It started on the street - in conversation with Jen Suter, a leading voice in the face to face fundraising sector

Hot Take 1: Face-to-face fundraising is the last authentic human interaction we have leftIn a world drowning in digital noise, street fundraisers aren't an annoyance, they're one of the only people who will actually stop, look you in the eye, and have a real conversation with you. The fact that people find that uncomfortable says everything about how disconnected we've become, not about how "pushy" fundraising is.

Hot Take 2: Not being a street fundraiser is actually a career advantage in charity leadershipJen never fundraised on the street — and that's probably why she's so effective at championing fundraisers now. She sees the operation with fresh eyes, understands what agencies need from the charity side, and isn't blinded by "how it's always been done." The sector is obsessed with lived experience, but outsider perspective is massively underrated.

Hot Take 3: Boarding school is secretly the worst preparation for leadership and face-to-face agencies are the bestConformity, airs and graces, rigid standards of behaviour — that's what elite education gives you. Face-to-face fundraising strips all of that away and rewards individuality, resilience, and raw people skills. Jen's career arc isn't a coincidence. The sector is producing better leaders than most top universities, and nobody's talking about it.