Recruiting fundraisers – it's not all doom and gloom
Howard Lake | 15 March 2011 | Blogs
When I set up my fundraising recruitment consultancy at the start of the year, one of the first things I did was to talk to as many people in the sector as I could to find out what impact the economic climate was really having on recruiting and retaining fundraising staff. I have spoken to those who recruit and those who get recruited. Covering all the major charity types – academic, health, children, arts, animals and the good news is things don’t appear to be as gloomy as you might think.
Although over half the charities I spoke to believed that the current financial climate was making a difference, 80% said their fundraising departments have stayed the same size over the last twelve months.
Most of the charities I spoke to recognised that there had been a steep rise in the volume of applicants with nearly 70% agreeing that those applying from outside the sector had also increased over the last twelve months. For Green Templeton College who have recently and successfully recruited for a development role, this has meant having to allow additional time to go through CV’s and remove more applications than ever before as so many candidates lack the skills and experience needed to do the job.
Of course, having a career outside the sector does not necessarily rule you out. James Kirton, Head of Grants Fundraising at Hope and Homes for Children has recently recruited six new members of staff. He too noticed a large number of candidates applying for roles many of whom had careers outside of the sector. James found that “seeing candidates from other industries really made us think about what skills we wanted from the role and what impact this would have on our fundraising team. It made the process much more dynamic.”
One children’s charity I spoke to chose a carefully worded job advertisement when recruiting a Trust Fundraiser, this meant that only candidates with a very specific skill match felt able to apply. In this instance, the charity successfully appointed a highly skilled trust fundraiser (not an easy post to fill) and in fact had several other candidates who came a close second.
So it seems that although charities may have to look harder to find them, great fundraising candidates are out there. Charities need to have the very best people in place if they are to keep raising funds as donors’ purse strings get tighter. For fundraisers already in post, this is not a time for complacency – there are plenty of individuals both inside and outside the sector looking for a career move.
Polly Symondson is Director of Polly Symondson Recruitment – a consultancy specialising in placing fundraisers with regionally based charities. Polly has worked as a fundraiser in the not for profit sector for more than a decade both in-house (at Macmillan Cancer Support and at FARM-Africa) and as a consultant in both large and small agencies.
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.