Recruit and retain outstanding fundraisers who grow with you

Recruitment and retention are two of the most critical challenges in the fundraising sector. The very best fundraisers possess a rare mix of skills. Empathy, resilience, strategy, flexibility and project management are all essential to the discipline.

Bringing in the income that makes your mission possible, they are in high demand. Yet too many organisations struggle to find good fundraisers, and when they do, struggle to retain them.

When you attract and keep the right fundraisers, your organisation can deliver more for the people and communities you serve.

So, how do you ensure you are attracting exceptional fundraisers? And more importantly, how do you retain them?

1. Know the difference between good and exceptional fundraisers

Good fundraisers retain existing relationships and keep the wheels turning, delivering on income targets.

Exceptional fundraisers work collaboratively across the organisation. They challenge the status quo and unlock potential new campaigns and programmes, helping the organisation grow and achieve its mission.

They are expert networkers, storytellers, exceptional internal advocates for fundraising, able to collaborate with a wide range of stakeholders and operate with tenacity and emotional intelligence. They bring a strategic level mindset to their day-to-day, understanding what the organisation needs not only in-year but for the future, and maybe even beyond income, e.g. brand recognition.

When you recruit fundraisers, look for these traits as signs of someone who can help your organisation grow.

Ultimately, exceptional fundraisers are rare gems (much like the gemstone ‘Peridot’), and they can add transformational impact. I’ve worked with several and we’ve recruited many, and they are game-changing.

Read more: Fundraising recruitment to support a £50m appeal: Prostate Cancer UK

2. Look beyond the charity sector to recruit fundraisers

I have always advocated for fundraising teams to embrace talent from outside of the sector. Are there nuances to fundraising and the way charities operate? Yes, unequivocally. Is there a core transferable skillset that you can tap into to find exceptional and purpose-driven people? Yes!

Fundraising is about relationships at its core. Sales, marketing and customer-focused careers all provide a strong transferable skillset. When you welcome people with different professional backgrounds and lived experiences, you also bring in fresh perspectives, creativity and new ways of solving problems.

I’ve spoken with a multitude of fundraisers who came from the private sector and have excelled in a purpose-driven environment. This is why, as a recruiter, I won’t shy away from sourcing and sharing candidates who might not have had conventional pathways to even senior fundraising roles. The training and development people receive in the private sector means there can be inherent benefits from attracting talent from outside of charities.

When you recruit fundraisers, review your person specifications and job descriptions with an open mind. Are you unintentionally ruling out people with transferable skills or non-traditional experience who could bring real value to your team?

When people feel their different backgrounds and experiences are valued, they’re more likely to stay, grow and contribute fully to your mission.

Read more: Diversity within the fundraising profession

3. Embed a culture of fundraising across the organisation

One of the greatest barriers to retaining exceptional fundraisers is when organisations remain closed to the needs of fundraising. High-functioning fundraising teams typically exist in cultures where fundraising is in every room, from programme design to marketing, comms and finance. A strong fundraising culture depends on everyone playing a part, engaging donors, telling compelling stories and creating ways for supporters to see and feel their impact.

The most successful private sector organisations are customer-centric at their core. Regardless of everything else they stand for, it’s the reason why Amazon has had so much success. When we curate donor-centric cultures, we start to see greater innovation, enabling greater impact for charities. I’ve experienced this at Crisis, with an organisational-wide “supporter in the room” ethos. In these cultures, fundraisers thrive.

In cultures where barriers to delivering a donor experience continue to exist, or there is a lack of understanding of what fundraisers need to be able to raise money, exceptional fundraisers become disillusioned, and they will leave.

Read more: How to hire for culture add, not just culture fit

4. Understand what development looks like beyond salary and job title

With less flexibility in remuneration than the private sector, how else can you ensure you retain your greatest assets? Salary and job titles are important indicators of recognition. But we also know that exceptional fundraisers have a growth mindset, and that is true for their own development. How do we show junior and mid-level staff (where there is higher turnover) that we’re truly invested in them and their growth?

Why not look at opportunities internally and externally for fundraising colleagues to grow:

• Is there a panel event they might speak at?
• Is there a shadowing opportunity at a senior meeting?
• Might they join their director at the next board meeting?
• Where might you enable them to innovate?
• What cross-functional working groups might they engage with to take onadditional responsibility?

Even starting the conversation by asking a colleague about their ambitions for growth can have a profound impact.

There are a multitude of occasions that can provide development opportunities for growth within the confines of your organisation, or indeed externally. Cultures that enable fundraisers to grow will not only develop better leaders for the future, but will see them stay for longer, especially in smaller, more rigid structures, where hierarchical progression can often take several years.

Create a workplace where fundraisers want to stay

The greatest underlier of retention isn’t pay, it’s culture and development. Knowing what exceptional looks like and hiring that talent isn’t easy. And once you’ve done that, the challenge remains how to keep them. The organisations that do this effectively have a significant advantage, and the result is a thriving fundraising function that will deliver time and time again.

When fundraisers feel supported, valued and able to grow, they stay engaged not just for their career, but to help your organisation make a real difference for the people and communities you serve.