Resource Alliance Announces New CEO to Lead Transformation to Global Community Model
After an extensive global search, Resource Alliance (RA) is delighted to announce the appointment of its new CEO, Brian Higgins, who will be leaving his post as CEO of Ireland’s Bloomfield Health Services on 30 November 2020.
With extensive international experience in service development, fundraising and operational delivery, Brian’s appointment is seen as a strong affirmation of the organisation’s commitment to strengthen the IFC and build and expand the Resource Alliance Global Community — a unique global membership network that brings thought leaders and fundraising practitioners together to curate exceptional learning opportunities for social impact organisations of every size and type around the world.
”Brian first caught our attention in 2018 when he was the highest rated speaker at our flagship event, the International Fundraising Congress (IFC),” noted Bill Toliver, Chair of the Resource Alliance Board of Trustees. “He comes from the community we serve, understands the essence of our obligation to that community, and brings a truly unusual combination of executive leadership, fundraising and community-building talents to Resource Alliance.”
Resource Alliance, with the help of hundreds of volunteers, curates and produces the International Fundraising Congress — the pre-eminent global conference for fundraisers and changemakers, serving nearly 1000 delegates from 60 countries. Their recent Fundraising Online event (#FRO2020) brought together 15,000 participants from 145 countries, and the Resource Alliance Global Community democratises access to this exceptional content for organisations everywhere.
My first experience of Resource Alliance was through my participation in IFC 2018. I had never experienced anything like it before! Immersive, engaging, informative and mindblowing!” recalled Higgins, “ I am humbled to think that I will have a role to play in enabling thousands more to benefit from not only the exceptional quality of content and experience of the International Fundraising Congress, but also in curating the highest quality and most innovative learning experiences through the Resource Alliance Global Community .” Higgins further explained, “I knew RA was the place I wanted to be after seeing the commitment that the board and staff have made to living up to the promise of the organisations Manifesto. The team is relentless in their desire to break down barriers to access so that everyone, irrespective of where they are around the globe can access the critical knowledge, tools and connections most needed to accelerate their vital work. I am thrilled and honoured to be able to contribute to that work.”
As part of their commitment to reach organisations around the world, the RA team has developed a digital platform to share content and build online collaborations. The coronavirus pandemic accelerated what was a multi-year development plan into a multi-month transformation, and the organisation is now in the final weeks of preparation for the first ever IFC Online: Virtual Summit (October 13 – 16).
”Brian will be an active presence at IFC online.” noted Toliver. “He’ll be hosting the Senior Leadership Summit on the first day of the conference (Monday, October 12th), and we have a number of opportunities for him to engage with our community so that he can hit the ground running when he formally assumes his position as CEO of Resource Alliance on 1 December 2020.”