Why aren’t there enough fundraisers to go round?
Howard Lake | 13 March 2008 | Blogs
Three of my clients’ small charities have advertised for fundraisers recently, using most of the channels available including the Guardian. Yet all of them have gone into second rounds and only one has found the person it wanted, who happened to be the only suitable applicant.
A while ago the huge number of adverts for fundraisers seemed to draw in many more young people to the profession. A raft of courses and qualifications grew and grew, including the Institute of Fundraising’s excellent Certificate in Fundraising; but it appears that those taking the courses were fundraisers who were already in the profession, and new talent was slow in joining the sector.
There seems to be a disjuncture here between what I hear from a privileged position sitting on committees, i.e. that we are attracting new bright young talent, and the practical reports from the field that there are no fundraisers to be found.
Are the number of jobs outstripping new entrants to the field?
Has anyone got a clue? Or a useful opinion?
About Howard Lake
Howard Lake is consultant editor of UK Fundraising. He founded the site in 1994 and successfully sold it in 2022. As director of Giving X Ltd he is exploring growing giving on a massive scale.
He is the founder of Fundraising Camp and co-founder of GoodJobs.