 | Dr Frederick Mulder | |||
 BIG-HEARTED ART DEALER and philanthropist Dr Frederick Mulder has met a lot of charity bosses, usually to establish in his own mind if he wants to give them money.He has made some unfortunate choices. “One of my first large donations was to an organisation which was on the edge of bankruptcy, and they didn’t tell me,” he says. “They went under soon after my donation. I felt let down but I didn’t want to give up.” But these days as the Chair of the upmarket 'giving circle', The Funding Network, he rarely gets it wrong. “Is there a sense of passion and urgency and stamina? You need all three."“My advice to the person on the street,” he says, “is to look at small charities and – particularly – ones working on new issues that the large grantmakers can’t or won’t help.” One advantage of this is that you can usually meet the person in charge, and to Fred, this is crucial. “You have to get a sense about the decision-maker, the one who runs the show,” he says, “and there are certain things to look for. Related info
“Also is there a sense of passion and urgency and… stamina? You need all three. Lots of people have passion and urgency but lasting the course is as important.” “As a rule I support people rather than projects”He adds that you have to look at the accounts to make sure, for example, that the organisation isn’t about to go bankrupt (!) but above all he stresses the personal factor. “As a rule I support people rather than projects. I have often made decisions on first impressions, and on the whole that has worked for me.” As it happens, he is not the only one: an increasing number of grant-makers are funding good people as they move from charity to charity rather than focussing on the charities themselves. “And if you can’t get to the right person,” he says, “then ask them to give you details of someone else who supports the charity, and go and talk to them.” "If you want to do it properly, you’ve got to get out and make personal contact. That’s also what makes it interesting.” |