Fundraising Is the Most Transferable and Relevant Skill for Your Life and Your Resume
After 30 years in nonprofit leadership, I’ve come to believe that there is one key skill that can boost your personal and professional success.
That magical skill?
Asking another person to financially contribute to a cause.
I call it “the power of those who ask.” And it’s the fundraising skill that can make your resume – and your leadership - stand out.
The Power of Those Who Ask
Being a good fundraiser is about so much more than dollars in the door. It requires excellent communication, organization, creativity, and problem-solving. You need to learn to read people and situations, consider multiple competing needs, and make decisions using critical thinking on the fly.
Even though we don’t talk about it much in the nonprofit sector, fundraisers also require an entrepreneurial mindset. Your job is to take a challenge (raising money for your organization) and turn it into an asset (helping donors be a part of making important changes).
If you’re a nonprofit fundraiser, you might be doing all of this already without even realizing it. So now, it’s time to take credit for this powerful skill set.
How to Talk About Fundraising Skills on Your Resume
Below I’ve laid out the most valuable personal and professional life skills you need in today’s world. For each one, I reveal how a life of fundraising can translate directly into personal and professional prowess.
Every employer should be thrilled to see these fundraising skills on a job applicant’s resume. And every professional should be eager to add these skills to their resume.
Communication Skills Are More Important than Ever
There are so many different ways that fundraising intersects with communication.
First and foremost, fundraisers must be good storytellers. Nonprofit organizations and political candidates are always crafting compelling pitches to convince everyday people and huge organizations to give them money. For example, fundraising materials need to be not only visually attractive and brief but also substantive. Fundraisers need to synthesize complicated information into simple soundbites.
Fundraisers also need to be effective writers. Note that I said effective, not brilliant or amazing. While not every fundraiser will write a great novel or essay, they do tend to be very effective at brevity, bullet points, and pitches. Fundraisers are constantly writing proposals, thank you letters, email outreach to donors, impact reports, and more.
Public speaking and active listening are also fundamental to working with donors, both individuals and institutions. Whether you’re speaking in front of a crowd of 5,000 at a rally or to a donor circle of 15 wealthy individuals, fundraisers learn to be comfortable talking to an audience, listening carefully to the audience’s response, and adapting their message as needed.
Finally, the act of donor solicitation requires bringing all these skills – storytelling, writing, public speaking, and active listening - together. That’s why direct donor solicitation is one of the most challenging and stressful parts of fundraising for many people.
Mastering the art of the one-on-one donor ask for money could be one of the most important skills anyone learns for the rest of their lives.
When you have to ask someone for money, every fear that you have about rejection or being liked or hang-ups about money comes right to the surface. But even with those fears flowing, fundraisers still have to deploy their communications skills effectively. For example, canvassers going door-to-door need to pivot on the porch and change their pitch based on who they’re talking to and what information they’re getting at the moment.
Emphasize Your Entrepreneurial Skills and Innovation
Entrepreneurs make something out of nothing. They are undeterred by the lack of resources today in pursuit of what they want to create tomorrow. This is exactly what fundraisers do every day. We see the vision for what must be created and we marshal the people, talent, assets, and arguments needed to achieve that vision.
The act of fundraising requires innovation. You can’t use the same words or tactics with each individual or institution. You must be an innovator, entrepreneur, and inventor. You need to think fast on your feet and use the information you’re getting in real-time to make the pitch.
Like entrepreneurs, fundraisers make something out of nothing every day! There’s art + science in every “tAsk.”
Every Organization Needs Problem-Solvers
Fundraisers solve problems on a daily – even hourly - basis. We have to understand the resources we have – whether it’s data, money, volunteers, staff, etc. - and those we don’t. Then we make a plan to get new and existing resources from where they are to where they need to be.
In other words, fundraisers are problem solvers because we are moving one of the most valued assets - cash - away from someone’s bank account into our organization’s account.
Fundraising effectively is also about developing and meeting ambitious goals in a dynamic environment. This requires prioritization, management, and dependability.
Time management is another key problem-solving skill. Now, time management doesn’t just mean showing up for meetings on time. Instead, it’s a key element of project management.
Time management means being able to sequence events to produce a work product that is on time and of high caliber.
