Fund raising has long been about relationships.
The best fund raisers are typically those with great people skills—they know how to create and cultivate long-term personal connections with donors.
But as times change, great people skills may no longer be enough.
Technology, demographics, and many other trends are changing the way many fund raisers approach their jobs—so much so that the fund raiser of the future might need to have a much broader set of skills.
In its next issue, The Chronicle will explore these trends and offer a profile of the fund raiser of the future.
Until then, though, we’d like to hear from you.
What skills do you think every fund raiser will need 10 years from now? And what skills should today’s fund raiser develop now so they are ready to confront a rapidly changing world?
Share your thoughts in the comments area below—and check back on April 5 to find out what other people say.
6 Responses to Profiling the Fund Raiser of the Future
mbkraft - March 29, 2010 at 5:24 pm
I think that the specialization is the future of fundraising…fund raisers will need education to back up their expertise. Be it from the new philanthropy undergraduate degree at Indiana University, the graduate program at the Center on Philanthropy, or other reputable degree or continuing ed programs. CFRE certification will be a must. I think that fund raising is becoming an actual discipline. Increased specialization in the field will mean a more broad understanding of the sector in which we fundraise — it will be important. As fund raisers become more knowledgeable, I think donors will as well. They’ll become more discerning as more and more information is made available to them through websites and social media outlets. Fund raisers *also* need to stay in the know. In addition, I think that a handle on social media will be a must. With so many networking sites and opportunities springing up each and every day, social capital needs to be taken to the next step: the digital world. Also, I think that fund raisers will be expected to have a better handle on programmatic outcomes for the cause they are raising money for. Skill sets in program outcome analysis will allow fund raisers to relate to their donors on an investment level.
actuallygiving - March 29, 2010 at 6:01 pm
Smarter folks than me will chime in about metrics and social media and measurable outcomes. I’ve only got one point to add that seems so basic it’s sort of laughable. But I’ve never, ever heard a fundraiser honestly speak about it, so I’m throwing it out there:Fundraisers have to be personally charitable themselves.They should be open about where they are giving (red flag if they don’t give to their own employer) and how much (are they as committed to financially supporting charity as they are asking others to do). They should be open about their own decision making process in giving, including the tough choices. They have to commit to the community they serve by following through in their own personal giving.I can attest that doing so makes you feel extremely vulnerable, but the honesty will allow fundraisers to connect more deeply with more donors (which are now *fellow* donors) than is possible through whatever social media platform is popular at the moment.
colleendilen - March 30, 2010 at 4:18 pm
Fundraisers will have to be masters of building relationships through social media and other forms of marketing through socially-focused technology. It’s an easy, generally-low cost way to tell stories and share messages.Nonprofiteers: Social Media Will Make You Better At Your Job http://colleendilen.com/2009/12/17/nonprofiteers-personal-branding-will-make-you-better-at-your-job/
vanleanbody - March 30, 2010 at 4:29 pm
Future fundraisers will need to understand the tech differences between generational segments, and the motivation behind the donation. We will need 360vision to know how each digital and traditional media channel connects, engages, and inspires long-term high value donors. Each channel will be managed by a separate team of experts. That channel will have a different message but identical branding. Many channels, different messages, one brand. Future donors will EXPECT communication 24/7
lorislaughter - March 30, 2010 at 5:31 pm
I agree with the previous points regarding education and personal philanthropy as basic requirements for fund raising professionals.I would also like to suggest another set of skills and bodies of knowledge fund raisers, especially leaders, will need to succeed in the future. They are: Business acumen, market savvy, leadership qualities (beyond cheerleading!), performance-based decicision making skills, analytical abilities and an in-depth understanding of systems, technology and development operations. Currently, it is all too common for good fund raisers to move up the executive ladder to leadership positions they are ill-equipped to handle because they lack the aforementioned skills. In my 11 years of experience in this business, I’ve seen many exceptional fund raisers turn in to completely ineffectual leaders because they had no business acumen or other basic skills needed to manage teams of development officers, not to mention a complete lack of awareness of the operational side of fund raising, which is becoming more and more critical as technological advances provide numerous ways of impacting campaign outcomes and staff performance.I hope the profile of future fund raisers is a nice balance of heart and head.
troycrs - March 31, 2010 at 8:10 pm
The vast majority of development professionals will continue to need to be broad generalists. The sector will continue to be heavily weighted towards small organizations with small development shops. To be able to work strategically in these environments, fundraisers will have to have a very “big picture” mindset. It will be important to not only know how to manage the major revenue sources (and keep up with new ones that evolve, such as social media) but also to have a deep understanding of nonprofit governance. In my experience, development and finance professionals are often the only ones who carry a depth of understanding of the sector’s operations. Executive Directors often come from programs, or from outside the sector, and are almost never hired on the basis that they are seasoned nonprofit administrators because they must be public facing leaders, primarily focused on representing the vision and the mission to the world at large. This lack of depth is exacerbated by the high exit rate from the ED position/career, which is a trend that seems unlikely to change in the next decade. This trend means few EDs ever have the chance to take what they have learned in one position to the next one. In my experience, my ability to work with newly minted EDs to lay out a game plan to revitalize the boards they have inherited, to further diversify the funding mix, to shine a light on legal compliance issues, and address many other issues has proven to be invaluable to the organizations I have worked for, in addition to my ability to raise money. All of these basics are integral to being able to raise funds as well. In fact, without effort to address these issues, there is no opportunity to maximize the fundraising capacity of any organization. It’s important to note that development professionals don’t need to execute on these initiatives, but far too often I see less experienced fundraisers working in organizations that are hamstrung by these issues and have no idea that the circumstances are the main reason they can’t be successful in their work.Certainly specialization will continue occur, and for some fundraisers, a career that is narrowly focused will continue to be a rewarding path. However, the leadership professionals–Development Directors, V and C level staff–will have to be able to command the broader field of knowledge about the many elements which make an organization successful. They will have to be able to pair that intellectual capital with strong interpersonal skills that give them the ability to be heard by their ED’s and boards.I’m not sure that this represents a change from where we are today, except that perhaps in a decade this will be understood to be an additional standard we hold ourselves to, and develop training about organizational health for new entrants in the field rather than only developing it on an individual-by-individual basis as an outcome of time spent in the field.