It started on the street - in conversation with Elsbeth de Ridder
From telesales to global leadership Elsbeth built her career from hardcore commission-only telesales to leading face-to-face fundraising strategy across 25 countries for Save the Children International, proving that great fundraising is built on transferable sales and communicationskills.
The universal truth about face-to-face fundraising After working across markets from Korea to Mexico to Australia, Elsbeth shares why face-to-face works everywhere: "the principles are universal" says Elsbeth, "train well, coach consistently, create career paths, and retentionfollows."
Why face-to-face builds leaders for life Beyond income, she argues F2F creates confidence, resilience, empathy and real-world communication skills, traits that shape not just great fundraisers, but future leaders.
In this episode, I’m joined by someone I’ve known for many years, Elsbeth Deridder, talking to us from sunny Madrid. We first met back when she was with World Vision in London, having moved over from Australia, and since then she’s built an incredibly international career across some of the world’s biggest NGOs.
From starting out in high-pressure, commission-only telesales to leading face-to-face fundraising strategy across 25 countries for Save the Children International — and now consulting globally with organisations like the World Food Programme and WWF, Elsbeth brings a rare mix of commercial rigour, global insight and real passion for people.
We talk about what she’s learned building teams around the world, why face-to-face works in every culture, and how the skills you develop in fundraising can shape an entire career.
