With over 25 years of fundraising and management experience serving various higher education, compulsory education institutions and NGOs in Canada and Spain, Juan Pablo Garrido, Director of Development at UIC Barcelona, is well placed to bring international insights to the faculty of this year’s Spring Institute in Educational Fundraising. We caught up with Juan Pablo ahead of next month’s conference to find out about his involvement and what delegates can expect from the programme.
What motivated you to join the Spring Institute faculty?
I believe in lifelong learning and consider it crucial that HE professionals come together to grow professionally and advance our institutions. For me, joining the SIEF faculty presented a great opportunity to learn from colleagues, senior or younger. I look forward to learning from the experience of other faculty members, as well as gain the fresh and optimistic perspectives of delegates.
Working at UIC Barcelona gives me the opportunity to do all sorts of interesting things: building a CRM, launching a capital campaign, establishing the annual fund, prospecting, and cultivating donors, and above all, saying many, many, thank-yous to all involved… so I am excited contribute this experience and bring the outlook from a small, young, and continental shop to the faculty.
In addition to UIC Barcelona, the faculty has representation from INSEAD, why do you think this involvement is so important?
Last year, I delivered a session at CEAC, which was a fantastic opportunity to showcase our work at UIC Barcelona, but the experience was invaluable in terms of gaining perspective and exchanging challenges with colleagues across Europe. CASE has the great challenge and opportunity to be relevant across the diverse continental European institutional and professional landscape. That’s why I’m pleased to see such involvement and input in CASE’s smaller programmes.
The pandemic has evidenced that we are all in the same of boat and when it comes to university advancement, it is important to include point of view from many diverse institutions.
How does the programme reflect current events and address common concerns?
The programme has been developed collaboratively and with great enthusiasm by the faculty. It covers important issues such as the institutional setting, personal values and competencies, or ethics. It also dives into the specifics of fundraising like working with volunteers, prospect research, regular giving, successful campaigns, as well as many more!
What sessions are you most looking forward to over the course of the week?
People are at the centre of each of my endeavours, so I am really looking forward to discussing the different sessions with the delegates I will have the honour to tutor throughout the programme.
What do you hope delegates will get out of the experience?
As future fundraising operations leaders, I hope delegates become more aware of the fact that the future of university advancement is in their hands. They can have a great impact in how their institutions build meaningful and sustainable relations with people and organisations.