How we got there

2007
In 2007 the International Fundraising Congress set a new record in terms of attendance, attracting 943 participants from 60 countries. We continue to offer up to 10 bursary places at the IFC for fundraisers from developing countries.

The India NGO of the Year Award ran for a second year attracting an increased number of high quality entries. Foundations were laid for starting Award programmes in Malaysia and Kenya.

Fundraising courses were launched in four new locations - Delhi (India), Kampala (Uganda), Bogota (Colombia, in Spanish) and Moscow (Russia, in Russian) - bringing the total number of courses now set up to seven. A further six courses will be launched in 2008 including the Philippines, Brazil (in Portuguese), Ghana, and three new cities in India.

Our training and advice services expanded with an increase number of clients involving work in a range of countries around the world. Our pool of local trainers was expanded and strengthened.

During the year we supported regional workshops in Mexico, India, the Philippines, and Kenya and gave assistance to newly formed fundraising associations in Malaysia and the Philippines.

Our website was re-launched with a new design and additional features including 'Ask a Guru' - a free advice line where fundraisers around the world can get expert answers to their questions. We now have full online booking and payment capability for our events.

2006
In 2006, the Resource Alliance organised two sell out international events: the 7th International Workshop on Resource Mobilisation held in Bangkok, attracting 235 delegates from an unprecedented number of 46 countries worldwide, and the 26th International Fundraising Congress, which boasted the highest record number of attendees in the Congress' history with 914 participants from 51 countries!

The Resource Alliance also launched two new initiatives in 2006. The first was the India NGO Award, supported by the Nand & Jeet Khemka Foundation, aimed at advancing India's non-profit sector by promoting financial and organisational stability, and strengthening community support of civil society.

The second is the launch of a new consultancy service offered by the Resource Alliance for non-profit organisations seeking to build their long term financial sustainability. So far, the Resource Alliance has worked with clients such as Sight Savers International, Poor Areas Civil Society Programme - India, SOS Children's Villages - the Philippines and the World Society for the Protection of Animals.

The fundraising courses offered by the Resource Alliance continued to grow from strength to strength: the pilot courses in Nairobi and Mumbai were successfully completed, and repeat offerings of the course in Kuala Lumpur were met with equal enthusiasm. 2007 will see the launch of the course in several new countries, including Uganda, the Philippines, Russia and Colombia, as well as other cities in India. Regional workshops were supported in Kenya, Argentina, Mexico, Peru, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, Bosnia.

2005
The Accredited Qualification in Resource Mobilisation (AQRM), one of the Resource Alliance's most recent groundbreaking initiatives, was piloted in India and Kenya, with a view to establishing the AQRM in other new countries in 2006/2007.

The 20-Day Course in Fundraising and Communication is an advanced intensive course aimed at those with non-profit sector experience and is taught through a classroom, group work and case studies over 20 days. The pilot was successfully completed in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia in September 2005.

The Asia Pacific NGO Awards were held in Singapore and continue to recognise the achievements and contributions of NGOs in the region.

The Resource Alliance again organised 2 big international events: the 6th International Workshop on Resource Mobilisation held in Bangkok, Thailand and the 25th International Fundraising Congress held in the Netherlands. These events attracted over 1100 delegates from 48 countries.

Other workshops were held in Mexico, Ukraine, Budapest, Sri Lanka and Kenya.

2004
In response to the growing need for a solid grounding in the basics of fundraising in developing countries, we have commenced work on the development of an Accredited Qualification in Fundraising.

We also initiated the 2004 Asia Pacific NGO Awards which is sponsored by the Citigroup Foundation and aims to recognise and reward professionalism and excellence in the region's not-for-profit sector.

The Resource Alliance supported the development of the Singapore Association of Fundraisers and the Kenya Association of Fundraising Professionals - both launched in June 2004.

The Resource Alliance organised 2 big international events: the 5th International Workshop on Resource Mobilisation held in South Africa attracted 271 participants from 48 countries and the 24th International Fundraising Congress held in the Netherlands attracted over 750 delegates from 48 countries. Other regional workshops were held in Mexico, Sri Lanka, Uganda and the Philippines.

2003
The second edition of the Worldwide Fundraiser's Handbook - A Resource Mobilisation Guide for NGOs and Community Organisations by Michael Norton was launched.

