C Bayer
Manager, Corporate Partnerships & Supporter Relations
Earthwatch Institute (Australia)
attended FIA Skills 1
First of all, I would like to thank you kindly for the support and opportunity to gain valuable training through the ASI ‘SMART Company’ Scholarship Fund. I was recently able to attend the FIA Skills 1 training course on a fully-funded scholarship and am incredibly grateful for that opportunity.
My employer, Earthwatch Australia, is a not-for-profit environmental research organisation that has very little or no budget for training. The opportunity to attend this course has been of great benefit to my role as well as being perfectly timed in the current and future direction of Earthwatch Australia.
Being quite new to the fundraising sector and with no prior experience, I have taken on a role that will present many challenges and I personally will enjoy those challenges! Suffice to say however I must be actively obtaining training, new skills and increased knowledge in the fundraising realm to conquer those challenges successfully. Attending the Skills 1 course has given me a valuable platform upon which to build this new set of skills and understanding.
Skills 1 I believe was quite different to other fundraising seminars and short training sessions I have attended to date. I felt that the networking opportunities were more sound and useful, purely by spending three days with the same people rather than a fly by for half a day.
Starting from scratch and working through the fundamentals and principles of fundraising, as was the course schedule, has given me confidence that I am heading in the right direction with what I have picked up during my short time in this field. However, what the presenters, whom were all highly respected people, brought to us each day through their incredible amount of experience, knowledge and wisdom was invaluable.
The group exercise on the final day in which we made a presentation to a mock Board on the development of a 3 year fundraising strategy based on all we had learnt in the preceding three days was very worthwhile. It will contribute highly to the requirements of my role internally and was a fantastic learning experience.
With the aid of further funding from the ASI ‘SMART Company’ Scholarship Fund, I will also be attending the FIA Skills 2 through your kind generosity and again your Board’s support of my endeavours in this field.
For that I am truly grateful, as is my employer, Earthwatch Australia. Our vision and strategy from here into the future is set on growth. We have an incredible team working together right now, with myself being an integral part of that team. For me to have the opportunity to take on this training and with the intention to complete all three stages of Skills 123, it takes a lot of pressure off our small organisation. It will in fact inject a whole lot more into the future of our organisation and achieving our mission of engaging people worldwide in scientific field research and education to promote the understanding necessary for a sustainable environment.
Once again I thank you for this opportunity and for your support through the ASI ‘SMART Company’ Scholarship Fund.
