Charity fundraiser: Job description and activities
Job description
A charity fundraiser is employed primarily to increase the contributions of individuals and groups to a charity by building relationships and exploring new fundraising opportunities. Charity fundraisiers raise funds from various sources and tend to be categorised according to who they fundraise from. The main categories of fundraiser are: community, corporate, legacy, major gifts, trusts, and events. In larger charities, the role is likely to specialise in one particular source. In smaller charities, a single fundraiser may cover several sources.
A unifying feature of all fundraising roles is building successful relationships with supporters, so the ability to network is crucial. Fundraisers also work to raise awareness of the charity's work, aims and goals.
Typical work activities
Work activities vary between types of fundraising, but typically include:
- motivating and facilitating supporters to maximise the funds they raise;
- inspiring new supporters to raise money, while maintaining and developing relationships with existing supporters;
- developing new and imaginative fundraising activities, many of which will be events-based;
- raising awareness of the charity and its work, at both the local and national level - this may involve giving talks to groups or dealing with the media;
- organising traditional activities, such as house-to-house collections of donated goods and money;
- developing and coordinating web-based fundraising, online auctions and merchandise sales;
- working with all forms of media, and producing supporting materials such as posters, websites and newsletters to promote, market and advertise forthcoming events;
- increasing funds by researching and targeting charitable trusts whose criteria match the charity's aims and activities;
- developing and implementing a strategy for individual and corporate supporter recruitment and development;
- overseeing corporate fundraising, including employee giving and matched giving from employers;
- managing and updating databases to record donor contact and preference information;
- preparing mail-shots and correspondence;
- writing applications and mail-shots, using direct mailing to reach a wide range of potential and current donors;
- recruiting organising and managing volunteers to fulfill various functions within the charity;
- making risk analyses and balancing time-cost ratios to focus effort upon the most appropriate fundraising activities with the highest chance of success.
AGCAS
Written by Kirsten Roche, University of Newcastle
Last updated:
November 2009
