Top fundraisers in demand
By Michelle Bonoan-Hong, Kristen Fortney, and Naree W.S. VinerGary Kaplan & Associates, Executive Search Consultants
© Pasadena Star-News, April 27, 2006
The annual conference of the Association of Fundraising Professionals Greater Los Angeles Region Chapter will take place May 11 and 12 at the Pasadena Convention Center.
This gathering of fundraisers is expected to draw more than 300 participants. It's fitting that such an event will take place in Pasadena, since the San Gabriel Valley is home to about 150 non-profit organizations, 30 higher education institutions and 30 hospitals. All of these have one need in common - the desire to hire qualified fundraisers.
And many are finding this is no easy task.
The need for fundraising executives has never been greater.With the recent increase in executive search activity, one trend has become clear: fundraising executives are in high demand. From where we sit as recruiters, we can tell you that no employment segment within the non-profit sector currently offers more income and job security right now than that of fundraising. In the past two years alone, more than 50 percent of the searches we have conducted within the firm's non-profit/education/healthcare practice are for fundraisers. This figure does not reflect the numerous fundraising searches we chose not to take on in the same time span.
Why? In the wake of events such as September 11th, and natural disasters such as the Southeast Asia tsunami, Hurricane Katrina and growing local and regional charitable causes, the competition for America's donor dollars has increased the demand for well-qualified fundraising officers.
As society is faced with more complex needs, we can expect this demand not only to continue, but to accelerate. At the same time, many non-profit organizations are finding that as the economy has grown stronger, donations have increased.
Some figures to illustrate this trend:
According to the Giving USA Foundation, the educational and research initiative of the American Association of Fundraising Counsel, charitable giving reached $248.52 billion for 2004, a new record for philanthropic giving in the United States. This is an increase from 2003, when the same organization reported that total giving in the U.S. was $204.72 billion. A recent informal survey of non-profit organizations estimates that fundraising totals for 2005 surpassed the annual inflation rate of 3.4 percent.
However, the bad news is that the great fortunes that provided millions of dollars for worthy philanthropy are vanishing. And public funds continue to dry up at local, state, and federal levels. Organizations cannot expect to rely on the generosity of a handful of extremely wealthy donors, grant-making foundations, or corporate entities to support their programs and operations. Instead, they must cultivate a range of gifts from many individual donors, the single largest source of charitable dollars.
In addition, the newer generation of donors expects more from the organizations to which they give. Greater public scrutiny and media coverage of how non-profits actually spend donor dollars has placed a new pressure on these organizations. Increased accountability, the focus on outcome-based reporting, and other related trends indicate that fundraising professionals face more complex issues than ever before.
Recent news reports of mismanagement of the local chapter of the Red Cross are only one indicator of the scrutiny non-profit organizations face today. Further, the number of fundraising programs has multiplied, resulting in greater competition among non-profit groups. And organizations soliciting contributions are using more sophisticated and innovative methods, a move that has increased operating costs.
In this environment, fundraising professionals face greater challenges and have more expansive opportunities than ever before. For our clients, finding high-quality fundraising professionals is challenging. We can report from first-hand experience that demand is very high, and regrettably, the supply of well-qualified executives is very low. It is not uncommon for our firm to reach out to 300 individuals and conduct 14 to 20 interviews in recruiting a single hire in fundraising, especially in the low- to mid-level end of the pay scale.
Based on our recent experience, contacting hundreds of individuals does not necessarily yield a large number of qualified candidates. Recently, to identify a director of major gifts for a prominent pediatric hospital foundation, our firm contacted more than 300 individuals nationwide and found only three viable candidates from that pool. With another assignment to find the top development executive at a medical research facility, we made close to 500 contacts, resulting in two qualified candidates. This phenomenon is more common rather than rare.
We've had remarkably similar experiences with other fundraising search assignments.
Fundraising is a full-fledged profession. The specifications our clients present for fundraising management are basically the same as those we look for to fill a top-level position in corporate America - diversity, creativity and a strong bottom-line orientation. Very often, fundraising executives who have been successful are happy in their positions and well compensated for their work. In other words, they are not looking for new opportunities.
What makes a fundraiser successful? In conducting a myriad of fundraising searches, there are key qualities, skills, and abilities that we pay special attention to when identifying top fund-raising talent. We seek executives who are creative and diplomatic, who have a breadth and depth of experience. Candidates need to be experienced professionals with proven track records in building and implementing a comprehensive fundraising plan. They must have strong leadership skills and the ability to motivate and inspire others in the organization as well as their own staff to become involved in fundraising. Also extremely important is having a significant history of bringing in gifts over $25,000 and a comfort level in working with board members. They should have strong communications skills and the personal presence to represent their institutions at every level of interaction, both inside and outside the organization. We also look for successful fund-raising executives with the ability to "read" donors and who know how to strategize on how to make "the ask."
This requires a combination of technical ability and personal know-how that allows the person to discern what interests and motivates the donor to give to the particular cause or organization. These are fundraisers who are able to set aside their own egos in favor of the organization's goals as well as understanding that establishing long-term relationships between donors and organizations is the ultimate objective.
Fundraising management is an exacting process, especially in today's highly charged, fast-paced competitive philanthropic environment. For firms like ours to be able to fulfill our clients' expectations, we have to deliver first-rate candidates with the qualities that we have outlined here.
Non-profit organizations must create a targeted focus on attracting, hiring, and retaining the most exceptional fundraising talent possible to ensure long-term success. As long as non-profits, educational institutions, and healthcare organizations have a strong need to raise dollars, the opportunities for fundraising professionals who can deliver excellent results will remain plentiful.
The outlook has never been better for fundraisers - it is a field with a long-term future, an excellent career area for those who are mission-oriented, want to give back to their communities and the world at large and are looking for a profession with ample opportunities.