To achieve this, you need to manage your time – and others’ time – in order to meet both deadlines and revenue goals. To submit that grant, publish that annual report, or produce that gala you must understand backward mapping and dependencies.
I could argue that time management is one of the fundamental things that fundraisers have to get right. Fundraisers only have so much time to get donors’ attention and secure that gift. At the same time, fundraisers are working under internal and external deadlines and competing demands, especially when it comes to events, election night, and other deadlines (like meeting payroll!).
Leadership Isn’t Just About Management
As a fundraiser, you are standing up and declaring that you need others to join you in the act of funding. You are taking the bold action of inviting people to solve a problem. Those that donate – or help fundraise – are following your lead.
Successful fundraisers develop core leadership skills including:
Being vulnerable – Much has been written about how leaders must be vulnerable in order to build trust, alignment, and employee motivation. When you learn to fundraise you are putting yourself out there and waiting for an answer. We are literally trained to ask and then sit silently. Needing to raise money to solve problems teaches you how to demonstrate and work through vulnerability.
Being authentic – Authenticity is another leadership trait that is highly valued. Fundraisers don’t want to be slimy. They aren’t in “sales” and therefore aren’t driven by profit or market share. They are driven by impact. That is why we use stories and evidence to invite others to the work. It isn’t about personal gain. Our motivations are for the common good and the public interest.
Being self-directed – Fundraisers know that there are consequences to not hitting goals. In some ways, fundraising is more critical than communications, program, or board leadership. No bills or staff get paid without fundraising. Hundreds of books have been written on management and employee motivation. Fundraisers know about motivation. If you don’t raise, you don’t eat!
Being optimistic and positive – Of all the people who need to be optimistic, it is the person asking for investments. You need to really believe the mission can be achieved and you must be able to transfer that optimism to others. You must be the Chief of Enthusiasm and Optimism (the CEO) to raise money effectively.
Being discrete – Leaders earn trust. This means that when you are trusted with confidential information (such as donors’ contact and financial information), you’ll protect that information and be discreet. Many people do not want their charitable work highlighted. Fundraisers learn to be guardians of the information they learn in donor conversations.
Acting ethically – There are ethics in the fundraising trade. When you ask others for money you are asking for trust. You are stewards of other people’s money and hopes and dreams. With that comes a responsibility to behave ethically.
Demonstrating civic participation – Leaders know the way, show the way, and go the way. We cannot turn inward and hide. We must engage with the larger world by volunteering, donating, voting, and participating in society. It is how we show that pluralistic democracies work. Fundraisers are essential connective tissue in our society.
Make Room for Interpersonal Skills on Your Resume
By definition, fundraisers are talking with other people – carbon-based beings like you and me. You will not be successful in fundraising without strong interpersonal skills. Being able to read the room, having high emotional intelligence, and being able to match the pace of the donor are all fundamental.
Fundraisers must balance logic and emotion as we craft a compelling argument for why someone should invest money when they will get no personal benefit from it. We have to self-regulate and we have to be donor-centered, not self-centered. This means monitoring our tone, temperament, and impulse control.
Other interpersonal skills fundraisers gain include:
Collaboration and teamwork - Fundraisers work with donors, vendors, contractors, board members, volunteers, and staff from across an organization. Rarely is the fundraiser acting alone. Many times, we’re working in coalition or on campaigns where there are many cooks in the kitchen. This means putting silos and turf aside and working toward a common fundraising goal.
Perspective shifting – Fundraisers learn to see from multiple perspectives at the same time. Many fundraisers have hammered into us that we must understand the donor journey and the donor’s interests. This is critical when crafting solicitations and materials. But we must also think about the perspective of regulators, board members, colleagues, and the people we serve!
Sense of humor – If you are serious and buttoned-up all the time you will not succeed as a fundraiser. Part of building rapport is having a good sense of humor. It doesn’t mean you have to be funny, but it does mean you understand the interplay of how relationships are built and how people let their hair down.
Negotiation, diplomacy, and self-regulation – Fundraisers know that the dollar amount for everything is a negotiation. Does a funder want to give general operating or program grants? What is the starting bid at the silent auction? Can donations be made in installments? How do you turn strangers into donors online (funnels)? What are the benefits a donor will get for their gift and loyalty to the organization? Everything (within ethical bounds) is negotiable in terms of fundraising.
