there’s pressure there. It can be easy to focus wholly on numbers, but with that mental health element, the focus is to just check that you are okay; let's make sure you are in the best possible position too. And then we'll see the results. But let's not just focus completely on that.

Feelings for sale! Why fundraising is the best sales job in the UK

What advice would you give somebody thinking about a career in fundraising?

If you’re interested, I’d say have courage and definitely give it a go!

For me, I’ve done so many different roles in my life and I know now I've found what I want to do - you know, I found my niche.

In this job you really just get to talk. I like to talk, so you can't shut me up sometimes!

So to me, if you enjoy meeting new people, going to new places, it's a really good job! That’s not to say it can’t be a little bit challenging and tough, but I think the better days really outweigh the bad days!

Thanks to Ange for her time and for letting us find out a bit more about your role and your life!

If you like the sound of professional charity fundraising and making a real difference to those in need, why not have a look at our jobs page and see if you like the job description? Our friendly recruitment team are always on the look out for new talent to join our team and would love the chance to get to know you