Bernard Ross has a number of roles apart from directing the National Arts Fundraising School. He is also director of =mc consulting, a leading management consultancy that works worldwide with charities, NGOs and cultural organisations to help them achieve greater social impact. And he leads a specialist team at Decision Science exploring how to apply the latest behavioural thinking to pro-social causes.
Over the past three decades Bernard has helped hundreds of organisations rethink how they approach fundraising, strategy and supporter engagement. He is particularly known for bringing decision science into fundraising, campaigning and advocacy- exploring how people actually make decisions about giving and how small changes in messaging can significantly improve results.
He has written, co-written or edited ten books on fundraising and social change. His book Breakthrough Thinking won best non‑profit book in the United States, while Global Fundraising became the first fundraising book published in China by Shanghai University Press. His work with Omar Mahmoud of UNICEF, Change for Good explores how behavioural insights can drive social change.
Bernard has advised many of the world’s leading NGOs including UNICEF, UNHCR, WWF, Greenpeace, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies, and Médecins Sans Frontières, helping them develop strategy and grow income.
His fundraising work has ranged across a wide spectrum. Along the way he has helped raise funds for Europe’s largest scientific experiment at CERN, supported relief efforts in the world’s biggest refugee camp in Cox’s Bazar, helped finance a museum to house the largest dinosaur ever to walk the earth in Patagonia, and directed the campaign to protect the last 750 great apes in Rwanda.
Bernard also led what became known as the world’s largest arts fundraising experiment, supported by Arts Council England, exploring how behavioural insights could increase donations to arts and cultural organisations across several countries.
Before moving into fundraising and strategy, Bernard began his career in the performing arts—working in street theatre and circus with Theatre Workshop in Edinburgh. He later returned to the stage to perform a sold‑out stand‑up comedy show at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe, followed by appearances online in Brighton and Melbourne.
At the National Arts Fundraising School, Bernard brings these diverse global insights into the classroom, helping fundraisers understand why people give and how to design campaigns that truly resonate with supporters. Among his projects are the fundraising campaign for the new £65M Paisley Museum and a strategy for Europe’s largest arts venue the Southbank Centre.
When he’s not working with social change champions — especially fundraisers around the world — Bernard still enjoys opera, theatre, music compose dbefore 27th January 1901 and the occasional comedy stage appearance.