A Workshop on Strengthening the Non-profit Sector's Organisational Capacity was presented in March in Beijing. The Workshop was the second in a series organised by the China NPO Network as the local partner and supported by the British Council. The training delivered by the Resource Alliance focused on development of NPO Governance and Fundraising.

The first National Korean Fundraising Workshop was held in Seoul in September. The workshop was organised in partnership with Doum & Nanum and involved the support of Mr Suk San Kim from the Korea Welfare Foundation.

The 9th Central and Eastern European Fundraising Workshop was held in February in Budapest, Hungary. The workshop was organised in partnership with Civil Society Development Foundation (CSDF).

The 1st Central Asian Fundraising Workshop: 'Priniciples, Techniques and Challenges of Professional Fundraising' took place in November 2003 in Almaty, Kazakhstan. The Workshop was organised in partnership with the Education Network (EdNet), Kazakhstan.

2002
The 22nd International Fundraising Congress was attended by 820 delegates from 66 countries making it the largest and most international IFC to-date. The programme featured 63 world-class speakers, leading over 100 cutting-edge sessions ranging from intensive master classes and interactive workshops to lively debates and panel sessions. The IFC became the most significant event of its kind in the world.

The Resource Alliance run Training of Trainers Workshop for South Asia and the Asia Pacific Region. The Workshop had carefully selected participants from these regions with a view to build a cadre of at least ten first-rate trainers on local resource mobilisation and systematising the content of training.

The 3rd International Workshop on Resource Mobilisation, was organised by the Resource Alliance in co-operation with South Asian Fund Raising Group (SAFRG) in Agra, India in March.

2001
The first issue of Global Connections was published in August 2001. Global Connections is a quarterly electronic newsletter focusing on learning and exchange, highlighting important developments in the area of fundraising and local resource mobilisation. It has been widely acclaimed as serving a felt need, especially for participants in the developing world. The newsletter, in combination with the website, provides an effective platform for information sharing and exchange.

In response to demand, following preparatory research and requests from Central and Eastern Europe region, the Resource Alliance begun to develop plans for an extensive programme of resource mobilisation with the Civil Society Development Foundation in Hungary and others.

2000
An international conference on Building Capacity for Sustainability was co-organised with AMREF in Nairobi, Kenya in November 2000. International Fundraising Group IFRG changes its name to The Resource Alliance.

The Resource Alliance is now evolving into a global alliance of independent, yet interdependent regional organisations, each responsible for developing the volunteer leadership and other resources required in its region.

1999
A review of IFRGs corporate identity is completed.

IFRG and the South Asia Fund Raising Group sign a formal agreement forming an alliance sharing a common mission.

IFRG holds the first conference on the role of capacity building for domestic fundraising. At the close of the conference, it was agreed that there is a need for an annual forum to discuss policy issues surrounding this subject.

1998
A five-year plan was developed in consultation with IFRGs worldwide contacts responding to the need to share skills, resources and information to enable NGOs, particularly those based in the South, to raise local resources.

Regional development continued in South Asia with the establishment of the Nepal Fundraising Association.

1996
The first IFRG training course was organised with Siberian Civic Initiatives Support Centre in Russia. The training programme was developed to complement the workshops. To date, 220 people have participated in five-day training programmes in Ethiopia, India, Korea, Poland, Russia, South Africa and Sri Lanka.

The WorldWide Fundraisers Handbook was co-published with the Directory of Social Change. It is the first handbook of its kind looking to meet the needs of fundraisers in the South. Over 2,000 copies have been sold.

1993
Members of the International NGO community - including ActionAid, Christian Children's Fund, Greenpeace, Oxfam, UNICEF and WWF - committed to supporting a sustainable programme of regional workshops.

1989
The first regional workshop took place in India. After attending the International Workshop, Mr K.S. Gupta of a New Delhi-based NGO (Lok Kalyan Samiti), brought together a number of NGOs in the area and in collaboration with IFRG organised the first South Asian Fundraising Workshop. The South Asian Fund Raising Group was established, which has organised the event annually ever since.

1981
The Resource Alliance first started as the International Fund Raising Group (IFRG) in 1981 when 36 people gathered at the first International Fund Raising Workshop. Held annually ever since, this annual forum for fundraisers to share ideas, skills and experiences.