Many fundraisers do not stay in their jobs for very long; many fundraiser are considering changing jobs. How should the profession address this crisis in retaining its fundraisers?

 

Some in the past have appealed to fundraisers sense of pro-sociality, exhorting them to forego career advancement or a move to a better charity to see the job through with the charity they are at.

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But that’s missing the point. A primary reason many people in all professions leave their jobs is that they are not satisfied in them (or are downright unhappy). Fundraisers are no different, and appealing to their sense of ‘goodness’ won’t make them feel more satisfied.

Instead, if nonprofits want to keep fundraisers in their jobs, they need to give them very good reasons stay.

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British fundraising consultant Hannah Kowszun has researched the reasons why fundraisers leave their jobs for her Master’s degree in organisational psychology at Birkbeck, University of London, which she has turned into a report for Rogare – It’s about more than just ‘doing good’: Why do fundraisers change jobs, and what will motivate them to stay?​

By considering fundraisers’ roles using a tool called the Job Characteristics Model, Hannah concludes there are two key factors that contribute to fundraisers’ intention to stay in their jobs (and the absence of which cause them to want to leave):

 

Autonomy – the degree of freedom and independence given to them to perform their roles, which for fundraisers ought to include having a say in setting their targets.

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Skill variety – how much the role requires the use of a number of different skills and talents. As one of Hannah’s research participants says, she left her job simply because she got bored. 

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Key to retaining fundraisers is therefore to ensure they have control and ownership of their role, especially by involving them in setting their own targets; and ensuring they perform a wide variety of tasks – and providing the training that gives them mastery (rather than mere competence) of those tasks.

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Because sometimes, fundraisers change jobs simply because they are bored. The challenge for nonprofits is to keep them interested.