Networking – Whether you are an introvert or an extrovert, networking is a craft in and of itself. In fundraising, we lose many donors to attrition so to grow our funding we must expand our donor base. Fundraisers push through their comfort zones and shake lots of hands, laugh at a lot of bad jokes, and eat a lot of chicken dinners at events.
Empathy – Fundraisers are constantly put in a position of feeling others’ pain. Donors explain why they can’t give and our reaction cannot be personal or appear to be let down. We listen. We understand. We pivot.
Critical Thinking and Decision-Making Are at the Heart of Fundraising
The best fundraisers are thinking critically at all times. They’re identifying errors in judgment and biases in assumptions – including their own. They’re also using critical thinking to make smart decisions.
Decision-making is one of the most powerful skill sets that leaders and others must master to be successful in life. Being paralyzed by decisions, and not acting when you need to, can lead to huge mistakes, added costs, missed deadlines, hurt feelings, and lost revenue. In fundraising, not being a good decision-maker means you may lose your team and possibly your job.
Fundraisers are constantly making difficult decisions about what to ask for, how, and when. Great fundraisers learn to make these decisions quickly and effectively – and aren’t afraid to change course when new information arises.
Fundraisers Are Always Learning
Fundraisers are always learning. We can’t raise money unless we are constantly evaluating and doing AB testing. We look at email open rates, go through professional development programs, and get our CFRE credits.
We also become skilled at accepting and learning from feedback. Fundraisers get immediate feedback in the faces of people they communicate with and in the inboxes and metrics they review.
When you learn effective fundraising you learn how to evaluate your performance and improve next time.
A healthy dose of humility is needed in fundraising.
We are almost always in the background helping others look good. Being able to accept praise without stealing the limelight is a daily muscle we flex.
Finance and Money Management Isn’t Just for Accountants
Fundraisers have to learn how to work with budgets.
We have to understand money coming in and money going out. We need to be familiar with generally accepted accounting principles, lobbying rules, gambling laws, insurance, and risk management. We learn about 990s, restricted and unrestricted giving, financial controls, and the ramifications of getting any of it wrong!
Resilience Benefits Personal and Professional Spheres
Anyone who’s ever been told no understands what resilience is like. Fear of rejection can be pretty powerful and a huge reason why people don’t fundraise. That’s why learning how to be OK with “no” or “not right now” is a fundamental skill you learn in fundraising. And it applies to every other part of your life whether it’s dating or raising children or seeking that next job.
My first fundraising job was going door to door for the environment. Although we had a standard script, every door was still different. To hit your quota, and raise enough money to get paid well, you needed to “put it on the porch” and adapt what you’re asking for based on the person you’re talking to.
In this type of canvassing, there’s a situation called “getting spoused” where you’re talking to one person at the door. The spouse comes to the door and shuts the door in your face. Being adaptable means not only altering the script based on what you think the income level or the ability to give is, but it’s also navigating what is happening on that porch and in that home.
Whenever you’re doing a major donor solicitation, something could be said or stated that completely throws your ask off-kilter. Fundraisers adapt in the moment like ninjas.
Fundraisers Aren’t Afraid of AI
Fundraisers are not using pens and paper to raise money. We are constantly learning and adapting to new technology. We use constituent relationship management software, fundraising software, social media platforms, and bookkeeping and budgeting software.
The level of software, communications, and interpersonal skills fundraisers need to bring to bear at any given moment means there’s little chance AI is coming for our jobs. Fundraisers are already learning how to strategically use AI to make our jobs easier – and make our fundraising more effective.
Your Resume - and Your Life - Will Benefit from Fundraising Skills
Fundraisers really must learn to “do it all.” We hone and develop new skills every day. In fact, we often do so much we forget how to talk about it on our resumes. We forget that sometimes we’re not standing up for a cause, we’re standing up and declaring our own value.
If you’re a fundraiser, I hope this list helps you better talk and think about your skills. If you’re considering becoming a fundraiser, I hope this article inspires you to take the leap.
Because fundraising is one of the most important and valuable skill sets in the nonprofit sector.
